Heroes and Heroines: Part I

All dressed in white. All dressed in black. Lace, frills and a bejeweled rapier. Hot leather and a laser gun. A memory of a time when things were beautiful and an urgency to return the former glory. A deep, dark past  filled with regret and a list of moral debts to pay. Compassion, patriotism, humility. Sarcasm, narcissism, an ego-driven save-the-world agenda. Timid but determined. Not a fear in the world.

Each characteristic is something that has come to define heroes in both literature and cinema for the western world. Some call them stereotypes; others call them classics. But whatever you call them, they are to the American culture the top qualifications for a true hero or heroine, whether in historical fiction, crime investigation, or high fantasy. We all love reading about that hero who saved his world from utter destruction, the heroine who sacrificed everything for those she loved. It’s what gives us hope to face a world full of sorrow, suffering and terrible injustice.

But what is it exactly is it that makes a person a hero? Is it just their outfit, attitude and background? Or is it the depth of their character, the quirks of their personality, their strong moral conscience, the way they laugh in the face of danger?

When it comes to writing, it is ESSENTIAL that you not only know your hero but also that you know why he’s the hero.

Looking around at the myriad of books and movies based on the hero’s journey, it’s easy to single out the qualities of the literary hero. But basically, the hero is the hero because he or she is the good guy in the story and in the end helps defeat the bad guy.

Webster’s online dictionary defines a hero this way: “A person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities.” Succinctly put, and yet full of meaning. Under this definition, a hero doesn’t necessarily mean a good person. Instead, a hero is just somebody who did something extraordinary or has a character others look up to.

Now, most people see the “hero” as being the good guy (although there is a large movement toward making the bad guy the hero, too). So in our writer’s eyes, a hero has to be more than just somebody who did something and everybody cheered. A hero has to follow certain structural guidelines, embrace certain foundational beliefs about his or her calling in life. While there are a number of hero stereotypes, there is one basic rule that all heroes follow:

A literary hero must be a leader.

Whether they are born to lead or find out in the second chapter that they had a kingdom they didn’t know about left to them, the hero must always at some point take the lead and have others follow him or her. That is what makes a hero different from a sidekick.

In the next post, I'll be making a list of kinds of heroes, and following that giving samples and examples of each of those kinds. Stay tuned!

Sincerely,

          Yours Truly