Heroes

Throughout literary history there have been heroes included into some of the most recognizable pieces of work ever created. Within the novel Beowulf, the lead character is considered to be a hero. He protects the village from dragon like beasts on numerous occasions, risking his life every time. In Beowulf, as well as many other novels the main character is faced with a problem and has to defeat an evil figure that is working against the protagonist. Sometimes the lead character has a journey that they go on in quest for something. What they are searching for is usually something to defeat the evil figure, the evil figure or something that will ultimately benefit the protagonist. Within most of these stories they seem to have a common underlying structure that the hero follows. He or she will eventually have to prove themselves going against something. Along the way they will teach the reader a moral that is usually about right and wrong.

What defines a hero? To most people a person is defined by his or her actions. It is the same when it comes to heroes. They are defined into the category of "Heroes" by their actions. What actually qualifies a person to be a hero? Some might say that it is someone who puts others before themselves and others might say that it is if you protect others from being harmed. These qualities can almost always be found in a hero, but they can also be found within a parent who does everything to help their child do great things in life. They are found within our forces that protect and serve us, such as police officers, firefighters, doctors, and many more. Essentially heroes are everywhere, they are just regular people who have done great things.

Men seem to always be depicted as the heroic figure. This doesn't mean that women can not be heroes as well. Throughout history women have played a large role in sculpting our society by their heroic acts. Harriet Tubman was one of the leader of the underground railroad, a trail that secretly brought slaves from southern states into northern states where they could be free. She risked her life in pursuit of helping others. She did not worry about the consequences for if she got caught, but put the others ahead of herself. What she did was a noble act that classifies her as a hero. Harriet is not alone, there are other heroic women that cast aside their own well being to help others and fight for what was right.

"Unhappy the land that needs heroes" is a quote from Bertolt Brecht, a German poet. This can be interpreted as that we needs heroes to shape our society. Heroes give every everyone something to aspire to and believe in. They teach people lessons and emphasise on the morals between right and wrong. The stories of heroes defeating the negative figure, it give hope that people can be the hero in their own lives and defeat whatever they are struggling with.Without heroes it leaves people without hope for better things to occur.