Thursday 26 April 2012

W is for Warrior

The picture that comes to mind when I think about a Warrior is fearless, intense and hust out for justice.

According to TheComplete Writer's Guide to  Heroes and Heroines: 16 Master Archetypes by Tami C Cowden, Caro LaFever and Sue Viders, the warrior is driven, remote and controlled. Dark and dangerous, justice is this man's watchword. He sees everything i black and white, right or wrong. Shades of gray are an anathema to him. He is the judge and jury, and if necessary, the hangman too. He is Tenacious, Principled and Noble. His flaws  are: Self-righteous, Relentless and Merciless.
 Whoa! *taking a deep breath*. This guy is all sorts of intense, I think.

Just the other day, I watched Braveheart, one of my all time favourites, starring Mel Gibson as William Wallace and began analysing his character. It's a bloody movie, but gives a wonderful example of the Warrior Archetype.
 After returning home from abroad, William Wallace falls in inlove with his childhood sweetheart and secretly marries her. The next day one of the soldiers attempt to rape her, but is comes through ok and  Wallace sends her off on horseback, but is later captured and executed. All in all after witnessing the injustices surrounding him and losing his loved ones, he is compelled to rebel against the English and helps his army leading them to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Even to his death, he refuses to beg for mercy and he was still shouting 'Freedom' as his last words before he is executed.

Bloody, dark and a film that potrays a true warrior. There are other films out there that portray this archetype, but this is the one I came up with when I thought about the 'W' letter.

Oh, yeah Buffy is a warrior, unafraid to rush in and slay those vampires.

What characters do you admire in a Warrior? Any examples of Warriors you know, whether from personal experience or books or movies?