San Antonio College Library

Dr. Vandiver introduces the great epic of ancient Greeks, the Iliad. She addresses critical and interpretative issues, and gives background information on cultural assumptions.

Discusses literary works such as The Odyssey by Homer, Ulysses by James Joyce, The Odyssey : a modern sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis, War and peace by Leo Tolstoy, The Faithful Johannes, The razor's edge by W. Somerset Maugham, and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse.

The originality of this work lies in examining the both the nature of and the conflict between the Beylist hero and his society. For Atherton, the hero's image of himself determines the entire structure of Stendhal's novels. There is the tension arising between the ideal and reality, contrasting the "ethic of the knight and of the diplomat." The exceptional character of the Stendhalian hero--the frantic pace, the mental activity that never ceases,...

"The trickster and the hero, found in so many of the world's oral traditions, are seemingly opposed but often united in one character. Trickster and Hero provides a comparative look at a rich array of world oral traditions, folktales, mythologies, and literatures--from The Odyssey, The Epic of Gilgamesh, and Beowulf to Native American and African tales. Award-winning folklorist Harold Scheub explores the "Trickster moment," the moment in the story...