What is a Hero?

What does it mean to be a hero? What does it take to be a hero?

The Oxford Dictionary catalogs the term hero as a noun and defines it as “a person who many people admire for doing something brave or good." But that's a literary definition. So few words can so easily depict this term's meaning, essence, and weight.

The term is derived from the Greek word hero, which means protector or defender. And protect or defend a hero as they stand steadfastly as a bulwark against evil, injustice, insanity, and wrongdoing. The definition of a hero has fluctuated throughout history, undergone changes over generations, and is still quite ambiguous & subjective.

Yet, we can all agree to the fact that heroes represent a rare nobility in their purpose & principles.

Heroes come in different packages, from Medal of Honor Recipients who went above & beyond the call of duty to little Bridger Walker, who endured a vicious dog attack to protect his sister. So, what does it take to become a hero? Are all heroes the same? What goes on in the mind when someone decides to act heroically? And, can anyone become a hero?

This article attempts to answer these significantly complicated questions.

Human history is filled with events that have left an indelible mark on our overall existence and changed the course of history itself. And nearly all such events have a hero in their midst. Some of them become famous, while others remain hidden in the annals of history.

While fictional stories, epics, and religious texts have some of the most iconic, inspirational, and unrealistically idealistic heroes, many pragmatic and unexpected heroic characters exist. Some characters did not intend or want to be heroes but found themselves in situations where their actions were nothing short of heroism.

Art imitates Life, and Life imitates Art!

Real life, too, has heroes that rival and surpass the biggest fictional heroes in fiction. However, unlike fiction and fantasy, real-life heroes are rare breeds. Human nature is intrinsically selfish and revolves around self-preservation & improvement. For a hero to emerge from the generic masses, they must rise above the shackles that keep us humans, from achieving greatness, look beyond themselves, and do something for the next human person &, possibly, humanity at large.

Both fiction & history highlight certain things when it comes to heroes & heroism à

Heroes do things no normal person has the mind or heart to do.
Heroes rise above the rest and take charge during critical situations.
While acts of heroism in fiction can be planned and premeditated, in real life, heroic acts often happen in a split second and are purely a matter of CHOICE.

Unlike fiction, real-life heroes, be it in a war or anything else, become heroes when they CHOOSE to do something exceedingly admirable, courageous, and selfless for someone else.

Heroes do things that change lives, circumstances, and situations and bring about upheavals.
Heroes in ancient epics, religious books, and many kinds of literature are defined as extremely adept at certain skills, possess immense knowledge, and surpass everyone when it comes sot courage, initiative, wit, intelligence, foresight, planning, and a plethora of abilities.

In the real world, most heroes are not perfect. And the actions that define heroism differ widely from their fictional counterparts. The heroes, in reality, are much more humane, vulnerable, and conflicted, and, when you think of it, much more courageous than even the greatest heroes in fiction.

The definition of and the ideas about heroism differs widely from one person to another. And the myriad heroes and heroic acts spread across the annals of history & the chapters of fiction reflect such different perceptions.

Let's look at some prominent examples of heroes & acts of heroism in history & fiction. View Examples

Who is a Hero? Examples From History & Fiction

Heroes of World War 2

Considered the greatest generation to have ever lived, every soldier of World War 2 was a hero in their own right. Students, teachers, and the average person were conscripted by the hundreds of thousands and fought through hell for freedom & liberty.

The USA, the erstwhile British Empire & its colonies, Canada, and the former Union of the Soviet Socialist Republic – it won’t be far-fetched to say that the ranks of the Allied Armed Forces were full of heroes who risked their lives and left their families & close ones to fight for the betterment of humanity.

Even among this army of heroes, some went beyond their duties & responsibilities and achieved greatness.

Audie Murphy- the recipient of every American military honor as well as the French And Belgian counterparts, Audie Murphy single-handedly fought against an entire company of Germans in France, took over German machine gun entrenchments, held back advancing Nazi soldiers by taking cover behind a flaming tank destroyer, and has fought bravely across the Mediterranean & European theater.
Vasily Zaitsev – renowned Russian sniper who brought down more than 200 Nazi soldiers, defended Stalingrad from the overwhelming onslaught of the Nazi War Machine and became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Irena Sendler – A Polish social worker who saved over 2500 Jewish children from the Holocaust, Irenea hid them in schools, convents, and hospitals, gave them new identities, and arranged them for their escape. She continued her mission of rescuing and rehabilitating displaced & orphaned Jewish children, even after being captured and tortured.
Oskar Schindler – probably the most renowned name on this list; Schindler was a German businessman responsible for rescuing more than 1000 Jews from the Auschwitz Concentration Camp. He employed Jewish people in his factories, thereby saving them from the unthinkable atrocities of the Nazis.
Technician Lewis Hall – Technician Fifth Grade Lewis Hall exemplified the courage of the US Marine Corps when, after most of his squad were KIA/wounded, he and another soldier manned a forward machine gun emplacement and repelled a heavy Japanese attack.
Bill Tutte – A hero of a different kind, Bill Tutte was a British engineer responsible for decoding the incredibly complicated Lorentz System, an encryption technique used by Hitler to communicate with his inner circle.

It would take an entire book and more to list all the known heroes and the different acts of heroism throughout World War 2. And that still would not be enough. We will never be able to know about all those heroic acts that went unrecorded or were forgotten.

And, as evident from above and every other account about the heroes of WW2, heroes come in different forms, and heroic acts can be different. Some heroes held the line against an overwhelming enemy while others risked death & worse to protect innocents; some worked behind the scenes to keep the war economy & machinery running while others toiled day & night to attain victory for humanity.

Yet, on the other side of the equation, weren't the normal, young, and brave soldiers who fought NOT for corrupt Nazi ideals but for their motherland? Who overcame fear and fought with everything they had because they had no other choice?

Heroes of Freedom Struggles Through History

Throughout history, the world has witnessed freedom struggles of all kinds and forms. The American Independence, the Indian Independence, the Arab Spring, the protests across Brazil, uprisings and independence movements across Africa --- the instances are far too many to recount at once.

People like South Africa’s Nelson Mandela and Egypt’s Alaa Abdel Fattah, India’s Bhagat Singh & China’s Wang Dan protested and stood up against oppressive regimes & overwhelming odds to safeguard the things that make us humane. They have fought, bled, starved, and died for the masses, for causes greater than personal ambitions, and with courage & conviction that left an ever-lasting mark on the people & history of a region.

So, what did it take for these men to become heroes? Did they choose to become heroes, or did events and circumstances compel them to act greater than the average man?

If we were to ask them about their motivation, we would have found that these heroes believed in something with every ounce of their being and were ready to sacrifice everything for it. They believed in living in a free society where everybody could enjoy fundamental rights and liberties. Heroes like these men were not warriors in the strictest sense but were no less of a warrior than any soldier.

In all probability, it did not take much for them to become heroes through their valiant acts. They never had any idea that their actions would be so heroic to leave an imprint on human history.

Prominent Heroes Across Fiction

Fiction has its array of humane and superhuman heroes.

We have Gilgamesh & Enkidu from the earliest epic of them all, Achilles, Hector, Hercules, Jason, and many more in Greco-Roman literature, Thor & Odin in Norse mythology, Lord Rama, his brother Lakshman & ardent follower Lord Hanuman in the Ramayana, Arjuna, Bhim, & the eighth avatar of the Hindu Lord Vishnu, Shri Krishna, Yorimitsu/Raiko, the legendary character in Japanese mythology, Da Yu, the savior-hero in Chinese mythology… the list will fill an entire library worth of books.
Classical and contemporary literature gave us Mark Antony & Octavius Caesar, Atticus Finch, Indian Jones, James Bond, Sherlock Holmes, Abraham Van Helsing, Huckleberry Finn, Nicholas Nickleby, Aragorn, Sam & Frodo, Harry Potter, and so many others.
Comics and motion pictures gave us Superman, Batman, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, Shaktimaan, Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker, Luke Skywalker, Rocky Balboa, Ellen Ripley, Han Solo, Erin Brockovich, T-800, Severus Snape, John Keating, Amarkanth Varma, Meenal Arora…

Fiction allows its heroes to be a little over the top, unbelievable, unnaturally ideal & borderline superhuman. Again, world literature has given us heroes grounded in reality and no less inspirational than our real-life counterparts.

Some Final Thoughts

Again, if we ask what a hero is in light of fictional heroism, we cannot come up with a concrete, straightforward answer. Like our real heroes, most fiction heroes never intended to become heroes. It is their choice, their actions, their unwavering courage, and their determination that made them icons of heroism in fiction.

Like their real-life counterparts, many heroes of fiction did things that no other person could do. They fought against their inhibitions & limitations, took charge of a situation, and did the right thing, despite overwhelming odds. They did not relent in the face of defeat, injuries, or death; they did not do it for glory or to showcase themselves as better than everybody else; the act that made them a hero was not easy – but still, they did it as that was the right thing to do, and nobody else had the courage, strength, wit, or principles to do it.

Just like 9-year-old Bridger Walker from Cheyenne, Wyoming below, who risked his life to save his little sister from a deadly dog attack.

Bridger Walker, the little HERO with his sister

Bridger suffered grievous injuries to his head and face after he jumped in front of a dog that charged at his sister in July 2020. A true heroic big brother, he did not think twice before putting his well-being at risk to save the life of his little sister; he needed 90 stitches to mend the damage done.

Thus, to answer our question about what a hero is, we can say that a hero selflessly does things that many of us do not have the courage or strength to do!