The Ideal Hero

Discussion in 'Character Development' started by Ritrezer, Apr 12, 2014.

  1. Snapshot084

    Snapshot084 New Member

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    To read about? I prefer characters with some serious, serious flaws. I like Captain America as much as the next guy, but you just know he's always going to do The Right Thing (TM). Personally, I prefer...let's say Roland from the Gunslinger (in case my avatar wasn't enough of a hint). There's a hero who is more than willing to do some downright horrifying things to accomplish a greater good. Reading him left me unsure as to how far he'd go, and how far I'd be willing to follow him.

    On the other end of the spectrum, you've got...I can't think of anyone right now, but I've got a WIP with a journalist who's really only into the plot for the story. He doesn't have any personal involvement, or desire to do The Right Thing: it's his job, and he does it. That's all for him. I enjoy watching him get pulled out of his own world, into other peoples' problems, almost against his will. Then I can watch him develop naturally into a hero, as opposed to just being written as one from the start.
     
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  2. Deterell

    Deterell New Member

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    I don't really know. I don't like morally infallible heroes who are always sure what they are doing is right and would never betray their friends. That's not how humans are, we are selfish and make mistakes.

    Heroes need to be able to fail, they need to be selfish and do some morally questionable things. Many writers (especially in YA books) seem to want their characters to be unwavering rocks of truth and justice, but that's boring. Everybody has different views on what's right and wrong, and not always just the hero and the villain. If your hero has one view and their friends have another, make the hero the one in the wrong sometimes and force them to deal with the consequences.

    But I digress, I always find the villains more interesting than the heroes, and have spent more effort on giving the villain a believable motivation, because you already know the heroes goal is to stop then.
     
  3. Bryan Romer

    Bryan Romer Contributor Contributor

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    I always find it more interesting then the "hero" has something to gain other than stopping the villain - wanting to steal the villain's wife or daughter (or both), getting a treasure that "just happens" to be in the general location of the villain, and so on. It also tends to make him or her more human in terms of motivation.
     
  4. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    What about a heroine rather than an hero? or can a female MC succeed by simple being able to change herself from damsel in distress to kick-ass dragon slayer as and when needed?

    Actually, I think that's what I would like in a male hero, the strength to rescue, but also the strength to be rescued.

    Hope that makes sense ...
     
  5. MLM

    MLM Banned for trolling

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    None.
     
  6. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    :-D
     
  7. Madman

    Madman Life is Sacred Contributor

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    One that sacrifices everything, including personal love, to protect the greater good. One that does whatever is necessary in the most difficult of circumstances. Someone who upholds the true virtues of goodness through the harshest of opposition and the most gloomy of environments.

    Or my friend who manages to drive a 55km distance in under 30min, everyday, without getting caught. Now that's heroic.
     
  8. Slade Lucas

    Slade Lucas Member

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    Someone who is human. A hero must be not just driven by personal want but not totally immune to it, so that they will always do the right thing but allow themselves the luxury of a love interest. Physical appearance is not important - I prefer it when you do not know exactly what the hero looks like. The hero can be slightly clueless - like in Harry Potter, when Harry does not know anything about the world magic - because they can learn, although they can be prone to brilliant ideas. Despite this brilliance they must be prone to mistakes because they are not human otherwise. They must be able to sacrifice themselves not just for the people they care about but just for the sake of everyone. Most importantly the hero must be someone who I can imagine is me. Even if they are totally different to how I am in real life they can still be someone I connect with on a deeper level and this is the most important thing.
     
  9. MrMidnight

    MrMidnight Member

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    My favorite type of hero is one that is made (Harry Potter, I am number 4) vs heroes that are born (Hercules).

    My ideal hero always has flaws and a deep well of power inside of them along with a strong potential of being a good person. If you took the novel Carrie, changed it from a horror/thriller, and made Carrie the hero (ya know, minus the murderous rage and the strange references to the female menstrual cycle), that would make a cool, interesting hero.
     
  10. MLM

    MLM Banned for trolling

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    Me. I'm the perfect hero.
     
  11. ciderfylla

    ciderfylla New Member

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    Every story has a perfect hero, but there's no hero that would be perfect for every story, as far as I'm concerned. As such, there is no "ideal hero". Generally speaking though, I suppose a relatable and likable hero (be it because he/she is nice, cool, self-confident or whatever else) fighting against overwhelming odds is the closest to an ideal hero. That is - the typical hero is in that sense the "ideal" hero.
     
  12. 123456789

    123456789 Contributor Contributor

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    Achilles, Odysseus, Beowulf....
     
  13. jannert

    jannert Retired Mod Supporter Contributor

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    Reading down the thread, I came to this by @minstrel - and it pretty much voices my own thoughts. I think, to some extent, the thread is confusing the idea of a story protagonist with a 'hero.' A 'hero' is, in my mind anyway, somebody who is 'bigger than life' - somebody whose actions change the world at large. The protagonist can be anybody, doing whatever—preferably somebody the reader will identify with.

    You can be a good person but not be a hero, if your world is small and you don't move very far beyond it. I also think you can be a 'hero' and not be a particularly good person. Perhaps somebody who dedicates their life to saving starving children in third-world countries, but is cold towards his own children at home, or won't empathise with a friend who is struggling to come to terms with a bad divorce ...that sort of thing.

    Lesser beings are the ordinary folks who make fantasic protagonists or 'main characters.' But I suspect a 'hero' is somebody (like Atreyu) whom you won't personally identify with. Atreyu was not the main character in that particular story—Sebastian, the boy with the book, is the character who had an 'arc.'

    I totally agree with Minstrel regarding the Daniel Craig Bond, by the way. The thing that put me off James Bond films for years was the feeling that he just didn't care about anything but his job, which he performed in an offhanded and jokey-distanced manner. That's straight from Sean Connery through all the others (with the possible exception of Timothy Dalton, who brought a bit of emotional content to the character.) I've never ever understood the appeal of James Bond ...until Craig's version. Now I 'get' him.
     
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  14. Chiv

    Chiv Active Member

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    Finn the Human

    The "ideal" hero for me has flaws and is not afraid to admit that he/she has them. If the narrative is in first person the hero is honest and mentions their flaws equally with their strengths, if not mentioning them more. A real hero protects those around them and tries to make their world a better place.
     
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  15. MLM

    MLM Banned for trolling

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    Finn the Human is the second best example in this thread, so far.
     
  16. JayG

    JayG Banned Contributor

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    I disagree. The hero is unchanged between then and now, and the hero's journey is the same as it always has been. You're thinking of individual protagonists and how you react to their problems. But that's culture and background based. The characteristics of the hero are the same as they always have been:

    1. The protagonist has a predictable life. S/he may love or hate it, but it is predictable. Then something happens to disrupt that situation: the inciting incident.
    2. Whatever has disrupted the protagonist's life cannot be ignored, so for one reason or another, our hero has no choice but to address the problem and try to solve it and restore that lost comfort zone. It can range from saving the universe to getting a date for the prom. But the characteristic that drives the hero to solve the problem rather than yielding to it is what makes them emotionally interesting to the audience.
    3. Things continue to go wrong, no matter what the hero does or tries. His/her goals may change as data is acquired, but the magnitude of the problem, and the risks involved continue to grow. But in spite of that the hero perseveres because that hero knows, deep in his or her heart that they must, though good sense says, "A person could get killed...run!"
    4. Things finally get so bad that it's "all or nothing." But nothing looks like the most likely outcome. Still, our boneheaded hero trudges on into the black moment.
    6. Just as things are at their worst the hero calls on their one true and reliable ultimate weapon: dumb luck. Some chance event calls their attention to an unexpected resource which allows sudden and unexpected victory, bringing the crowd to their feet as is has since the first storyteller took a seat by the fire and said, "Once upon a time..."
    7. Having prevailed, the protagonist then learns what the prize was for being steadfast in what's called the denouement.
    8. The end.

    Look at the stories you mentioned. Each of them follow that same path.
     
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  17. Okon

    Okon Contributor Contributor

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    I disagree with number 6. It's not dumb luck if she takes advantage of a new resource. Sometimes it's the clever use of an old resource that was foreshadowed in the second chapter that the protagonist had in the back of her mind the whole time. Otherwise, pretty accurate; it's always David and Goliath.
     
  18. cutecat22

    cutecat22 The Strange One Contributor

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    That basic story of the underdog.
     
  19. NateSean

    NateSean Senior Member

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    Harry Potter didn't go to Hogwarts expecting to defeat Voldemort.

    Katniss Everdeen didn't leave her house one morning hoping to bring down the Capital.

    Sarah Conner didn't go to work one morning expecting to be the mother of the man who would lead the human resistance against the machines.

    Moses didn't think he'd be the one to free an entire race from oppression and slavery.

    Heroes don't start their day hoping to be heroes. Or if they do, they don't let the idea of becoming a hero so consume their actions that they forget to see five minutes in front of them. Sometimes a hero is just someone who has a habit of doing the right thing and she doesn't complain when it didn't necessarily work out in her favor, so long as someone was saved.

    Not sure if that makes sense or not.
     
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  20. MLM

    MLM Banned for trolling

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    Some heroes do those things you said heroes don't do.

    It's not like there are COMMANDMENTS OF WRITING handed down from Mt. Sinai.
     
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  21. mg357

    mg357 Active Member

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    My ideal Hero is a real life person and he is actually a personal hero of mine.
     
  22. MLM

    MLM Banned for trolling

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    Is it me, mg357? :D
     
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  23. mg357

    mg357 Active Member

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    MLM: NO! it is not
     
  24. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Atticus Finch, as depicted in the film by Gregory Peck, was voted by the American Film Institute to be the greatest hero in film of all-time.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2014
  25. MLM

    MLM Banned for trolling

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    Oh... Ok. :(
     

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