what makes a hero? (wasRe: The magic power of love.)

[boyd_smythe]

No: HPFGUIDX 80495

> > Kneasy wrote: (snipped lots)
> > Heroism is a bit different. A hero knows and *calculates* the 
risks 
in a course of action, but takes them anyway, even if the odds are 
bad. Otherwise it's luck or foolhardiness. Harry doesn't have a clue 
what he has to face or how he will deal with it. That's 
foolhardiness. < <

> Then Laura wrote: (snipped lots)
> So does that mean that when teenagers do things like rescuing 
> drowning friends or family, or something along those lines (it 
> doesn't happen all the time but it does happen), it's only heroic if 
> the kid has a full understanding that s/he is risking her/his life?  
> Can you be a hero if you do something that doesn't risk your life?  
> What about the people who refused to testify during the McCarthy 
> hearings here in the 1950's?  Their physical lives weren't in 
danger, 
> but their reputations and livelihoods were.  
> 
> I'm not sure when it is (if ever) that people come to an "adult" 
> understanding of death, but if that's one of the criteria of being a 
> hero, it may be that Harry will never qualify within the time span 
of 
> the books.  Boys at 17 and 18 are still in full risk-taking mode, as 
> I understand it.  They're still kids, with some of the limitations 
in 
> thought and experience that kids have. <


IMHO, when someone risks something valuable to themselves for the sake 
of another, that's heroism; the more valuable, the more heroic.

In SS/PS, Harry is likely too young to understand death well. But he 
does know that he could get in trouble, get hurt, maybe fail and feel 
like a failure. So he's risking those things for the sake of others to 
some extent.

But while we can say those things are heroic, literature (particularly 
fantasy) often raises the stakes extremely high for the individual, so 
that his/her actions can be seen as ultimately heroic (or uber-heroic, 
if you prefer). Think of your favorite story that involves one person 
or a small group sacrificing themselves for others; how about LOTR, 
The Matrix, Beowulf, The Bible, etc.

The common thread is that in all cases, the protagonist at some point 
*realized* what he was risking and what he was risking it for. And 
*still* did it. And I agree with Kneasy that we're still waiting for 
Harry to have that epiphany. He has some growing up yet to do to 
become an uber-hero.

-Remnant