What I have become more and more aware of so far this semester while taking “American Literature-Literary Periods” has been how important the role of “the hero” is, not only in literature from the past, but also in modern American culture and media. Whereas the hero in literature from the past is far more defined, the modern day hero is a little more vague. The hero that is now portrayed to us, characters like Dexter or Mal from Firefly, are far more complex and multidimensional. This makes analyzing and understanding what it is that makes these characters “heroes” complicated and causes one to question their own values and morals.
This blog will serve the purpose of analyzing and comparing heroes from our past found in the literature I am examining in “American Literature-Literary Periods” to the heroes of the media and culture we encounter today. The works I will use include “The Virginian” by Owen Wister, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” by Harriet Jacobs, “Batman: The Dark Knight Returns” by Frank Miller and “Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. I will analyze the role of “the hero” in each of these pieces and the importance of their literary “type” in the evolution of “the hero” in media.
In my first year of university, I wrote a paper analyzing Hector and Achilles in “The Iliad” by Homer as heroes. I looked at Achilles as being a classic hero-strong, brave and ruthless. Hector on the other hand, appealed to the reader. He pulled at heart strings, and although he is brave and strong, he acts on passion and the desire to protect his city and family. These are qualities that most human beings can relate to-but do these qualities make Hector more or less of a hero than Achilles? I would argue that there really is no correct answer, but they are two hero types that act together to balance each other out as characters.
On that note, I am excited to analyze similar character issues and hero types in the novels I plan to explore through this blog, as well as analyzing the hero types that have evolved from those works.
Works Cited
“Troy.” Dir. Wolfgang Petersen. Perf. Brad Pitt and Eric Bana. Warner Brothers Pictures, 2004.
heroesinliterature 
Melissa, overall I really enjoyed you look of heroes in the texts we read over the semester. I think you did a good job at touching a variety of works we have read. I am really interested in seeing your post on The Dark Knight as it was one of the texts I really enjoyed this semester.
I thought it was awesome how you could include Supernatural into your Virginian post and Modern Family in your Grapes of Wrath post. At least for myself, I have always found my assignments in university to be successful when I am able to relate them to something I am interested in.