Archetypes Of Heroes In Literature

Superman, Gandalf, Jay Gatsby, and Harry Potter. All of these character have something in common, all of them are heroes. Heroes are common in many literary works. They help portray messages and feelings in ways the reader would understand. There are three main archetypes of heroes. “These heroic archetypes pop up all over Western Lit. They are: Stereotypical/Classical Heroes, Everyday/Everyman Heroes, and Anti/Un Heroes” (Bunting). Each type of hero is used for certain reasons; not all stories use the anti-hero and the classic hero is not always the way to go. There are many reasons why an author would choose to use a certain type hero in their work. The stereotypical or classic hero is the hero that first comes to mind when people are asked

Many other literary works contain heroes and are meant for adults or older adolescents. These stories do not commonly use the classical heroes as in children’s literature. These stories use an everyman/everyday hero. The everyman hero is exactly what it sounds like, an everyday person who did something to help others. This person does not have any superpowers or abilities like the classic hero, he or she is simply doing the right thing at the right time. J.S. Morin is an accomplished fantasy writer, he stated, “An everyman hero is one we can relate to” (Morin). Everyday heroes can help inspire the readers to do good in their communities. This literary character is a way to show the power that lies in ordinary people. Morin also explained that an everyday hero is, “a blank spot that just happened to get filled with his or her name.” The everyday hero does not always look for ways to be a hero; it can happen by chance. A musician by the name of Gerard Way summarized what an everyday hero is in real life. “Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary” (Way). Everyday heroes can include people like firefighters or police officers. These types of heroes can inspire adults and teen to be the best person that they can be. “Modern/everyday heroes are not much different from classic heroes. Sometimes [they] hit home more” (Literacle). If an author wants to

An anti or un hero is a character that has good intentions but uses bad reasoning, makes bad choices, or is not honest about how they got to be where they are. They are someone like Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby threw parties, bought an expensive house, let anyone come over all for one person, Daisy. Anything he every did was for her. He wanted her to love him again. What makes him an anti-hero is he got his wealth from illegal businesses. He also kept pursuing Daisy even though she was married. He was a “central character who lacked heroic attributes” (Ray). Un heroes often goof up as a hero but somehow everything works out and they are given the credit. “They are never thought of or are questioned. Sometimes they cause more harm than good” (Volgar). These types of heroes can often bring controversy about their books. Harry Potter is seen as many types of heroes. He can be classified under classic or under un-hero. Many schools do not consider him a hero at all because of the content of his book. “A true hero would not be promoting violence, witchcraft, and evil,” stated DeMitchell. This argument could be used against Jay Gatsby too. A true hero wouldn’t use illegal ways to get to his end goal. This is why this type of hero exists. The Anti/Un-Hero is a hero that just doesn’t quite fit with the other types of heroes. Authors will often use these characters to add conflict, and an antagonist to the book. The can cause some controversy but