Introduction
Since the dawn of time, there has been intense discussion about the definition of a hero. The original heroes were sons of humankind and deity who first appeared in classical Greek literature. There are significant differences between the Ancient Greek and contemporary ideas of heroism. A hero in the current day and age is the knight in shining armor who is prepared to give his life to safeguard the lives of others. Even though this term does not exhaustively illustrate the Greek notion of heroism, it would be absurd to disregard it. A hero in literature is a sort of character that exemplifies bravery and the capacity to endure dangerous or challenging circumstances or to give their lives in the service of the betterment. Heroes frequently carry out daring acts and usually behave following their firm convictions. There has been a shift in how the literary hero is portrayed across different books as depicted in this essay.
The Odyssey
The Odyssey’s Odysseus figure embodies the traits of a hero attributable to his arduous struggles, tremendous strength, and cunning intellect. Odysseus is incredibly strong and powerful, which is especially evident when he engages in combat with his foes. “So we seized our stake with its fiery tip and bored it round and round in the giant’s eye” (Homer, The Odyssey 223). He is essentially traveling to save his people and the nation of Ithaka, which he leads. Through the non-linear narrative of this epic poem, which starts in medas res, Homer’s readers have the opportunity to witness Odysseus’ development into a traditional hero. When Odysseus sets out on his quest, he is self-centered and battles with his enormous hubris. However, the reader starts to see a completely new character and finally a hero after the hero successfully completes each stage of the hero’s journey. By displaying to the audience his keen intelligence, humble modesty, and unwavering leadership, Odysseus demonstrates the meaning of a hero.
The Iliad
There are many heroes and fighters in The Iliad, but Achilles and Hector stand out as the greatest. Achilles is a hero for a number of reasons, key among them being that he reflected the qualities of the typical Greek citizen at the era Homer composed. “O my mother! I was born to die young, it is true, but honor I was to have from Zeus, Olympian, thundered on high! And now he has not given me one little bit! Yes, my lord king Agamemnon has insulted me! He has taken my prize and keeps it; he has robbed me myself” (Homer, The Iliad 17). Achilles is pleading with his mother to aid him in regaining his glory after Agamemnon took his treasure, Briseis. Honor was very important in ancient Greece, and by seizing Achilles’ trophy, Agamemnon has robbed him not just of his hard-earned award but also of his honor. For a Greek citizen, such a two-fold loss would be disastrous and therefore, Achilles depicts the meaning of a hero by taking chances.
On the other hand, Hector’s daring bravery, unwavering devotion to his people and family and selflessness toward others make him a hero. Achilles never truly demonstrates true courage on the battlefield, whereas Hector displays courage by daring actions and assured choices. As Achilles approaches Hector close to the walls of Troy, Hector thinks to himself, “Better to lock up in mortal combat As soon as possible and see to whom God in Olympus awards the victory,” (Homer, The Iliad 147). Hector is illustrated as a very compassionate hero; he is kind to his spouse and child, defends his brother, participates in the battle to protect Troy, and only kills when it is absolutely necessary to do so; he never takes pleasure in killing. These deeds aid in the audience’s comprehension of the Illiad’s definition of a hero.
Achieving victory via battle is not the true secret to the ‘Hero’s’ identity. Although Achilles is referred to as “heroic” throughout, it is possible that his transformation into “The Hero” does not occur until the very end because of his violent and immoral behavior. Despite his fighting and thus gaining honor through bravery, how he is portrayed against nature supports the notion that this method of gaining honor is learned. Therefore, it might be interpreted as unnatural, suggesting that this is why he does not achieve the status of an ultimate hero until the poem’s conclusion. At the poem’s conclusion, Achilles demonstrates morality and compassion. Achilles demonstrates the attitude and practice of compassion as he halts the savage combat to provide moral justice for Hector, a fellow human. The significance of feeling, the basis of human inclination, and the learned attribute of persistent courage and participation in battle shows the meaning of a hero in this book.
The Battle of Maldon
Byrhtnoth in The Battle of Maldon is depicted as embodying the ideal concept of an Anglo-Saxon hero with his self-dignity and love of country. The protectors of the land, the populace, and the treasure are seen as heroes. Byrhtnoth gives the impression of inevitability when he says, “the fight with its glory drew close, the moment had arrived for fated men to fall in that spot” (Griffiths 95). In light of this, Byrhtnoth decides to protect his territory and national treasure, even if it means risking his own life and the lives of his troops. Such actions reflected his heroism and rash determination to uphold Anglo-Saxon honor. The Battle of Manion depicts valiant, fruitless struggles against the evil foe of the day and is full of heroic characters. There should be no compromises when making choices since national pride is regarded as valuable and cannot be defiled. Byrhtnoth exhibits a hero as a person who takes pleasure in his individuality and refuse to give up without fighting back.
The Battle of Manion exalts the hero and the bond between God and the thane, which inspires bravery. Byrhtnoth says, “God alone can tell who at the end may hold this battlefield” (Griffiths 101). He appears to place his faith in God’s justice, believing that should the Anglo-Saxons perish, they will do so in dignity. He therefore urges that a fair fight with the enemy be had and that no advantage be taken of the landform. This quality has been shown to shine positively in a variety of heroic figures in English literature. Byrhtnoth’s behavior is a reflection that a hero should quest for fairness and justice rather than pride or conceit.
The Battle of Brunanburh
The Battle of Brunanburh honors the heroic actions of the West-Saxon king Athelstan and his brother Edmund. Their victory over the combined Viking and Scots forces strengthened the political position of the Wessex region, giving them control over all of England (Livingston 282). The poem, therefore, is a valiant commendation melody that recalls a great military victory, fosters the renown of the West-Saxon founders, and extols the fulfillment of their sovereign duties. Complete ranges of conventional and classical heroic tactics are employed in this panegyric poem. The Battle of Brunanburh’s use of epithets intensifies the character descriptions, giving the text a more profound significance. One can infer Constantinus’ advanced age from using the term “grey-haired” in the pre-modified phrase “grey-haired warrior.” The epithet’s usage emphasizes his age as linked to frailty and weakness, rather than solid and heroic. The Battle of Brunanburh portrays a hero as a person who could survive to ancient ages and were nevertheless represented as valiant and brave.
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings appears to have flat characterization, which is accomplished by turning an average individual facing enormous pressures into heroes. The author of The Lord of the Rings appears to have achieved the delicate balancing act of creating noble characters who rise to the challenge and still giving them humility and making them approachable to the reader. Since they are embroiled in situations where the world’s destiny is on the line, most of the iconic roles in Middle-Earth might be categorized as epic heroes. The literary representations of Aragorn and Boromir, both human figures, are prominent examples of epic heroes; Aragorn is a romantic hero, while Boromir is a tragic hero. The Lord of the Rings depicts a hero as a person who saves his people from tragedy while helping and embracing everyone, thus, becoming more of a servant.
The concept of being a hero in The Lord of the Rings is founded on medieval custom, but it has been modified because there is not just one hero but a group of heroes with diverse qualities. Aragorn, who comes from a line of rulers and is a person born to serve as a hero, rises from the wilderness and is consistently bold and reserved. He could say, “Courage is found in unlikely places” (Tolkien 1167). From a mythical perspective, Aragorn’s trip represents the beginning of the new, while Frodo marks the old’s offensive end. The Lord of the Rings‘ heroic elements is derived from Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon culture, and Germanic myth and legend.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
The poem honors the “heroes” who participated in the disastrous cavalry charge and two different events at once. The author says, “Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die” (Tennyson 24). By this statement, he commends the cavalrymen’s valor for riding into such a dreadful and horrifying conflict. On the other hand, the speaker commends their fidelity to military hierarchy and their willingness to carry out orders even when they are aware that they are “blundering.” Additionally, it implies that because the cavalrymen were model soldiers, they are not to blame for this tactical calamity. The poem thus implies that heroism simultaneously entails bravery and dedication to duty.
Mrs. Dalloway
The book Mrs Dalloway shows contemporary heroes, heroines, and supervillains. In this book, Septimus was a great fighter in the First World War. In Mrs. Dalloway “he had won crosses and was elevated to a post of enormous significance” (Woolf 88). He is an important figure in the book since he was among the first to depict the atrocities of war. He started out as a child who admired Shakespeare and poetry, anxious to show himself a man via war. He came out of the war highly skeptical of war and its goals; his alteration by the fight was enormous. This book defines a hero as a person who fights without giving up on ambitions that appear unreachable.
Slaughter-House Five
The Slaughterhouse-Five novel exposes the fallacy of celebrating the idea of a valiant and macho war hero, despite the reality of war’s random killings and unskilled soldiers. Billy, the main character in this book, has resentment toward war. He is able to interact with the aliens when he is at the prison on the world Tralfamadore. He claims to come from a world “that has been engaged in senseless slaughter since the beginning of time” in a talk with them (Vonnegut 116). War is the “senseless slaughter” to which he refers in the quote. The bombing of Dresden is also used to show the poor depiction of heroism. At this time, the Germans were reminded to submit to the Allied troops by the killing of almost 135,000 civilians in an undefended city. The bombing makes the reader livid at the methods a man employs to guarantee his rival will lose. In this book, the reader is exhorted to despise war and to give up any illusions that it is a setting for acts of bravery and heroism.
Conclusion
There has been a shift in how the literary hero is portrayed across different books as represented in this essay. Heroes in literature serve as living embodiments of the highest cultural values. Literature’s heroes can help one learn what nobility is and help us trace the evolution of Western society. It is important to remember that heroes fabricated by contemporary media frequently have a detrimental long-term effect on people’s life. Young people are highly motivated by risk-takers and diehards. Young individuals frequently do foolish things and take chances even if it is unnecessary and dangerous for them and those around them. A literary work that features a hero allows the reader to trace a character’s path as they try to resolve the issue in the story.
Works Cited
Griffiths, Bill. The Battle of Maldon. Pinner: Anglo-Saxon Books, 1959.
Homer. The Iliad. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Homer. The Odyssey. New York: Vintage Books, 1990.
Livingston, Michael. The Battle of Brunanburh. Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2011.
Tolkien, John. The Lord of the Rings. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1968.
Tennyson, Alfred. The Charge of the Light Brigade. New York: Golden Press, 1964.
Vonnegut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five. New York: Dial Press, 2005.
Woolf, Virginia. Mrs Dalloway. London: Hogarth Press, 1925.