I Am Not a Hero

Lyra Belacqua is the hero of His Dark Materials, closing all inter-dimensional windows to stabilize the universe.
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The word "hero" comes from the Greek word meaning "protector" or "defender", and heroes in Greek mythology are demigods, implying that those who can be considered heroes are never fully human, nor can any regular human hope to achieve such a title.  However, readers and critics alike recognize protagonists from Beowulf, The Odyssey, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn as heroes, heroes who are fully human.  The definition of a hero has expanded to include not only humans from this world and demigods, but also creatures and humans of another realm, as seen in movies such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, or The Lord of the Rings.  The division between good and evil in all of these works of art allows heroes to form.  Regardless of which world the characters come from, these heroes have all gone on some long, extended journey (of the works that I have read or watched) that require sacrifice on their personal part to save or protect something near to them or the world at large.  A hero need not be of an un-human race, but what they do makes then seem superior to humans and other-worldly.

Heroic actions or behavior is an act that represents or mimics what a hero would do in a certain situation, but the doer is not necessarily a hero.  The individual may have some other defining characteristics that contradict those of a hero.  If I were to save a child from a burning house, my action would be heroic, but I would not be a hero.  I did not go on a long, extended journey that required personal sacrifice.  To have the adjective “hero” describe a person takes time and repetition of heroic acts, not just one single selfless act.  Superman is not a hero because he saved one person once, but because he does it repeatedly without selfish motive and for great good!

Being called a heroine does not make a woman any less of a hero.  There is no difference in meaning, besides the gender issue, between these words, but the word “hero” conjures up images of masculine figures of the male gender.  Female heroes are present in the works of literature or film mentioned previously, but most not think of them as the heroes of the works.  When prompted to say who the hero of the Harry Potter series is, the majority of readers will respond with Harry Potter.  Yet by the same definition that makes the boy who lived a hero, Hermione Granger is also a hero, and she is certainly no less of a hero than Harry.  She makes many sacrifices to help Harry defeat Lord Voldemort, and her sacrifices may even be more difficult to make than Harry’s.  While Harry has no choice but to grow up without his parents and fight Lord Voldemort, Hermione consciously erases her parents’ memories and any trace of her life from their brains to safely embark on a journey to defeat Voldemort.

Heroes represent their moral values.  They do what is right for others and the world, intentionally or unintentionally, and better the lives of all humans.  Huckleberry Finn, by ripping up the letter that contains the location of Jim, intentionally makes a decision to follow his conscience and to view Jim as a human and not just a slave.  However, he unintentionally and unknowingly does what is right for the country as a whole and not just for Jim, recognizing African-Americans as people and not just property.  Still, even though heroes are seemingly the best examples of human conduct, not all humans need heroes.  Some may need them to have as role models, a person to idolize and help shape their goals in life.  Others need heroes to get work done that they cannot do themselves, such as destroying the Ring and defeating Sauron, but some people do not need heroes at all, choosing to do the work themselves and making their own goals.  These people choose to lead their own independent lives regardless of how others lived.

“Unhappy the land that needs heroes”, says Bertolt Brecht, a statement that reflects the exact purpose of heroes.  All heroes change some undesirable aspect of the world, and the presence of a hero indicates that there is, or there was, something wrong with the land.  Nobody needs to make personal sacrifices like heroes do if life is ideal.  Frodo would not need to destroy the Ring if Sauron did not exist and Middle-earth was a land of peace.  Without Lord Voldemort terrorizing the magical world, Harry Potter would not be Harry Potter, the boy who lived.  Even though some humans do not need heroes, the world needs heroes to save itself from chaos or destruction.