Hero types was Re: Another Snape thread/ Snape as hero

[pippin_999]

No: HPFGUIDX 151993


> In another thread Snape is offered up as a hero type. I know Harry as 
> hero of a genre (with the genre being in dispute) has come up. But has 
> anyone ever considered that we might end up with several literary types 
> of heroes? 
> 
> Is the series big enough for that?
>

Pippin:
It's long been a pet theory of mine that we have three literary types of
heroes in HP. 

We have Harry, the epic hero. Epic heroes defend a nation or a culture
from an external threat, they exemplify all of its virtues, they are of 
good family and high social standing (though  at the beginning of the 
story they may have become displaced), their true loves recognize their 
virtue from the beginning and never seriously consider anyone else, 
and the love interest is a secondary plot line and may not exist at all.

We have Ron, the romantic hero. Romantic heroes start at the bottom
of the social heap, the threats they face are internal to their society, and
by defeating them  the hero  rises  to achieve fame, fortune and true love.
Their love interest is likely to despise them at first and proving themselves
in order to win her is a primary plot line.

Then we have Snape, the anti-hero. Anti-heroes fly in the face of
*almost* everything that heroes stand for -- they will never be held up 
as an example to small children, they seek no social good and obey only 
their own internal code of conduct, their love interests betray them, 
they usually have a mysterious  past that turns out to be shady or
criminal, they are dishonest, cynical and disillusioned. They don't resemble
heroes in any way -- except that when their internal code demands it,
they will risk everything to save a weak or innocent person from harm.

Pippin