Hero Character Research Articles

Smrt, žanr i rod u grafičkom romanu Ja ubijam divove

This paper analyzes the heroic narrative in the graphic novel for children and youth I Kill Giants. Since the central theme of the novel is the heroine's dealing with the loss of a parent, the analysis relies on recent research on the topic of death in children's and adolescent literature that emphasizes a close connection between this topic and gender representation/construction. Dealing with the death of loved ones and the awareness of the inevitability of one's own death in children's literature is often presented as part of the growing-up process in which heroines acquire knowledge about their position within social power structures. The paper focuses on the main structural elements of the heroic narrative, such as overcoming obstacles through action, triumphing over the enemy, perseverance, and commitment to the goal as the main features of the hero's character. From the point of view of feminist literary criticism, the paper aims to show that progressiveness in terms of gender construction, apart from the inclusion of a female character in the position of a hero, requires redefining most of the main structural elements of this predominantly male genre. These changes in the graphic novel I Kill Giants have undermined clear boundaries within the binary oppositions: male-female, private-public, civilized-wild, realistic-fantastic, rational-emotional, adult-child, showing significant possibilities for these types of interventions within the genre framework of the heroic narrative.

여성주의 관점을 통한 문화콘텐츠 내 여성영웅성 연구: 디즈니 애니메이션, ‘뮬란’과 ‘모아나’의 여성 영웅적 서사구조 분석을 중심으로

본 논문의 목적은 여성주의 관점을 통해 문화콘텐츠산업 내에서 생산/소비되고 있는 여성영웅성을 분석하고, 그 문제점 및 대안을 모색해 보는 것이다. 이를 위해 본 논문은 전 세계적인 문화콘텐츠로서 큰 영향력을 행사하고 있는 디즈니 애니메이션 중 ‘뮬란’과 ‘모아나’를 조셉 캠벨의 영웅서사구조를 기준으로 삼아 분석함으로써 각 작품들 안에 놓여 있는 여성영웅성의 구조, 내용, 그리고 여성주의 관점에서의 한계 등을 밝혀보고자 한다. 이를 위해 본 연구는 디즈니 애니메이션 중 여성 영웅을 소재로 하여 여성의 정체성이 가장 잘 드러난 두 작품 ‘뮬란’과 ‘모아나’를 선정하였다. 본 연구는 두 서사구조에서 여성 영웅에게 적용할 수 있는 단계와 기능을 고려하여 기준을 총 9단계로 정리하였다. 9단계 구조에서 인물 간의 갈등과 사건, 그리고 여성 주인공들의 욕망이 어떤 방식으로 드러나는지를 통해서 작품에 내재된 이데올로기를 분석하였다. 제작된 시기가 다른 두 작품의 비교분석을 통해 당대 지향했던 이데올로기와 가치관에 차이점이 존재하고, 현재 디즈니에서 올바른 젠더 정체성을 재현하고 있음을 알 수 있었다. 따라서 앞으로 현대적 시각에 적합한 새로운 여성 영웅이 등장할 수 있길 기대한다.

Human and Idea in the polyphonic novel: Blood and Fire’s Tetralogy of Abdolmalek Mortadh as a model

Our research entitled “the human / the idea in the polyphonic novel, the example of « Blood and Fire’s Tetrology » of Abdolmalek Mortadh, is studying a new technique that appears in modern times, the dialogism that’s resulting from the romantic polyphony, which is working on the variation of thoughts, on perceptions and ideological visions arising from the characters. Our subject focuses mainly on the way from which the character/ Idea’s image is formed in Abdolmalek Mordadh’s narrative discourse. Besides, we will reveal the variety of provocative styles used as a writing technique by the writer, and that's for a purpose of extraction The hero’s word about him, and about the surrounding community, which sometimes came in the form of internal dialogues between the hero and himself, then between the hero and a fictional character from his imagination. At other times, it came in the form of external dialogues Between the hero and other characters, all these dialogues in its different forms and multiple elements contributed to the formation of the hero's character, to saying his word and revealing it. The author Abdolmalek Mortadh relied on that strategy to impart objectivity in the visions and perspectives of the novel's characters in order to achieve the free and democratic nature of dialogism that the critic and theorist Mikhail Bakhtine has invited to adopt it in his encyclopedic work “Problems of Dostoevsky’s poetics”. The formation of the hero's image in the various methods adopted by the writer will inevitably make him a human with an idea, thus, he will make his novel a vast arena in which ideas interact and wrestle in a democratic and pluralistic atmosphere and his characters will turn into a set of ideas and ideologies each of them tries to stand out and appear at the expense of the other without the slightest interference by the writer, That is the focal point of the polyphonic novel.

THE HERO CHARACTERS IN A BUG’S LIFE AND CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS MOVIES

The hero characters, like most people know, are just like Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, who gain superpower, stronger than ordinary people, and fight monsters to save the world. However, there are also the hero characters that do not gain superpower. This study concerned on finding out the differences between Flik of A Bug’s Life and Flint of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies as the ordinary hero characters by using Campbell’s hero’s journey theory. This study was a qualitative research with content analysis approach. Data of this study were words including narrations and dialogues taken from A Bug’s Life and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movie scripts. This study showed that Flik was a dependent hero character, while Flint was an independent one. In Flik’s case, he was considered as the dependent hero character due to his natural trait as the ant colony to put the colony above everything else. While, Flint was considered as the independent hero character based on his reasons of doing the adventure: to fulfill his own desire of being acknowledged by his dad and to show his attractive side to the girl that he fell in love with, Sam Sparks. To conclude, regardless the fact that both Flik and Flint were included as the ordinary hero characters, this study had shown they still had their own version of hero characters.

التوظیف الدلالی لأبعاد شخصیة البطل فی أفلام ما بعد الحداثة

الشخصية عنصر مهم من عناصر الوسيط السينمائي؛ إذ يقع على کاهلها عدة وظائف مهمة داخل الفيلم السينمائي، يأتي نقلها للأفکار في مقدمة هذه الوظائف، کما أن السينما کفن، وثيقة الصلة بالمعطيات الثقافية العامة للحياة الاجتماعية وخاصة حقب الحداثة، فأي تغير بالمعطيات يفرض تغيراته بالمقابل على السينما بکل عناصرها، وخاصة الشخصية باعتبار الحامل الفکري لأهم معطيات الفيلم السينمائي، فالانتقال بين حقبة الحداثة وما بعدها، غير الکثير من نظرة المجتمع للإنسان الفرد، في تعامل الفن السينمائي مع شخصية البطل، لذا رصد الباحثان العلاقة المتجذرة التي تجمع شخصية البطل داخل الفيلم السينمائي والمتغيرات الفکرية والثقافية لحقبة ما بعد الحداثة، عبر تحديد موضوع بحث حمل العنوان الآتي: (التوظيف الدلالي لأبعاد شخصية البطل في أفلام ما بعد الحداثة)، ولقد تم تقسيم البحث على أربعة فصول: الفصل الأول (الإطار المنهجي)، الذي تضمن الآتي: مشکلة البحث التي تبلورت في التساؤل الآتي: ما الکيفيات التي يتم من خلالها توظيف أبعاد شخصية البطل دلاليا في أفلام ما بعد الحداثة؟ أهداف البحث: معرفة طرق التوظيف الدلالي لأبعاد شخصية البطل في أفلام ما بعد الحداثة، فضلا عن القيام بإبراز أهمية البحث وحدوده، وختم الفصل بتحديد أهم المصطلحات. أما الفصل الثاني (الإطار النظري)، فقد تم تقسيمه على مبحثين وعلى النحو الآتي: المبحث الاول: أطروحات ما بعد الحداثة. المبحث الثاني: أفلام ما بعد الحداثة.. السمات والدلالة. في الفصل الثالث (إجراءات البحث)، تم اعتماد المنهج الوصفي التحليلي، ومؤشرات الإطار النظري في تحليل عينة البحث، الفيلم (الفتاة ذات وشم التنين). الفصل الرابع (النتائج والاستنتاجات)، فقد تضمن أهم النتائج التي تم التوصل إليها بعد تحليل العينة، ثم أعقبتها مجموعة من الاستنتاجات العامة. Abstract: The character is an important element of the cinematic medium، as it has several important functions inside the film، in the forefront of these functions، the transfer of thoughts، and the cinema as an art، closely related to the general cultural data of the social life، especially the eras of modernity، any change in these data requires change in all elements of cinema، especially in the character، because it is the intellectual transferor for the most important data in the film، so the transition between from the modernity to the post-modernity، changed much of the society's view of individual human being، and that effected on the cinematic treatment to the hero character، so researchers explored the deep-rooted relationship that combines hero character in film and the intellectual and cultural changes of the postmodernity، by defining the subject of a research entitled The Semantic Employment of the Dimensions of the Hero's Character in Postmodern Films. research was divided into four chapters: Chapter One (Methodological Framework)، which included the following: problem of research that crystallized in the following question: Which are the ways of the sematic employment of the Dimensions of the hero character in postmodern films? Research purposes: To find out the methods of the sematic employment of the Dimensions of the hero character in postmodern films. As well as the researchers highlighted the importance of research and its limits، and the chapter was concluded with identify the most important terms. The second chapter (theoretical framework) was divided into two sections as follows: The first topic: postmodern theses. second topic: postmodern films features and significance. In the third chapter (research procedures), the researchers adopted the descriptive analytical approach، and theoretical framework indicators in the sample analysis، the film (the girl with the dragon tattoo). Chapter IV (results and Conclusions) included the most important results were reached after the sample analysis، followed by a set of general conclusions.

ANALISIS PEMILIHAN KARAKTER SUPERHERO SEBAGAI LISENSI PRODUK PADA MINUMAN SUSU FRISIAN FLAG (MILKY, FRUITY, DAN MUT MUT) DALAM MENARIK MINAT BELI KONSUMEN

This research is an analysis that aimed to see the suitability between super hero character (Iron Man, Spiderman, Thor, Captain America) chosen by Frisian Flag Indonesia as a license on Milky, Fruity and Mut mut products toward information allotted in the packaging. Besides, it also explored the interest of kids to the character. It was multi method research. It involved desktop-research and survey which enabled respondents to bring out their perception. The results of this study was Iron Man considered to be a very appropriate character, reflected from the survey and comparison toward the nutrition. Thus, from this research, it is a suggestion for Frisian Flag to focus Iron Man character as one of the steps to increase sales and consumer buying interest.

불완전한 오버워치 게임결과 데이터를 이용한 인공신경망 기반 영웅 캐릭터 추천

본 논문에서는 블리자드 회사에서 제작한 게임 중 하나인 오버워치(Overwatch)에서 불완전한 게임결과데이터를 이용하여 학습데이터를 만들고 이를 학습한 인공신경망을 통하여 사용자에게 유리한 영웅캐릭터를 추천하는 시스템을 제안한다. 인터넷 상에 존재하는 오버워치 게임결과 데이터는 그 형태가 대부분 다르고 비정형적이며 필요한 정보가 일부만 있는 등 불완전한 데이터이다. 이러한 불완전한 데이터들을 모아서 게임 상황에 따라서 적절한 영웅캐릭터를 추천할 수 있는 데이터 셋을 만들었다. 그러나 이렇게 변경된 데이터 셋은 전체 게임 상황에 비교하여 매우 작은 일부분의 결과만을 갖고 있기 때문에 그 정확도가 부족하다. 이를 해결하기 위해 변경된 데이터 셋을 학습데이터로 만들어 인공신경망에 학습을 하고 게임결과가 나오면 지속적으로 학습할 수 있는 인공신경망기반 영웅캐릭터 추천시스템을 개발하였다. 실험결과 초급자 및 중급자들의 경우 스스로 선택한 영웅의 경우보다 추천시스템이 추천한 영웅을 선택했을 때 승률이 향상되는 것을 볼 수 있었다.

The Effect of Hero Archetype in Advertising on Perceived Product Efficacy

This study aimed to examine the effect of the hero archetype in advertising on perceived product efficacy and purchase intention. The hero character was tough and brave to overcome a great trial; he was fighting to achieve a noble goal, and successfully demonstrated the pride's superiority. The use of archetype in advertising attempts to convey meaning to products ; the universal archetype characters can help tell the story of a brand in an easier way. The results of this study suggested that the use of hero archetype in an ad can trigger anthropomorphism, and had a positive effect on perceived product efficacy and purchase intention. Further, the results indicated that the warrior character in a hero had positive effects on perceived product efficacy for male consumers and for consumers with less power.

Heroic Qualities of the Primary Avengers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

This paper examines what makes the superhero team Avengers in the Marvel’s Cinematic Universe a group of remarkable people rather than a chemical mixture that can cause devastation. The focus of this paper lies on the primary avengers such as Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. This paper delves into what they have in common, how they differ from each other, and what make them heroes. In addition, this paper compares a traditional hero character, Rambo, with these primary avengers arguing that making a sacrifice and making a choice of meaning rather than being are how they overcome the emotion of fear. In order to do this, this paper engages Helen Block Lewis’s findings about the connections between the emotion of shame and the act of violence. Additional researches about this issue and other related issues are examined as well. In addition, Lacan’s argument is used to explain the primary avengers’ choice of meaning instead of being.

Game Data Mining: Clustering and Visualization of Online Game Data in Cyber-Physical Worlds

Since its debut in May 2016, Overwatch has quickly become a popular team-based online video game. Despite the popularity of Overwatch, many new players—who join the game unsure how to compete with the game’s veterans—feel overwhelmed with the vast knowledge required to properly play at higher skill levels. In this paper, a data mining algorithm is designed and developed for clustering and visualization of online game data at the cyber-physical world boundary. Scientifically, the algorithm uses affinity propagation for clustering and two-dimensional graphs for visualizing online game data. The algorithm analyzes the Overwatch game data for the discovery of new knowledge about current players and the clustering of data for each hero character. This knowledge enables the analysis of individual clusters and provides statistics that have a high correlation with winning player strategies. These statistics are expected to have a large influence on how a character is played, and thus can aid new players in learning their priorities as each hero character. In other words, the algorithm helps analyze the online game playing data, get insight about the grouping or clusters of players, and offer suggestions to new players of the game.

Transforming the Hero of I Am Legend

:This article tracks the hero of Richard Matheson's I Am Legend across four screen adaptations: The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, The Simpsons's “The Homega Man,” and I Am Legend. The article examines how the hero's character changes from an anomaly to a messiah.

Like the good or bad guy—Empathy in antisocial and prosocial games.

Evidence suggests that violent media influence users’ cognitions, affect, and behavior in a negative way, whereas prosocial media have been shown to increase the probability of prosocial behavior. In the present study, it was tested whether empathy moderates these media effects. In two experiments (N 80 each), inducing empathy by means of a text (Study 1) or a video clip (Study 2) before playing a video game caused differential effects on cognitions and behavior depending on the nature of the subsequent video game: The induction had positive effects on participants’ behavior (i.e., decreasing antisocial and increasing prosocial behavior) after a prosocial game (Study 1), or when participants played a positive hero character in an antisocial game (Study 2). In contrast, empathy increased antisocial behavior and reduced prosocial behavior after playing a mean character in an antisocial game (Study 1 and 2). These findings call attention to the differential effects of empathy depending on game type and game character, thereby questioning the unconditional positive reputation of empathy in the context of video game research.

Cultural Characters and Climate Change: How Heroes Shape Our Perception of Climate Science

ObjectiveThis research examines how narrative communication structures influence the public's perceptions of risk and policy preferences related to climate change.MethodsAn Internet‐based experiment is used to expose roughly 1,500 census‐balanced U.S. respondents to climate change information. Four experimental treatments are operationalized: a baseline control fact list and three culturally nuanced narratives.ResultsOrdinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis indicates that narrative structure, particularly through the hero character, plays a powerful role in shaping climate change perceptions of risk and policy preferences.ConclusionExplanations of the public's perceptions of risk and climate change policy preferences should more explicitly account for the role of dominant climate narratives.

Impact d’une campagne de sensibilisation sur le cancer sur un échantillon de femmes en traitement pour un premier cancer du sein

In 2007, the French National Cancer Institute initiated a cancer communication campaign entitled “We are two million ordinary heroes”. Aims of this study were to investigate perceptions about this campaign, for 34 women treated for breast cancer. Triangulation of the reports from narratives and assessment of psychological variables ensures better validity of the data. Three psychological identification processes have been identified: identification with the hero character with a value of emotional repression; adherence to content “ordinary” with low-level of perceived self-efficacy; no identification in response to a double-bind message, with sense-making process about traumatic event. These findings underscore the need to promote communication health campaigns taking into account possible effects of media discourse on individuals and families struggling with cancer.

Violent Female Action Characters in Contemporary American Cinema

This research is a content analysis of violent female action characters (“VFAC”) shown in American action films from 1991 through 2005. The analysis focused on three aspects of VFACs: (1) gender stereotypes, (2) demographics, and (3) quantity and type of violence. Findings showed that 58.6% of VFACs were portrayed in a submissive role to the male hero in the film, and 42% were romantically linked to him. The average VFAC was young, white, highly educated, and unmarried. VFACs engaged in masculine types of violence yet retained feminine stereotypes due to their submissive role and romantic involvement with a dominant male hero character. The findings suggest continued gender stereotypes set within a violent framework of contemporary American cinema.

SOCIAL RANK IN THE "POEMA DE MIO CID"

There was an old and perhaps rather simplistic view about the Poema de mio Cid that its hero was 'bourgeois', and that the spirit of the poem might be called 'democratic'. Both terms, to be sure, are in different ways anachronistic when one is talking about the early Middle Ages in Castile and Leon. Before examining the supposed presence of some sort of 'democratic' ethos in the poem, it will be best to dispose of the idea that the hero is 'bourgeois'. It seems to arise from some aspects of his behaviour which were seen by critics of a past age as 'nonheroic'. In part this is a question of the poet's eye for telling detail which we might call realistic: the Qd takes care to provide materially for his men; horses are fed and watered (and on one notoriously bathetic occasion, tied up so that they don't go wandering off at a high dramatic point in the action: line 2779); there is a constant preoccupation - non-epic in some comparative contexts - with money, and with legalities over quite small matters. This, however, has more to do with narrative mode than with the hero's character or social position.I have written on the legalism of the poem on two occasions: first on the specific instance of the relationship between the hero and the king, and more recently in a wider context of Old Spanish epic poetry's apparent concern with legal matters,1 and I don't propose to go into any more detail here on matters covered in those essays. Instead, I shall look at those terms used in the Poema to define social rank and relationships, and see what we can deduce from these terms about the thematic points the poet is making.At the top of the social scale comes the king, rey, about which little need be said. The king who is near the centre of the action is Alfonso VI, King of Castile and Leon; at a late stage in the work there is mention of the kings of two other peninsular kingdoms, Navarre and Aragon, to which I shall return. Alfonso is the Cid's lord, the one who exiles him, who gradually accepts the loyal vassal back into his favour, who promotes the unfortunate marriage of the Cid's daughters to members of his own court, and who is subsequently called on to dispense justice and restore the hero's honour when those same marriages collapse in such a spectacular manner.The next term to be discussed is a relatively complex one, that is, infante. Its complexity comes from the fact that it is used in three separate senses in the Poema. First, as in the cognate English term 'infant', it can mean 'small child': in at least one of the two instances in which it is applied to the Cid's daughters it clearly has this sense:ifantes son e de dias chicas; (1. i69b)2the same is certainly an acceptable interpretation of the second case:la mugier de mio Cid e sus fijas las infantes, (L 1279)though maybe one should not be quite so categorical about its meaning in the latter case in the light of what follows about the third sense of the word.Second, it can have its modern Spanish meaning, the particular one of 'prince', but specifically a prince who is the son of a king. An interesting medieval example is provided by the important fourteenth-century figure don Juan Manuel. He was the nephew of one king and the uncle of another, but although he played an important part in the royal politics of his day and was in fact regent during the minority of his nephew, his father was not king, and so Juan Manuel was not an infante: something which seems to have irked him considerably; but he was a stickler for protocol in these matters and accepted his lot. In the poem, the royal infantes mentioned are the crown princes of Navarre and Aragon, who become the second husbands of the Cid's daughters at the end of the poem. It is explicitly stated that in the fullness of time the women will become the queens of those countries:[the royal envoys] piden sus fijas a mio Cid el Campeador por ser reinas de Navarra e de Aragon, (lines 3398f. …

The psychology of the Western: how the American psyche plays out on screen

Western films are often considered sprawling reflections of the American spirit. This book analyzes the archetypes, themes, and figures within the principal mythology of the western frontier. Western themes are interpreted as expressions of cultural needs that perform specific psychological functions for the audience. The chapters are devoted to the frontier hero character, the roles of women and Native Americans, and the work of the genre's most prolific directors, Anthony Mann and John Ford. The book includes a filmography and movie stills.

The Development of Aggressive Mental Models in Young Children

This study was undertaken to examine why a previous study revealed that children inaccurately recalled “seeing” violence in a nonviolent cartoon clip. We used a 2 (still photo vs. video clip) × 2 (action hero vs. neutral character) repeated measure experimental design and showed preschoolers (33–60 months) two photos and two video clips. Children were asked to tell a story about what might happen next. In addition, parents filled out a brief questionnaire. Results indicate that first, children whose parents reported that they had never been exposed to violent cartoons gave fewer aggressive responses than those who had seen one. Second, character type appears to have a greater effect on children's aggressive mental models than the narrative does. Overall, the effect of stereotypical action characters (as compared to neutral characters) is greater than it is for the video clip versus still-photo manipulation. Third, older children provided more aggressive story endings to the action character in the video sequence compared to younger children who saw the neutral character in the still photo or the neutral character in the video sequence. In sum, a single exposure to action cartoons may help very young children establish mental models for aggression. Second, both older and younger children are influenced by action cartoons, but older children are better able to incorporate story information whereas younger children focus on character appearance. Results are discussed in terms of mental models and child development.

Ears and Father, Ogres and Community: Reply to Guntis Å midchens

Ears and Father, Ogres and Community: Reply to Guntis Smidchens Sergei Kruks Stalin was right when he referred to writers as the engineers of human souls. I have to admit that I too was thus "engineered"—by Andrejs Pumpurs' 1888 Latvian epic poem Lāčplēsis (Bear-Slayer). It is a work whose social meaning scholars still ponder. My schoolteacher reproached me for a critical essay I wrote in which I suggested that the hero was indecisive, a trait that made the poem boring for me to read. At that point in my life, I did not yet know that the business of "making" literary heroes was a task of state ideology. I drew a lesson from this experience: one has to hide real thoughts about matters of public interest. My next important test concerned the protagonist of Ivan Turgenev's Fathers and Sons, the famous nihilist Evgenii Bazarov, who according to Soviet ideology was a precursor of Russian revolutionaries. This time my essay was not critical, but abundant in ecstatic glorification. Of course, I was convinced that my essay was neither false nor hypocritical but a statement of non-violent resistance to an ideologized educational system. Paradoxically, these teenage memories criss-cross with the social problems I find myself now researching in an "adult" society with no prior democratic experience (forget about liberalism). Paradigmatic and Syntagmatic Analysis Pumpurs defined Lāčplēsis as an "epic song." Its canonic status as epic was attributed to it by literary critics. Genre here fulfils a transtextual function in two ways defined by Gérard Genette (1982): generic [End Page 281] definition wraps the poem paratextually (that is, presenting it as an epic) while the composition imitates epic architextually (that is, in its structure). Recognizing these hints, the reader is encouraged to apply interpretive schemes peculiar to the national heroic epic. Nevertheless, it does not mean that the text itself follows this ancient form of storytelling. In the second half of the nineteenth century, in a society seeking to develop national consciousness, Lāčplēsis had to do more than tell a story. In my view, therefore, the text needs to be analyzed with reference to how it fulfilled both paratextual and architextual functions. First, as a literary work written in the period of nation building, Pumpurs' epic enabled the reading community to define itself as a political community with shared values and goals. To use Homi Bhabha's terminology, it served as the narration of the nation. As author, Pumpurs consciously remodeled the folk epic genre to connect it to the most important issues of his epoch. He used folklore as a means to prompt readers to reflect on the nation and what the nation had to achieve (Kalninš 1984). The inclusion of Enlightenment ideas about national sovereignty, which are essential to the meaning of the text, precluded the total imitation of the epic form in Lāčplēsis. Secondly, transtextual reference to the epic genre was intended as proof of the longevity of a community whose boundaries coincided with language. The text's status as folklore increases its discursive authority by grounding political claims in historical tradition and providing a sense of the continuity of the "nation." Guntis Šmidchens applies formal paradigmatic analysis to Lāčplēsis, that is, he seeks to demonstrate the strength of the hero's character by enumerating positively evaluated moves. In so doing, he ignores the syntagm of the story. By extracting events from the context one loses sight of the forest behind the trees. In my approach to Lāčplēsis, I followed Tzvetan Todorov, who encourages scholars to read—and to take into account—the entire text and not only its parts (1971:177). The interpreter is expected to grasp how particular events lead the hero to (or distract him from) successfully accomplishing his final test. In light of the tragic finale of the tribe, it is interesting to think about how Pumpurs would explain the hero...

Assessing the validity of the semantic differential portion of the Apperceptive Personality Test.

This study investigated the validity of the semantic differential portion of the Apperceptive Personality Test with 225 undergraduates who completed the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale, actual-self and ideal-self semantic differential scales (e.g., Actual-self and ideal-self), and either the Apperceptive Personality Test or a modified version. A projected-self score was calculated using the semantic differential ratings of the hero(ine) character on the test, e.g., Projected self. A strong negative correlation indicated that, as the difference between the Ideal-self and Actual-self dereased, the difference between the Actual-self and Projected-self increased. Discriminant analyses indicated that highly guarded participants, e.g., high Social Desirability scores, showed more congruency between Ideal-self and Actual-self and less congruency between Actual-self ratings and Projected-self on the APT than did less guarded participants. When the difference scores incorporated only those semantic differential items that loaded on an Ealuative factor, the same result of discriminant analysis was found when participants who comleted the modified version were included. These findings support the validity of the test's semantic differential items and suggest that guardedness tends to promote more similarity between Actual-self and Ideal-self and less similarity between Actual-self and Projected-self.