A Discourse on Heroes

by Robert Drake

There are numerous definitions for the word hero.  It is difficult term to describe.  Its meaning is only made more ambiguous by its usage and yet, despite this, it remains one of the most powerful and privileged concepts in our language.  I thus find myself writing on this topic.

To ask, “What makes a hero?” is to ask a bold question.  To answer it fully immediately puts one at odds with one’s own society.  In practice, ‘hero’ is a title given to individuals unfortunate enough to be privy to disaster.  Heroes are people who were in the wrong place at the right time and reacted with something resembling competency.  Often times it seems as if the opposite of a hero is not a villain, not even a commoner, but rather an individual marked by negligence, stupidity, and barbarity. 

A literary hero is held to a higher standard, but a conflicting one.  Bold and successful soldiers may universally be called heroes in life, but in writing there is nothing universal about a literary hero.  They are as varied as their authors for they are representative of their creator’s own aspirations and flaws.  It is cognizant of that fact that I define my own hero. 

One must first outline the scope of the task at hand.  A literary hero is not, perhaps unfortunately, a caped man flying about saving the masses from certain destruction.  A hero is a character possessing the traits held to be the most admirable by the author.  In this sense, admirable does not necessary align with moral, divine, or pleasant, but merely with the creator’s artistic sensibilities.  A hero is a paradigm of artistry, a created man.  A hero may or may not be the epitome of virtue, but rather is the pinnacle of artistic beauty in the eye of the artist.  A writer may write a story filled with characters from their own life or their own perception of fellow mankind, but a hero is beyond these constraints.  The hero, especially the tragic hero, is a character crafted in such a way as to evince the profoundest story, regardless of such grounded realism.  Freedom of creation is the first mark of a hero. 

We have created our first standard, but this definition is incomplete.  ‘Writers choose their characters in such a way as to tell better stories.’  This is not profound and not worthy of an essay.  Were that the extent of a hero’s usefulness and majesty the term would barely be necessary.  In truth, a hero has a greater responsibility.  They possess qualities that are not merely admirable for the story, but admirable in life, as decided by their creator.  Their actions may at times be flawed, but their being is the height of nobility.  This is the difference between a hero of life and a hero of writing. 

We do not proclaim the flawed individuals of society “heroes” for the traits they possess.  We give that title to the man who performs good deeds regardless of any flaws of character he may possess.  In this we hold literary heroes to a higher standard.  Doing good deeds may be heroic, but a character is not a hero unless he maintains a personality, a mien, in line with his creator’s highest ideals.    

A writer has more freedom in crafting a hero than any other character, but a hero is not entirely boundless.  They are constrained, and thus defined, by a few basic precepts.  Heroes are bound tightly by the simple and insidious fact that they cannot be truly realistic.  This perhaps sounds mere opinion, but it is true by the very definition.

All but the insane are moderated in personality and behavior by society and temperament.  All realistic characters have admirable traits of personality, but few are so representative of such a trait that they completely lack the opposing characteristic.  No man is so angry he is foreign to calm.  Nor is there a man alive so passive he is ignorant of anger.  A hero need not be exaggerated to such a point, but a dedication to realism risks the hero becoming too conflicted and too moderatef to deserve the term.  How could one emphasis admirable traits with characters so muddled?  The answer is that it is impossible and thus heroes can never be completely realistic. 

In acknowledging this one must be careful.  It is easy to exaggerate to the point of caricature.  That too denies the hero its rightful place in our culture.  Thus there is a fine line to be walked by every hero.  Perhaps it is this ability to survive between the damning extremes of realism and buffoonery that makes a hero a hero.  Regardless, this fact defines and constrains.  A hero must be reckoned with.  If he becomes a clown of extreme passions, he has failed his design.  This is an important aspect that cannot be forgotten.

Before I lay down my own thoughts on what constitutes a good hero, one last issue must be brought forth; villains.  This too is a term obfuscated by varied usage.  The antagonist is the opposing force or character within a work, but a villain is much more specialized.  Were a villain merely the opposite of a hero they would possess, equally exaggerated, the opposing characteristics of a hero, but this is largely untrue.  Villains, especially the best ones, are not the inverse of a hero, but a mirror.  It is in this duality that the mysticism and glory of the hero is most pronounced. 

A villain is a mirror, but a cracked one.  They lack something the hero possesses.  Perhaps it is a single trait, or an experience, or an individual.  It may be nothing more than luck, but there is always a difference.  The greatest heroes are steps away from being the greatest villains.  It is in defining the villain, as well as the hero, that the hero is made all the more glorious.  For this reason it is important to distinguish in what way a hero could become the villain.  This is the hero’s weakness and his greatest enemy. 

With that stated, we finally come to the question that began this paper; what makes a hero?  There is more to this than a jumble of adjectives.  As unrealistic as a hero may be, he is still profound and imminently human.  Curiously enough this leads to the greatest attribute of a “Drakonian” hero.  While most characters are driven by emotion and passion a hero stands above this.  A hero is defined by strength.  For the heroes of old this was physical, but mental strength and emotional strength define the heroes of our more refined age.  To be a hero a character must be in control.  Anger cannot override judgment or the hero is at the mercy of faceless gods.  

Control of one’s emotion may be the most heroic of qualities, but it must be approached carefully.  A hero is in control of their emotions, not lacking in them.  A true Drakonian hero is not a mindless automaton, but feels in full the range of emotional conflict felt by the best of the romantic heroes.  The difference is to what effect these emotions drive the hero towards action.  A Drakonian hero thinks through his emotions, regulating them to be one criterion towards the greater decision.  Emotions become a single influence in which choices are made. 

Emotion alone is not an impetus towards action.  It falls to logic, experience, rationality, and skepticism to judge a hero’s actions.  It would be too easy to say that a Drakonian hero is logical.  Such a statement itself fails any good test of logic.  It rather falls to the term thoughtful to define our hero.  A Drakonian hero may use logic as a method of inquiry, but all choices made by the hero are thoughtful.  A hero is not gullible or rash.  They may perhaps tend towards the pedantic, but a Drakonian hero does not have to be an intellectual.  It is only important that he have a reverence for thought and rationality.  Along this vain a Drakonian hero finds dogma anathema.  They find demagoguery insulting and mindless faith frightening.  They have a healthy respect for rhetoric and persuasion, but nothing but distaste for those lured by honeyed words.  These are the tenants of a Drakonian hero. 

It may seem as if a Drakonian hero is a passionate individual, but in truth his opinions serve only as motivation for himself.  A Drakonian hero remains generally aloof.  If asked, a Drakonian hero will offer what he knows, but will abstain from proselytizing.  A Drakonian hero views the world with amused detachment.  It is perhaps his tragic flaw to see the world so indifferently, but to do otherwise would be to denigrate his natural passion for philosophy, truth, and control.  It is the nature of a Drakonian hero to avoid responsibility, but, when forced to, perform with dedication and efficiency.  A hero acknowledges duty with seriousness and sincerity.

Thus far our hero sounds dull.  Outwardly emotionless, logical, and staid, a Drakonian hero will never make for a jester.  That is not to call him humorless.  Viewing the world from the safe distance of ambivalence gives the Drakonian hero a wistful humor.  A Drakonian hero is untouched by tragedy and maintains a youthful charm without the ignorance, naiveté, and impractical outlook.  Most importantly, a Drakonian hero appreciates frivolity for its own sake.  He enjoys humor solely because it brings happiness and catharsis.  It is in this manner that a Drakonian hero finds pleasure in the world while remaining in emotional control.

This defines the emotional outlook of our hero, but it still leaves him incomplete.  His actions around others remain ambiguous.  In this field he is most different from the classical hero.  He lacks the tempestuous spirit or the sublime charisma of history’s greatest heroes.  In lieu of this he proceeds with quiet determination.  A Drakonian hero is heroic even when entombed within mundanity.  He is tragic only in thought, never in appearance or action.  He shrugs off discomfort and perseveres onward towards goals of his own device. 

It is in this contained dignity that springs forth a Drakonian hero’s “personality.” A hero lets no one he dislikes realize it.  He remains eternally friendly, but always distant.  He may perhaps seem cold, but he is polite, careful to never overstep the boundary of familiarity.  Around those he does not know he is quiet.  Around those he does not understand he is reserved.  Around those he finds overly emotional he is distrustful.  He gains friends slowly, usually through professional relationships.  As he names individuals with such a title he slowly brings them into his intellectual fold revealing his own intellect and humor.  In such a way friends come to respect him.  Even those who never get named as friends, they can rely on his generosity and good humor unless it has been abused.  In all things a Drakonian hero remains liberal.  This recalls previous details.  Though he loathes intellectual dishonesty and laziness a Drakonian hero is tolerant of all that is not physically threatening.  A Drakonian accepts life in all facets. 

This applies to many different aspects of a Drakonian hero.  In vice a Drakonian is moderate.  He finds those who overindulge weak and those who prudishly disdain to be simple-minded.  He is libertarian in nature and accepts that it is each individual’s responsibility to themselves to engage in vice in such a way that is pleasurable without being tragic.  This same principle defines a hero sexually.  He is not bound by the chains of marriage, but does not engage in frivolous relations.  He regards parenthood as the highest responsibility one can attain and fears his own inadequacy towards such a task.  When raising children he seeks to teach at every possible opportunity.  He is stern, but kind and generous.  This is the paradox of the hero.  Ultimately in everything he remains liberal in thought, but moderate in action. 

This really goes to the core principle of a Drakonian hero.  He demands control which moderates his behavior, but his thoughtfulness prevents him from living a truly austere life.  This battle between control and free thought is the anchor by which a Drakonian hero lives.  A Drakonian hero may engage in violence, but never through anger or passion.  When put in circumstances in which he must use violence, he does it calmly and efficiently in perfect control.  If he is using force then he has come to terms with that and will proceed exactingly in action.  A Drakonian hero is idealistic only so far as ultimate goals.  In practice he is infinitely pragmatic in the fullest sense of the word.

It is for this reason that a Drakonian hero always has an element of the scholar.  Experience, knowledge, science, and logic drive him so thoroughly that study of the world is as necessary as food and water to his well-being.  A Drakonian hero is well versed in classical sciences, mathematics, history, art, music, and technology.  He does not only concern himself with the hard sciences.  Even pseudoscience and mysticism fall within his realm of knowledge for they influence other people’s actions.  He may find them foolish, but will never deny their power within the world.  Curiosity is, along with emotional control and thoughtfulness, one of the more important qualities to a Drakonian hero.  For a Drakonian hero curiosity serves as his eyes, emotional control his skin, and thoughtfulness his blood. 

This almost encompasses a Drakonian hero, but a few aspects remain unnamed.  The first is pity.  A Drakonian hero finds pity insulting, rebuffing those who offer it and refusing to give it.  He offers his assistance when he can and his empathy when he cannot, but does allow himself to be demeaned or disgraced by pity.  In this sense a Drakonian hero is very much a follow of Nietzsche.  This is an important point.  There is a distinction between heartlessness and mercilessness and simply refusing to offer pity.  A Drakonian hero must be careful not to fall into that abyss.  If he ever loses the ability to be kind, merciful, and generous, he will soon spiral into a hollow, soulless, monster. 

After pity comes pride.  A Drakonian hero views himself as above the world smiling down, harming no one, proceeding harmoniously.  This view gives him a sense of pride that is always bordering on excessive.  When others are miserable he is in the finest state of contentment for he detaches himself from their mundanity.  When he makes a mistake he is distraught as his detachment is no longer sustainable.  When others criticize, this too forces his view to descend.  This makes a Drakonian hero cautious of his image and reputation.  Suffering from wounded pride is a Drakonian hero’s greatest fear and greatest fault.  It allows him to be confident and optimistic, but it can make him overly cautious.  A Drakonian hero will profess disinterest a thousand times before ever engaging in an action that would make him appear foolish in his own eyes.  He will abstain before risking failure as a rule.  Often external pressures or his own force of will, will drive him to undertake new things, but by default he is enclosed within his pride.  The hero’s thoughtfulness may reveal this trait to the hero, but he will always be at the whim of his overarching pride. 

These two traits, pity and pride, mold the hero is varied ways.  They drive him to strive for success, but lame his exuberance.  If surrounded by cruelty there will always be a conflict between his natural optimism and the bitterness of wounded pride.  This is the fulcrum by which the Drakonian hero falls to hero or villain.  The hero maintains his empathy and optimism.  The villain becomes sour, vengeful, and cruel. 

This split between hero and villain is a demon that puts the Drakonian hero perilously close to disaster.  His battle against this raging fiend is as great and profound as that of any Achilles or Hercules or Odysseus.  A Drakonian hero thrives over his weaknesses, arming himself against the worst of his own nature.  This is what makes the Drakonian hero, a hero, and why he stands tall amongst the greatest of literature.  He may not be as charismatic or as funny or as sharp-witted, but he is just as strong and just as valiant.  He rises above his faults to drink for the cup of glory and heroism.  In the end the Drakonian hero will die, but as with his brothers, he will not fade into nothingness.  This hero, as all that have come before him and all that will come after, will take a position amongst the stars.  Until every star is shining brightly we can only look upward and continue to ask, “What makes a hero?”  If the Drakonian hero can in any small way help answer this question he has succeeded in full.

I now must end this essay.  I have endeavored to present my views on what makes a hero and I have done so.  Even having finished, I find the question daunting.  It is too expansive and full of tangents to explore them all and that saddens me.  In time perhaps I will delve again into the world of heroes, but for now I breathe a sigh of relief.  I have created a hero, a true hero, worthy in my own eyes.  A hero in life may demonstrate admirable actions against dismal circumstances, but a true hero demonstrates admirable actions against the demon within.  This is what fills me with pride at my own flawed creation.  For all his faults, the Drakonian hero is hero to me, and with that I am contented. 

Copyright 2005-2008 Robert Drake