Heroes Anyone?

Arguably the most timeless theme in literature is the battle between good and evil. These struggles try the character of those who find themselves trapped between the two forces. Heroes are the ones who rise up to those challenges and are found victorious. They do not need to be the most glamorous or the best loved, they simply need to succeed where all others would fail. They could be vile people, who under normal circumstances would only be concerned with, say, taking over the world. However, this is exceedingly rare as the nature of a person rarely, if ever, changes, making these vile people unlikely to come to others aid if it means a possible loss for themselves.

Because a hero can be anyone, there are no prerequisites for being a hero. However, as their endeavors must lead to success whether directly through their efforts or with them playing an essential role, heroes tend to have certain traits in common. Courage is perhaps the most common, as soon-to-be-heroes must take the step that no one else has. They must choose the hard path when given the option to turn back. In The Lord of the Rings, for example, Frodo does not have to take the ring past Rivendale. He chooses to after seeing that the other races represented in the Council of Elrond are too invested in the doings of the world and so could not be suitable ring-bearers.

Another common trait is some form of strength. Some heroes, like Odysseus and most other ancient heroes, have some form of divine aid. They are either blessed by the gods, part god, or fated to achieve victory. Others must use more mundane powers that they gain through the experiences of their lives. These could range from their martial training, like the Jedi in Star Wars, to intellectual superiority, like Hermione in Harry Potter, to even skills in writing and oratory, as displayed by Peter and Valentine Wiggin in Ender’s Game. Still others could have the powers “bestowed” upon them, take for instance The Fantastic Four or Wolverine.

While women are often not seen in these lists, as stories with heroes tend to be geared to a male audience, there are many heroines. Throughout history, however, women are not valued very highly is society by those doing the writing (men were the only ones educated until relatively recently), so heroines are written about primarily in modern stories. While The Lord of the Rings, is set in the distant past, it was written recently so you do see a female hero. Eowyn takes up the standard of Rohan and defeats the Witch King, a feat no man could accomplish. In the Justice League, you also see several women who play important roles.

As heroes can only become heroes if they accomplish a feat which a lesser person could not, they are necessarily rare. There simply are not enough worthy troubles, and not enough worthy people. By the time a land is in need of a hero, the common people are desperate and so it must indeed by an unhappy time. This ignores the fact that a multitude of minor problems, while not enough to lure a hero into being, can still make a people quite unhappy.