1. Allison's curiosity that started an entire revolution within the Silo.
2. Juliette's survival skills and perseverance to bring the truth to the people and defy the corrupt IT.
3. Odysseus's cleverness throughout his extremely long homecoming journey.
4. Telemachus's development into manhood and eagerness to find his father and help him destroy the suitors.
5. The Saggy Bottom Boys's undeniable teamwork on their quest to find the "treasure."
6. Anse's determination to fulfill his wife's wish to be buried in her hometown, despite every obstacle thrown the Bundren's way.
7. Dewey Dell's courage to search for a Doctor by herself to get her baby aborted during a time extremely against women in her predicament.
8. Cash's humility and easy going attitude, especially when he gets his leg cut off.
9. Smithy's open and accepting view of human nature, even when others easily judges him on his appearance.
10. Jack's bravery during the "great escape" from Room as well as learning to adapt to the outside world.
11. Ma's unbelievable ability to provide her child with a relatively normal childhood while stuck in her own personal hell.
Out of all the hero's we have studied this semester, Ma's character to me was definitely one of the bravest. After all the constant physical and emotional abuse, she managed to raise a smart and bright kid and I think thats an incredible accomplishment despite everything she went though. Comment if you have any more character traits/ which hero impacted you the most this semester.
Rather than comment my own I would just like to point out that quite a few of these characters have some things in common. The first that comes to mind is Wit. Obviously Odysseus being the classic example. His escape from Polyphemus is legendary. The saggy bottom boys pick up a hitchhiker and use their wit and charisma to get money. Finally, Jack uses his wit with his "cunning trick."
ReplyDeleteSmithy had the most impact on me. I don't know why, I guess I just like the way he turned his life around. The heroic trait in that respect is perseverance.
ReplyDeleteI think that Smithy's ability to just go, so to speak, is an incredible heroic trait. To be able to recognize your life is in shambles and to be able to just leave it behind with no particular imminent goal in mind is amazing in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI just want to say that I love Cash and find him extremely heroic. He never complains, he's totally dedicated and hardworking, he's selfless, I could go on and on. Cash never does anything bad or mean spirited during the entire book and he gets rewarded by having a horrifically painful injury, and then losing his leg. Watching the movie brought this to light for me even more because you could see Cash's pain as well as his determination not to get in the way of anyone else.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget Kyle, finally getting past his parents' voices in his head and running across the lawn like a madman to confront the kidnapper (profane tirade and everything). He remains one of my favorites.
ReplyDelete(For some reason, Super Goat Man and his late-night paperclip rescue didn't make your list . . . ?)
My favorite hero this semester was actually Kyle. He, and the story, were just so ridiculous and so great.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the items on your list, but I noticed that they are all positive qualities. I think that negative qualities are also an important part of a hero's character. While a negative quality like Odysseus' overconfidence wouldn't necessarily make a hero by itself, every hero has his/her flaws. If a character were perfectly strong, brave, smart, self-sacrificing, etc. without any flaws, sure you could call them a hero. They'd probably be able to save the world and do whatever pretty effectively. However, I think that most people are more likely to look up to someone with flaws. Personal heroes are people we want to be like, or people we can imagine ourselves as. A flawed hero is easier to identify with. A perfect hero seems untouchable and out of reach.