Bilan - Myth and heroes TS

Theme 1 : Myths and heroes

A hero is generally defined as a person with heroic qualities such as the strength, the bravery, the courage, the kindness and who is admired for heroic actions. He or she can be the main character in a book or a film, like in heroic fantasy, which tell the tales of heroes in imaginary lands. Heroic fantasy is very popular nowadays. These fictions are set in marvellous worlds inspired by the Middle-Ages : there are castles, knights and kingdoms. The characters are not only human but also giants, hobbits, dwarves, orcs… Heroic fantasy focuses on the heroic journey of heroes. The heroes, which are most of the time from humble origins (or ignorant of their royal lineage) go on a quest. Usually, they must find a precious object that will help them save the world against the power of evil. The most popular novel is The Lord of the Rings written by JRR Tolkien. So what makes a hero in heroic fantasy fiction?

To begin with, most heroes are unlikely heroes. Indeed, at the beginning, the protagonists are often immature, frightened, insecure, or just happy with their lives. They usually have weaknesses that they have to overcome to become heroes. In The Hobbit, a heroic fantasy novel written by JRR Tolkien, Bilbo is a hobbit. Hobbits are small creature who dress in bright colors and who wear no shoes. Bilbo is rich and hates adventure. He is a very good example to show that heroes at the beginning of heroic fantasy fiction are not adventurous. Besides, in Harry Potter written by JK Rowling, Harry is a little boy which is raised by his uncle and his aunt since the death of his parents. He has a difficult everyday life until the day when a giant come…

So, why should they get involved into an adventure? Usually, someone come (for example a giant in Harry Potter) or something is happening to thrust them into an adventure. These events are beyond their control : something terrible has happened or will happened if action isn’t taken.

Then, the journey begins. The hero go from an ordinary world to a special world. He is called to the adventure by a mysterious message and needs assistance in order to help him to face the adventure. When the mission begins, he has to face monsters, escape traps… Then, this is the crisis. The hero lives his darkest hour, facing his death. Nevertheless, he can reborn and finds a treasure and power. Finally, he returns to the ordinary life. After having lived this adventure, the hero has changed and the plot lines are resolved.

Finally, heroic fantasy heroes are easy to identify with, because they show anybody can become a hero. There is a lot of different heroes (small, big, beautiful, powerful, ugly…) which are normal at the beginning but become heroes during the journey. It shows that everybody can become heroic and overcome their weaknesses.

To conclude, a hero in heroic fantasy fiction is a person or a creature which is, at the beginning, unlikely hero. He is called to en adventure by someone or something to try to save the world against the power of evil. Thanks to this journey where he is in a special world with monsters to face, he becomes a real hero and change.

I don’t really like heroic fantasy because, even if we can easily identify with heroic fantasy heroes, I don’t like the marvellous worlds of these fictions which doesn’t look like the really life.

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