A Hero Is Defined By Websters Dictionary As A Courageous, Valorous

A hero is defined by Websters dictionary as a “courageous, valorous
man.” There are many people in history that society deems or defines as
“heroes”. An example of a hero from our past is Martin Luther King Jr.. He
went against all odds in his fight for freedom. There are fictional heroes that
can be considered heroes as well. Superman and his antics in saving the
planet are in many ways considered heroism. Many sports stars and actors
are considered by many as heroic figures. Mario Lemiux won his battle with
Hotchkins Disease, a form of cancer, to win a completely different battle, the
Stanley Cup. A hero is a person or character that defies all odds in order to
achieve both the respect and idolization of his fellow human beings.
“Among other characters, a literary hero is a character who lives or struggles
to live by a certain code which he sets for himself or which society or
environment has established for him.” In our readings this year, there are
many characters that exhibit these special qualities.
One of which is Jake, in Ernest Hemingway’s award winning novel,
The Sun Also Rises. This story takes place immediately after World War 1, a
time of great hardship. These hardships results in a digression both morally
and socially. Jake handles this digression like a man and continues to live his
life as a journalist. Jake installs his values on his friends on a trip they take
to France. There are two friends that Jake attempts to help that are very
special to him. Those friends are Robert Cohn, and Brett Ashley. This is an
exemplary example of heroism.
It is clear that Lady Brett Ashley is anything but a lady. She is kind
and sweet, but extremely vulnerable that various men in her life seem to
smother her with. Brett is unhappy with her life and her surroundings and
seeks escape and refuge in the arms of these men. But her actions seem to
always end up hurting her, and you could guess who she runs back to, Jake.
Jake knows that he can never have her as his own, and he accepts this as fact.
This is clear when the Count asks, “why don’t you get married, you two.”
(pg. 68) Although Brett toys with Jake’s emotions, Jake is still accepting of
her problems and is tolerant of her behavior because he loves her
unconditionally and is willing to overlook everything she does. Jake’s
willingness to endure and forgive Brett’s promiscuity and infidelity is an
indication of how heroic Jake really is.
Jake’s war injury forced him to accept living in a seemingly terrible
way for more than one reason. The physical ramifications of his injury carry
over to his social life. When Georgette makes reference to his injury, he
simply replies, “I was hurt in the war.”(pg. 24) Hardly an acceptable answer
for such a sophisticated injury. The acceptance of this injury is the basic
definition of a hero. This is definitely a respectable attribute.
Jake’s feelings toward his friend Robert Cohn are a combination of
jealousy, compassion, and understanding. Jake knew of Robert’s
relationship with Brett, and it ate him up with envy, but at the same time he
knew how it had ended. He had been close friends with Robert, and been
through similar situation with Brett, so he had both compassion and
understanding for Robert’s position. At the same time, Jake is angered with
the way that Robert deals with this. Robert goes around beating up every guy
that attempts to get close with Brett. At one point, he even hits Jake. Jake
takes this like a man and accepts Roberts good with his bad and tries to help
him. Again, Jake’s heroic attributes help a friend in need.
The attitude that Jake possesses is an extremely difficult stance to take.
Not many people could be as understanding and caring as he is. I know this
is a fictional character, but the heroics that Hemingway portrays through Jake
can be taken with a grain of salt and help normal people such as you and I
understand what it takes..... to be a hero.
In a different situation Hamlet, in William Shakespeare’s world
renown play Hamlet, helps people learn the truth in a heroic manner. Hamlet
exhibits a puzzling, duplicitous nature. He contradicts himself throughout
the play. This ambiguity is demonstrated by his illeged madness. He
behaves madly one minute, only to become perfectly calm and rational an
instant later. These inconsistencies are related with the internal dilemmas he
has to face. He struggles with the issue of revenging his father’s death
vowing to kill Claudius and then backing out, several times. The heroics
shown by Hamlet throughout the play are misconstrued by everyone until the
very end when he proves his vengeance is viable. There are many times that
Hamlet has to deal with adversity throughout the play. Death seems to be a
continuous theme. Hamlet has to deal with many losses. The way he
handles this adversity seems irrational, but is in fact heroic.
In the first act, Hamlet commits that he will be committed to nothing
else but the revenge of his father’s death. “I’ll wipe away all trivial fond
records, All saws books, all forms, all pressures past, That youth and
observation copied there, And thy commandment all alone shall live Within
the book and volume of my brain”(act 1, scene 5, 99-103). At the end of act
two, Hamlet again mentions vengeance. The way that Hamlet plays out his
vengeance is very interesting. Instead of playing the part of the vengeful son,
or dropping the issue all together, he hangs in the middle pretending to be
mad. This is shown when he says to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern “I know
not-lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercise”(act 2, scene 2,
380-381) Admitting so blatantly that he is only feigning madness would
imply that he is comfortable with acting with it. Hamlet does not reveal to
anyone his plan of vengeance. Shakespeare leads you to believe that Hamlet
is going to act on his vengeance in killing Claudius in the line by Hamlet “I
should have fatted all the region kites With this slave is off. Bloody, bawdy
villain! O’ vengeance! Why, what in ass am I?(act 2, scene 2, 581-585)
Hamlet then backs out of killing Claudius in act three. At this point, the
characters believe him to be insane and see no vengeance in his acts.
At the end of the play, Hamlet is challenge by Leartes in vengeance of
Learte’s father’s death. This is when the truth comes out. Before the death
of Heratio, Leartes, and Ophilia, Hamlet is looked upon as a hero by all of
them as he kills the killer of his father, the king. Hamlet spends the entire
play seeking the perfect vengeance on Claudius. The obstacles that he
overcomes to eventually achieve his goal make him a hero. He demonstrates
the necessary qualities to go down in the anols of literary history as one of the
most heroic characters of all time.
There are many people and characters that are heroes in the public eye.
Monuments such as statues are made for iconoclastic people all the time. But
heroes are actually seen by each person individually. A person that may
seem like a hero to me, may not be held in such a high honor in your, or
anybody else’s eyes. The code of the hero is extremely flexible and society
does not necessarily take this code into account when deeming someone or
something a “hero”. Jake and Hamlet clearly exhibit the correct qualities to
be considered “heroes”. They clearly defied all odds to help others gain
respect for both themselves and the people that needed them at that particular
moment. These characters help us in our quest to become the best that we
can be. I know that I compare myself to the people I consider heroes and I
have come to believe that that makes me better. Now, I have two more
characters to help me become a “hero”.

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