What Is A Hero?

In Beowulf, The Odyssey, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Lord of the Rings, the main character, or the protagonist, is involved in some kind of struggle which he/she must overcome.

A hero is an individual who is courageous, selfless, and possesses some kind of extraordinary power. A hero must be courageous to face seemingly insurmountable odds. For example, Luke Skywalker in Star Wars had to take on the task of destroying the Death Star which seemed impossible. He succeeded in doing this by courageously taking on the task, putting the freedom of the galaxy before his own needs, and, most importantly, using the "Force" (which he is especially good at) and thus makes him a hero.

A woman can most definitely be a hero. Some of the greatest pop icons are heroines (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider). The reason women did not have the leading role as a hero in the books written/movies made is because these works were created at a time when women were generally never viewed as "real heroes". This sexism is derived from the stereotype of women being less capable of men in general.

Heroes serve as role models for many. Heroes give hope to those who may have none, even though many heroes are fictional. We need heroes to solve the problems that "everyday people" cannot. The quote "Unhappy the land that needs heroes." says that unless there are no problems in a society, heroes are needed. Heroes obviously cannot satisfy the needs of everyone and that is why the "land" is unhappy.

Realistically, ordinary people can be heroes. A hero doesn't have to be a muscular man in spandex who can fly. Real life heroes are often never glorified, much less noticed. A real hero, to me, is one who does what is moral without expecting to get anything in return. A hero could be an older brother or sister taking time out of his/her day to play with a younger sibling. A hero could be a father who decides to say "No." just once to his demanding job in order to spend time with his family. A hero could be a teacher, a classmate, a stranger. The one sole thing heroes do for us, fictional and real, is give us hope. If one person can renew my faith in the human race, he or she is a hero to me.