Heroes.
HEROES
What is a hero ? Is it the big fearless man who leads his men into an desperate fight against all odds OR the small scrawny man at his side with shit and piss in his pants, with trembling legs and his mind full of fear who still continues forward because there is a tiny chance they can make a difference ?
In literature there seems to be an abundance of the first kind, while in the real world the second type seems more common. I’ll guess that the first kind is easier to write, or to be honest, I KNOW from experience he is easier to write.
What divides heroes from “ordinary” men ? Should we only care about the story of the hero, or can the ordinary mans story be just as interesting ? I often find the villain more interesting than the hero, both in books and movies. Why is it easier to make an interesting villain than an interesting hero ?
Now here is some people I admire, these people are blind, deaf, lacking an limb or two or other handicaps but when some maniac asks them to accompany him on an 500 kilometre trip across the artic north they say yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qNijYx7whM&feature=channel
What is a hero ? Is it the big fearless man who leads his men into an desperate fight against all odds OR the small scrawny man at his side with shit and piss in his pants, with trembling legs and his mind full of fear who still continues forward because there is a tiny chance they can make a difference ?
In literature there seems to be an abundance of the first kind, while in the real world the second type seems more common. I’ll guess that the first kind is easier to write, or to be honest, I KNOW from experience he is easier to write.
What divides heroes from “ordinary” men ? Should we only care about the story of the hero, or can the ordinary mans story be just as interesting ? I often find the villain more interesting than the hero, both in books and movies. Why is it easier to make an interesting villain than an interesting hero ?
Now here is some people I admire, these people are blind, deaf, lacking an limb or two or other handicaps but when some maniac asks them to accompany him on an 500 kilometre trip across the artic north they say yes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qNijYx7whM&feature=channel
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16 Comments
To me, a hero is someone who faces mortal danger, or knowingly sacrifices him/herself in order to save one or more other people from serious injury or death. So, when I hear the word 'hero', I don't think of warriors and famous people; I think of firemen, coastguards, combat medics and the like.
So a footballer kicks a ball into a net and is called a hero? Well, I'll raise you a father who, in the course of his job, has rescued countless people from fires and accidents for over 30 years. Methinks I win... ^_^
(Saying that, I was called a hero the other day for getting coursework out of my nightmare Year 10. I'm thinking of changing my name to Perseus... XD)
A hero, to me, is someone who has puts others or the greater good of others before themselves in times of mortal danger.
Bravery, there's another overused word - "He's so brave." In 99% of the cases reported by the press, the "brave" person is simply a victim of circumstance, a boy bitten by a stray dog, a woman thrown from her car by hijackers, a man dangling from a crane because he was daft enough to climb it after 9 pints of Theakston's Old Peculiar and now, come morning, is bitterly regretting that decision as the press turn up to photograph him. Because he's not squealing like a pig, he's automatically brave. Bollox.
Bravery is all about facing and overcoming fear. If you know what has to be done and do it even though you are quite literally pissing in your pants than you are brave. If you are a victim of circumstance and just get on with it, you are not brave - you are normal.
It was this doctrine that caused the Church to excommunicate the Manicheans.
That's all I'm gonna say on the subject, cos I feel that the Cloud isn't the right place for theological debate.
Apologies to Khaloth for clogging up your blog with this stuff, I only meant to mention my admiration for Lucifer as a hero, not to start a religious argument!
To get back on thread, I think I tend to agree with Khaloth that's it's easier to write fictionalised 'he-man heroes' - and that's probably what the majority of readers want. But in Life the real 'action men' are often rather unsavoury characters that you'd probably prefer not to meet in a dark ally. Or they may be good to have on your side in a fight but not the sort you'd happily introduce to your friends at a posh reception. Whereas, in fiction, heroes fulfill both these roles with ease.
In my WIP I set out to write about how the Troubles in Northern Ireland affected 'ordinary people' so my 'heros' are ordinary. I've only completed the first of a trilogy, but I suspect my two protagonists will develop into something more than ordinary before the end - but then, Life's circumstances - the Troubles, in this instance - do bring out the extraordinary in ordinary people. Perhaps that's what makes a hero - ordinary people reacting to extrordinary circumstances. A hero for the moment - when it's necessary, and then back to being ordinary again.
When it comes to religion; it's all complete bullshit, powerfull and lucrative but still just bullshit.
They sort things out. They support the weak against the strong. They are Gods. They are on the siide of rgood verses evil. And 'Dr Who>>>
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