Writing Wednesday
Heroes today are very similar to
the heroes we see in many great tales from times long ago. Heroes both go on a
journey, both can be normal humans, and they always have somebody or some
people helping them.
Modern heroes and historical heroes
both go on a journey. They both have an end goal that they need to reach, and
often times they do this through a journey. In modern stories, the hero has
something he needs to accomplish. Readers find out what his mission is at the
beginning of the story, and by the end, he has reached his goal. As Homer did,
the heroes usually go by ship. They travelled the ocean to accomplish the
mission. An example of this would be Odysseus in Homer's The Odyssey.
Odysseus attempts to travel back to his hometown of Troy. He goes through a
hardship on this journey however. He gets caught in a storm and washed to
shore. He encounters a challenge on his journey just as many heroes do. All
though the specifics of the journey differ between the heroes of the two times
they are similar in that they both go on a journey.
Modern heroes and historical
heroes are also similar as they sometimes both take the form of a normal human
being. This mostly pertains to historical heroes. Odysseus is also an example
of how a hero can come in the form of a normal human being. He has super human
characteristics but he is still a normal human being. Also from The
Odyssey, Telemachus is an example of a normal human that is a hero. As
for modern heroes, an example would be SpongeBob. He saves the day in numerous
episodes. One episode Gary cannot fin his food. SpongeBob goes through the
steps of the hero’s journey until he finds the food for his pet snail Gary. A
modern hero, such as SpongeBob, are often times found in simpler situations
rather than long drawn out journeys as readers see in The Odyssey.
Lastly, both types of heroes
have assistance. The providers of the help come in different forms however.
With modern heroes we see the hero as someone in charge of the helper. This
would be like Batman and Robin or Sherlock Holmes and Watson. Sherlock gives
Watson tasks he must accommodate in order for Sherlock to solve the big
picture. In stories containing historical heroes the hero looks to the helpers
instead of the helpers looking to him or her. In the odyssey, Odysseus prays to
the gods many times throughout the book. He openly asks for help and for
guidance from Zeus. The gods whom he asks are more powerful and above Odysseus.
The heroes both receive help but in different ways do they get it.
