Writing Wednesday Hero

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.