I'm here to save the day!
We look to the skies for our hero to swoop down and save the day. We cheer him on when he whips out his wand and gives he who must not be named a good ol’ expecto patronum zap. We struggle with him as he fights for the injustices of the downtrodden or the prejudices of our day. The hero is the heart of each story we read or for the non-readers, watch. The hero makes us want to be better than who we are. And when they fall, we turn the page wishing for our hero to return wiser, stronger, and more apt to take on whatever is standing in his way.
There are many heroes in fiction—every story has one. Although the term may infer to a man in tights, even the simplest characters are heroes: Bridget Jones, Harry Potter, Atticus Finch, D’artagnan, Jean Valjean, Edmond Dantes, Pryor Phillip, Beowulf, Katniss Everdeen, Percy Jackson, Huck Finn, Frodo and Sam…. Each of us has our favorites—those characters that keep us up at night turning pages or dreaming about them when we sleep. But what makes a good hero? Perfection? A ripped six pack? Stunning good looks? A magic wand?
For me, a hero has to be flawed. A hero who doesn’t know his strengths and, at times, is burdened with life that—like so many of us—he doesn’t know which way is up. But eventually, our hero claws his way through one mess after another and finds his way and learns what it means to be brave and true. My heroes are everyday people who eventually become extraordinary in their own right. Who’s yours? And if we were reading your story would we be rooting for you, waiting for that moment when you stand before the villain and wave your magic wand?
There are many heroes in fiction—every story has one. Although the term may infer to a man in tights, even the simplest characters are heroes: Bridget Jones, Harry Potter, Atticus Finch, D’artagnan, Jean Valjean, Edmond Dantes, Pryor Phillip, Beowulf, Katniss Everdeen, Percy Jackson, Huck Finn, Frodo and Sam…. Each of us has our favorites—those characters that keep us up at night turning pages or dreaming about them when we sleep. But what makes a good hero? Perfection? A ripped six pack? Stunning good looks? A magic wand?
For me, a hero has to be flawed. A hero who doesn’t know his strengths and, at times, is burdened with life that—like so many of us—he doesn’t know which way is up. But eventually, our hero claws his way through one mess after another and finds his way and learns what it means to be brave and true. My heroes are everyday people who eventually become extraordinary in their own right. Who’s yours? And if we were reading your story would we be rooting for you, waiting for that moment when you stand before the villain and wave your magic wand?
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