Harry Potter: An Ancient or Modern Hero?

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What would you do if you awoke one morning to find that you were a living legend. That for the past twenty years your family has been known to all, as one of the most prominent wizarding families in the wizarding world. What would YOU do if you were regarded as ... a modern HERO. The only wizard ever to survive a powerful curse cast by Voldemort, the most powerful dark wizard; Harry was just a baby when he was attacked by the evil wizard. But he escaped the curse and had somehow managed to reverse it and take away Voldemort's power. This story was told for 11 years past only making the story of Harry Potter grow to become an even greater living legend.

Most see Harry Potter as a modern hero, one whom acts courageously and sacrifices his life for the benefit of others. He is seen as a selfless hero, out to gain nothing but the satisfaction of helping his fellow wizards. They go on to say that he even goes out of his way to avoid special treatment, flattery, and praise. Have these people ever even read Harry Potter? Yes, it IS this epic tale of a young boy growing up and overcoming many hardships and saving lives, but SELFLESS?, hardly. The character that has brightened the hearts of children around the world, is not the shining example of a modern hero as one might believe. He contains a bit of ancient heroism in his character, you can find it if you look hard enough. It takes a little bit of ancient heroism to make a good modern hero, and it is my belief that it is obviously inherent in young Harry Potter.

His story relates with the stories of many other ancient heroes. Here you have a young boy who is just getting over the shock of finding out that he is a wizard, despite the unusual magical occurrences ove...

... middle of paper ...

...leting a heroic one to modern standards. But he is completing it for his own personal gain, that is ancient heroism.

The underlying conclusion is that heroism is in the eyes of the beholder. My views of a hero or heroin may be completely different than that of another. One may find that Ancient heroism seems more fitting to the definition of a true hero and that modern heroism is more befitting of the title of saintism. An act committed with such pure of heart that the "hero" is no hero at all but rather a saint. One may believe that no act shall be redefined due to the societal change over time. No opinion should be regarded as incorrect, all opinions are correct to the person who believes in them. Further more, a modern hero should not have to be defined. Heroism is comprised due to the goodness of the act, not the valor of the persons completing it.

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