Heroes?

So for my last blog about the writings from the semester I want to focus on heroes. We have been talking about what makes a hero and if some of the character can even be considered heroes. This is one definition od a hero that I found in the OED: "A man who exhibits extraordinary bravery, firmness, fortitude, or greatness of soul, in any course of action, or in connexion with any pursuit, work, or enterprise; a man admired and venerated for his achievements and noble qualities."

Let's start with Dr. Faustus. I have never considered him to be a hero. Some people might, but I ask them what qualifies him as one? He makes a pact with the devil because he wants more power; he does not do it so that others will gain knowledge from his experience, he does it because he wants to. In the end it is a warning for others not to follow in Faustus' footsteps, but that is written by the playwright not Faustus. In the end Faustus only cares about what happens to him, which I cannot blame him for because he is about to go to hell. I do not think Faustus was a hero or can ever be considered one. He was a selfish man that others can learn what not to do by his actions.

Then there is Satan in Paradise Lost. While on some level you sympathise with him because he has been cast into hell, he is still not a hero. For the first half of book one the reader wants him to rise up and defeat the one that cast him out of heaven, then you realize that you are rooting against God. Once you realize you have been rooting for Satan, you feel angry. You did not want to root for evil against good, but Milton is an excellent writer and makes you forget that that is what you are doing. I don't think that Satan can ever be considered a hero because he is the antithesis of God.

The next work we read was The Faerie Queene, which I feel has the first real hero. Redcrosse is a young knight trying to prove himself, and although he does make some poor choices, he regrets them and learns from them. Redcrosse is more the typical hero, but I think that is okay. Every once in a while it is nice to see the old heroes again. His quest is more of a spiritual one and that is how he learns who he really is.

Hamlet - tragic hero. I think Hamlet has always been considered a tragic hero, and in some regards he is. He is tortured by his father's death and his mother's marrying his uncle so quickly after the death. Then he learns that it was his uncle that murdered his father and he cracks. I think Hamlet would have turned out to be a perfectly fine prince had these tragedies not happened. I guess he can be considered a tradgic hero, but I think that my personal definition of a hero is pretty high up there because personally I would not classify him as one. If he had found a way to expose his uncle that did not end with everyone dying then I could consider him a hero. Instead he let his grief and want for revenge destroy everyone around him. That is not a hero in my book.

The Duchess of Malfi is interesting because there are two people that I might be able to consider heroes; the Duchess and Antonio. They married each other even though they knew no one would support them and seemed to have a happy life while married. Although they were happy, the Duchess's land was apparently suffering. A real hero would have stepped up and fixed the problems of the people before making sure that their life was picture perfect, although their life was not perfect. If I were compare the Duchess and Antonio to the definition of a hero then they would fall short, although most people would fall if compared to this definition.

I do not think that most of the characters we read would be considered heroes by definition, but they were basically all human. I think that it would be better to have human flaws and learn from them than be perfect. People don't like it when someone is perfect because it magnifies their own flaws, but if they can relate to the person then the deeds of the 'hero' seem that much greater.