Anthony Burns: Anthony Burns The Spiritual Hero

Heroes have appeared in all cultures throughout history. Joseph Campbell, expert mythologist, presents two types of heroes based on the hero deed. The spiritual hero, such as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed, and Moses, gains insight and shares it with the people. The physical hero, such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa, sacrifices himself for a cause, another individual or a people. Anthony Burns is a hero because he possessed the hero qualities of wisdom, courage, and self-sacrifice to perform the hero deed of creating a movement against slavery and freedom for all slaves.

Through out Anthony Burns biography, Hamilton shows that Burns was a man of wisdom. He showed wisdom when he made the guards believe he did not know about the Fugitive Slave Act. The Fugitive Slave Act consisted in the return of every escaped slave back to their masters. Even though they had captured him, he did not break (21). He again showed wisdom when he acted dumb to not let the Butnam's guards get more information from him. As he sat down at the police office, the guards asked questions with the intention of finding him guilty. He knew they wanted to get inside

He showed wisdom when he acted dumb in front of the guards, did not talk to anyone about who he was, and got the letter back from the guards. He showed courage when he went to Big Walker's house, faced Mars Charles despite the beating, and escaped from his master's house. Anthony showed self-sacrifice when he carried Simon on his back, nominated himself to talk to Mars Charles, and sold his cap to give Simon a blanket. Anthony Burns was a great man, other than just a slave he was received as hero amongst his people. When he achieved freedom he went on with college, in order to continue on with his life. As Bob Dylan once said, "I think of a hero as someone who understands the degree of responsibility that comes with his