The bulk of the praise a hero receives tends to be in response to his or her actions. People look up to the heroes who can perform the most miraculous feats. However, there is an element of heroism beyond the superficial element of a hero’s actions: the hero’s character. Both heroes and antiheroes might do great things; however, the similarities end where motivations are considered, and these differences in motivations are rooted in the differences in the character of heroes and the antiheroes. An antihero’s character is flawed, leading to actions based on selfish and impure motivations. In contrast, a hero is characterized by his or her selflessness; this can be defined as putting the interests of others above the interests of oneself, and …show more content…
it can be divided into the following subcategories of compassion, willingness to make sacrifices, and reluctance to inflict harm. In Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Ender is a hero, because his selfless character drives his actions. Ender is a hero because he acts compassionately. During Ender’s brief service in the Salamander Army under Bonzo, he wins an argument about being able to practice privately with his launch group. After winning the argument, Ender offers, “‘But if you want, I’ll pretend you won this argument. Then tomorrow you can tell me you changed your mind’”(Card 87). He goes on to say, “‘I don’t want the other guys to think you backed down. You wouldn’t be able to command as well’” (Card 87). Ender is compassionate with Bonzo, in spite of Bonzo’s prior mistreatment of Ender. Ender offers to pretend to lose the argument to help Bonzo, making Ender look worse to his peers. In this way, Ender demonstrates his selflessness through his compassion towards Bonzo, as he was willing to put Bonzo’s interests of maintaining tight authority and discipline above Ender’s own interests of being perceived well by his peers. Ender further displays his compassion through his thoughts and actions regarding the buggers. After he destroys the buggers, Ender thinks, “Ender didn’t care about his reputation. He watched the videos impassively, but in fact he was amused. In battle I killed ten billion buggers, whose queens, at least, were as alive and wise as any man, who had not even launched a third attack against us, and no one thinks to call it a crime” (Card 309). Ender explains that he is greatly compassionate towards the buggers and whether their destruction was just or not. Ender cares more about this than he does about how he is perceived by others. Thus, Ender shows that he is selfless because he puts the posthumous respect for the buggers above respect for himself. Compassion leads Ender to act selflessly in regards to the buggers. Valentine proposes that Ender comes with her to the buggers’ planet. Ender agrees, but also is sure to clarify, “‘I’m going because I know the buggers better than any other living soul, and maybe if I go there I can understand them better. I stole their future from them; I can only begin to repay by seeing what I can learn from their past’” (Card 314). Ender’s compassion for the buggers leads him to feel a sense of responsibility to study the buggers and learn about them. Ender puts his responsibility to the buggers as a priority over his own personal agenda, demonstrating his selfless character. Therefore, compassion drives Ender to be the hero in Ender’s Game; however it is not the sole driving factor. Ender is a hero because he is willing to make sacrifices. Colonel Graff approaches Ender on earth, inviting him to Battle School. Ender recognizes that this is important, but he hesitates, considering how difficult it would be “to leave Mother and Father, and above all, to leave Valentine” (Card 21). Ender ultimately decides to leave to Battle School, but it is still extremely difficult and emotionally painful for him to leave behind his family. By sacrificing his prior life, Ender shows that he cares about helping the world as a commander more than he cares about his own wishes in regards to remaining with his family; in this way, he demonstrates his selfless character which makes him a hero. Another sacrifice Ender makes occurs when leaving earth to go to Command School. Ender is talking with Valentine about why he wants to stay on earth and does not want to go to Command School. Valentine argues, “‘I’ll tell you something. If you try and lose then it isn’t your fault. But if you don’t try and we lose, then it’s all your fault. You killed us all’” (Card 241). Ender ultimately decides to leave his life on earth for a second time, because he realizes that he is important to the survival of the human race. Although he does not want to personally, he is willing to make that sacrifice to save the world. This shows his selflessness and heroism in leaving everything behind, including his own wants, in order to go to save humanity from the buggers. Ender also sacrifices his future following his victory against the buggers. When studying the buggers, he finds the bugger cocoon. From this point forward, Ender decides, “And always Ender carried with him a dry white cocoon, looking for the world where the hive-queen could awaken and thrive in peace. He looked a long time” (Card 324). Ender devotes the rest of his life following his victory to finding a new world for the buggers. Ender sacrifices his future in order to preserve the buggers, which is a selfless act putting the interests of the buggers above his own interests, making Ender a hero. In addition to Ender’s willingness to make sacrifices, he is also reluctant to inflict harm. Ender’s reluctance to inflict harm make him a hero.
During one of his practices, a group of older kids attack, and are injured by Ender in self-defense. Afterwards, Ender reflects, “I’m hurting people again, just to save myself. Why don’t they leave me alone, so I don’t have to hurt them?” (Card 115). Although Ender did resort to violence to protect himself, he reveals that he did not want to hurt people. Ender was only acting out of necessity to save himself. Ender shows that he does not wish to inflict harm, but instead wishes that other people would not attack him and force his hand. Thus, Ender displays his selfless character through his strong desire to not use violence so that no one else would be hurt. A similar scenario arises when Bonzo gathers a group of boys and tries to kill Ender in a fight. Ender wins the fight, but later breaks down and says, “‘I didn’t want to hurt him!’” (Card 213). He continues, “‘Why didn’t he just leave me alone?’”(Card 213). Similar to the earlier fight, Ender reveals that he did not want to inflict harm on Bonzo, but he was once again forced to do so to defend himself. This shows that the only reason he fought was in self-defense; he had no malicious intent to hurt Bonzo and would rather not hurt him. Thus, Ender’s use of violence does not disprove his
selflessness. Ender is later put in another situation that reveals that in spite of circumstances, Ender did not intend to inflict harm. After he is manipulated into destroying the buggers, he exclaims, “‘I didn’t want to kill them all. I didn’t want to kill anybody! I’m not a killer!’” (Card 297). Ender is extremely distraught following the realization that he had been manipulated into destroyed the buggers. He continually reaffirms that he did not want to kill the buggers or any other being. This shows his reluctance, or perhaps his outright objection to inflicting harm, thus showing that Ender is not ruthless killer, but is in fact a selfless hero. Ender’s selfless character serves as the basis for his actions, making him the hero of Ender’s Game. Ender’s selflessness manifests through his compassion, his willingness to make sacrifices, and his reluctance to inflict harm. These character traits distinguish Ender as a hero. When understanding what the essence a hero is, it is necessary to look past the actions of an individual alone. Heroes are not necessarily howA hero is set apart, not because of the actions that are done, but the selfless character that drives said actions.
He uses a combination of Peter’s ruthlessness with Valentine’s compassion. “In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves” (Card 238). Ender reveals this to Valentine because it is the main reason why he despises himself. Ender first uses his method against Stilson after getting his chip removed. He realizes that with the way Stilson is, the only way to stop him is to cause enough pain to deter retaliation. Learning from his enemies does not only occur on Earth. While being rejected in Salamander Army, Ender studies the good and bad techniques in the battle room. Given that, Ender ultimately beats Bonso once he is in command of his own army. He continues to do this with every person and battle he comes into contact with, making him the best commander at
Conflict, tragedy, and heroism are the heart of world literature. Conflicts ranging from a woman overstepping her boundaries, to fighting a waging war share the common ending asset of a hero. Similar to beauty, qualities that make up a hero may greatly vary depending on social status, background and etcetera. However, three qualities in particular reign a significant importance among Antigone, Achilles, and Hector. Bravery to do the unimaginable, intelligence to understand the consequences, and selflessness to carry out the bravery and intelligence for a reason that may not benefit themselves.
“Unconsciously we all have a standard by which we measure other men, and if we examine closely we find that this standard is a very simple one, and is this: we admire them, we envy them, for great qualities we ourselves lack. Hero worship consists in just that. Our heroes are men who do things, which we recognise, with regret, and sometimes with a secret shame, that we cannot do. We find not much in ourselves to admire, we are always privately wanting to be like somebody else. If everybody was satisfied with himself, there would be no heroes” (Mark Twain, 2013).
A person can be a hero to his or her family, or to the world. A jewel thief or a Mob member can be exceptionally heroic. The greatest difference in the hero of today and the hero of times past is the number and social standing. In times past, the hero was cultural perfection; today anyone can be a hero. In that aspect, we have progressed as a civilization. Now there is an ever growing number of heroes that societies can idolize and imitate. With ever more idols, there comes, ideally, a boost in a society’s overall goodness. If each individual was encouraged to pick a personal hero, perhaps the world would have fewer problems.
However, we regard many people as heroes precisely because they overcome great personal hardships. To speak of someone in terms of their character, it speaks more to an individual’s courage and resilience—both character traits we observe in heroes—if they have overcome such hardships. For example, many of us would look down on someone who has succumbed to drug addiction. However, we praise these individuals precisely for these transgressions if they are able to overcome them and restore their lives among their family and friends. From this, we see that having a spotty past doesn’t necessary restrict someone from rightly is regarded as a
In order for a person to be considered a hero, one must have the characteristic
Any analysis of the Heroic Life of certain men and women makes for a complex and challenging psychological inquiry. We will delve into this subject, by looking into at least three main aspects of the heroic character. First we will discuss the nature of the singularity of the hero; second, his social significance at the time he lives; and third the interaction between fate or destiny and the hero’s own known attributes and defects which may bring him success or failure. Let us use three examples to illustrate these three points: Homer’s Achilles, Sophocles’ King Oedipus and finally G.B. Shaw’s Saint Joan.
Many times in life we encounter an individual that touches us in some profound way. The relation of this individual to the person they are influencing is as diverse as the personal experiences that causes this admiration. This individual, or hero, can impact and totally change the direction of someone's life. A hero can be anyone, from a professional athlete, to a public service figure, to a relative or parent. Each hero is defined by an individual's definition of what a hero is and should be. The definition of a hero has not always been this liberal. As time and the world have progressed so has the definition of the word hero. The poems Beowulf and Sir Gawin and the Green Knight are shining examples of how the definition of a hero can change. Using these two poems I will demonstrate the fact that the standards that need to be met, or the heroic code, is an ever-changing definition that evolves and adapts with the progression of time.
A hero is a person who takes risks in order to benefit the lives of others. When thinking of the word ‘hero’, most people tend to think of a person with supernatural traits. However, in reality a hero can be a teacher or a doctor. A hero can be as simple as a person who devotes their time to helping others. A hero does not always have to take a risk. A common realistic characteristic that a hero has is their imperfection. A hero is a human, and no human is perfect. The closest idea to the ‘perfect’ hero is Shakespeare's classic tragic hero. In many Shakespearean stories there are characters that have a tragic flaw that leads to their end. This tragic flaw is often seen through the conflict that the character has within themselves. In most
Prejudice against racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and religious groups regarded as “out groups” forms a fundamental component of human social behavior, providing insight into the complex interactions between environmental, situational factors and neural processes, and how they dictate behavior. Through analysis of the anti-hero, natural human weakness and fault must be accounted for as a possible negative force influencing behavior and decision making, driving chaos and destruction. Therefore, by understanding the evolutionary roots and neurological causes of prejudice present in an anti-hero, a new level of comprehension of is revealed, their motivations uncovered. Although developed neurologically in the evolutionary process,
There are other book series that have risen in popularity that will not be examined in this paper, series like the Twilight series with Edward Cullen, and the Artemis Fowl series with the title character. These are just a small number of the series that have come out with a very prominent showing of antiheroes in modern literature. The antihero has become so popular, in fact, that it also has certain classifications, 5 different types of antiheroes. These 5 types of antiheroes are the classical antihero, the “Disney” antihero, the pragmatic antihero, the unscrupulous antihero, and the nominal antihero. (TVTropes, Analysis/Anti-Hero) The classical antihero is the traditional idea of what an antihero is, the man who is everything that the main hero is not. Where the hero is courageous, the classical hero is cowardly; where the hero is smart, the antihero is less so, and so on. The “Disney” antihero is more of a sarcastic and unconfident version of the traditional hero. They “Disney” antihero is fundamentally good but they tend to be far more realistic and grounded than the normal hero.
To most who first gaze upon Joseph Griffith’s artistic masterpiece of what is a radical representation of the long ago fight, The Battle of Yorktown, it merely appears to be ludicrous in its nefarious wacky characters, peculiar shading and different references, both fairly current and popular despite their age. However, some may look a bit more deeply into the dark splashes of color and the creatures within, and by doing so they conjure up lots of ideas and possibilities inside their mind of what this painting truly means, beyond the art style. It is of no doubt that this painting, The Surrender, depicts what Americans used to see (and still do see) as the “heroes” and “villains” of many tales and escapades, even if the beloved characters are all mostly from television and the evil-doers are of the Muslim religion.
The anti-hero is useless at being a hero when they should be one or have the opportunity to be one. Typically an ordinary, timid, selfish, anti-social, inept, cautious, passive, pessimistic person, they still manage to gain the sympathy of the reader. Usually unglamorous, many wallow in self-pity which only worsens their state of mind. Anti-heros rarely succeed at any goal set before them. Summed up in two words - failed heros. T. S. Elliot's “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” is a fantastic example of the modern anti-hero. A glimpse into the stream of consciousness of Prufrock reveals his secret struggles to handle a world he has no control over. Prufrock displays numerous characteristics of an anti-hero but three stand out the most: cowardice, passiveness, and pessimism.
“The thing about a hero, is even when it doesn’t look like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, he’s going to keep trying to do right” (Joss Whedon). With an abundance of characteristics that embody the idea of a hero, there are many definitions of one. Heroes make sacrifices, exists all around us, and never mistreat anyone. Some have superpowers and others do not. Joss Whedon demonstrates that although sometimes there seems like there is no hope, heroes continue to try. Furthermore, heroes surrender themselves, exist in all cultures, but never act maliciously.
I agree with the way Coil uses modern-day heroes in this context. I think it describes the dispatchers perfectly. What I think of when I hear about traditional heroes, is people who do couple of selfless deeds, who are praised and recognized in history. Where as the dispatchers, they do day to day serves and aren't recognized or go under the radar. The fact that they keep their composure day in and day out; shows how emotionally and mentally strong they are. When Coil said," I felt tired, stressed, and still my nerves are shaking from the adrenaline. The dispatchers,however, returned to their conversation with out missing a beat."This showed how poised, and calm they were even after the situation occurred. This also shows how mentally strong