Holding Out for a Hero

One thing that these works share is a hero on some kind of amazing quest. Whether it is a quest to kill something, find something, or save something, it is most certainly a quest. They also have a hero that undertakes the quest. The main characters of the works are certainly heroes, at least in my opinion. To me, a hero is one who is different from everyone else and uses their uniqueness to accomplish a task for others. This difference can be anything, from Beowulf’s extreme muscles to Huck Finn’s different way of thinking. Heroes often help others and do what they think is right, but sometimes, other people may not consider their actions right or moral. For example, I appreciated the ancient hero Gilgamesh when he killed Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven who were causing problems in the forest and town, but I did not agree with his desperate search for eternal life after Enkidu’s death. It is certainly possible for a hero to be a heroine; they would just need to meet the description of a hero above. The reason that there are no female heroes on the list is because for the most part, when the works were created, women did not have the same role in society that they have today. This is evident in Beowulf, The Odyssey, Gilgamesh, and even to a lesser extent, The Lord of the Rings. Women were expected to stay at home and work while men fought and accomplished great things. There is no concrete guideline for how a hero must act. If the person does what they believe to be right and others agree with them, then they could be considered a hero by others. It is not possible to give yourself the title of hero. The people who tell the stories of the hero give them the title of hero. Before stories were written, they were passed down through word of mouth like with Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and The Odyssey. The purpose of heroes is to do things for others. If they do not, nobody will think of them as a hero and they will not be remembered for their actions. I believe that heroes are necessary. Things will not change unless someone like a hero makes them change. The quote, “Unhappy the land that needs heroes,” means that if a land is in need of heroes, then there are problems in the land and the people are naturally unhappy. It is not the need of heroes that creates the unhappiness, but the problems that create the unhappiness and need for heroes.