Defining the Hero: From King Arthur to Luke Skywalker

There is a definition for a hero that will be ignored in this essay. A hero is never quantified by a few sentences that say they act this way when villains are around, they are being tempted by the devil, or they see a princess in need of saving. What a hero really is changes, but it can be related to the many different heroic tales that have been told from ancient times to modern times. Being a hero can be a charted or uncharted frontier; some writers will follow the basic guidelines while others will set out to break them. In understanding the hero characters in literature like King Arthur, in movies like Luke Skywalker, and in comic books like Batman will be summed up in short.

The rules say that heroes usually go out on a journey of their own at a young age. This has been followed in the stories of Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, and even Batman. Skywalker lost what he thought was his family. Frodo Baggins had to destroy the ring that could destroy his lands. Batman too lost his family, and he set out to learn everything he could in order to stop it from happening again. King Arthur was born a prince but had to live in the country under the guidance of Merlin. A hero does not always have to follow this rule; he can stay where he is and ignore the call of the quest. Spider Man never set out to find himself after a loved one was killed; instead he stayed in his home, New York, and learned everything he could there. Yet in most literature a journey will be made.