Myths and heroes

MYTHS AND HEROES

• I am going to talk about the notion of Myths and Heroes. First, I would like to give a definition of this notion: a myth is a story that may be real or part of fiction. AS for heroes, the term can apply to diverse types of people such as marvel characters with super-powers, real persons involved in our everyday lives, or people who left a mark in history. There are iconic figures too. I will answer the following question: How do Scottish myths participate in the national spirit of defiance?
• Introduction: On 1 May 1707, England and Scotland united to form the United Kingdom of Great-Britain. However, Scotland has kept a desire for independence and its fighting can be defined as a major force that helped in the building of the nation.

-First of all, Scotland has many emblems and heroes. For example, the tartan, which is a traditional cloth, symbolize family, the past (Tartan Day), the hymn “Scot Wha Hae”, who highlights freedom and pride and at last the thistle, and pipes, who gave courage in the battlefields. As for heroes, there are mythic figures like William Wallace or Black Agnes. We saw them in class, and they are two symbols of the resistance against the English. Those emblems are standing for national pride and those mythic figures are seen as the embodiment of the resistance.

-The Scots have been defying the English for centuries and they are still defying them today. For example, William Wallace had speech abilities that galvanise the troops and Mhairi Black, the youngest MP of all times gave a first speech and impressed the Parliament buy her strong will and her feistiness. The Scots used mockery, as we saw with Black Agnes, who defend her castle from the invaders, and defeated an English commander, or with Lady Macbeth in an extract of “The Tragedy of Macbeth” by Shakespeare. She’s dominating and manipulating her husband.

-The defiance and the fighting spirit are also found in politics and sports. For example, Mhairi Black, in an article of Ben Cohen, is presented as talented, strong-willed and impressive. As for sports, Andy Murray is one of the best of his time, he opposed match of real resistance. He is a significant cultural icon and he evokes the traditional of defiance.

Conclusion: The Scots are proud of their culture and history. Their spirit of defiance has been a driving force so far. Will this one be enough for the nation to gets its independence back?

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