Writing Homework Help

I’m working on a humanities discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Intro to the discussion question:

Our exploration of stories about the Irish superhero Cú Chulainn come to an end with “Cú Chulainn’s Boyhood Deeds.”  These stories, which are more like short anecdotes than complete stories, offer readers more of the “weird and wonderful” or simply those bizarre events have come to expect with this ancient Irish material. We just have to accept it – there is no explanation, no logic possible to make sense of what we encounter here. We have to accept what we read, and enjoy!!

Discussion Question: 

Cú Chulainn is famous (or perhaps, infamous) for the “battle fury” or “warp spasm” which appears even at a very young age. Perhaps it is this “warp spasm” that dramatizes his heroic identity and his heroic status so effectively. Comment on the episode in “Cú Chulainn’s Boyhood Deeds” where the young hero, after time spent killing and otherwise proving his hero-nature, returns to Emain Macha just as rage possesses him, and begins the transformation. As the Ulstermen are watching his chariot approach Emain Macha, and as they realize his heated state, how do they decide to deal with the situation (especially since Cú Chulainn is threatening a blood bath when he arrives at his destination!). How do you understand and explain this particular strategy as an effective response to Cú Chulainn’s heroic rage? (Who would want to live in close proximity to this sort of blind fury?!)

Read:

The Táin: Cúchulainn’s Boyhood Deeds (76-92)

Celtic Myth and Legend: Introductory Notes (3) attached below