A little while ago, I started a discussion about the grey heroes and the Mr. or Ms. Goody-two shoes. Interestingly, there were a lot of people that supported the entire notion of having grey heroes. I get the whole angle that they are coming from. I mean, all heroes out there in the world are somewhat of grey. There is no good or bad to them they are only human or part human, whichever way you look at them. And to be honest, I am little too inclined to this side as well to defend the heroes we grew up with. But before, I go far off and say the Mr. or Ms. Goody two shoes are not fit to be in this world, I think we should try and understand them.
What Is A Hero?
Many authors and writers out there have varying definitions of what a hero is. Countless readers have ten times more. The basic definition of a hero is someone who will sacrifice for the greater good. Now, the greater good is something that some people might not understand. I mean even the villains are all thinking that they are doing whatever it is for some version of the greater good. Just look at Melkor in The Silmarillion. He is the greatest evil in Tolkein’s world, but there is a part of him that believes he is doing good. For those versed about World of Warcraft, look at Prince Arthas who becomes the Lich King. The greater good is something that all heroes aspire to, whether they are grey or not.
The Usual Hero
Aragorn, the hero of Lord of the Rings, or one of the many other heroes of this trilogy, is the perfect case of The Usual Hero. Most of us grew up reading or watching such heroes. We saw that they were men and women of legend. They had prophecies about them. They loved to fight for truth, honor and justice regardless of whether that truth and justice was the right thing. I know there were many points in Lord of the Rings where I now wonder about these men of Numenor and the elves being entitled to take on Sauron. Another case of the usual hero has to be Samwise Gamgee. Sam does not let Frodo fall into the darkness. He keeps blind faith in his friend and master even if it is plain to us that Frodo is being corrupted by the ring of power. These are the usual heros we all loved when we were children.
These heroes are built in the model of King Arthur and his great knights. They never lose hope. They never accept defeat even if it is plainly obvious that defeat will send them packing. Such heroes only see light or darkness. There are actions are for the greater good. There is no selfish intent. There is no desire for personal gain…only yearning for a better world.
The Grey Hero
Now if you are over the age of ten, this is your new kind of hero. This is the hero who is selfish, but is also a good person. This is a hero who will not mind doing something bad to do something good. In the words of Sybilla (Kingdom of Heaven), “doing a small evil for the greater good.” This hero is the kind of hero we can all relate to. Such heroes have come out of the dirt and taken over. They have pushed Mr. and Ms. Goody-two shoes, out of the way and taken over.
The Grey Hero tends to be selfish. He starts his own journey for personal gain. He does not give a rat’s arse about the greater good if the greater good does not benefit him. But of course, there is a small part of him that feels guilty. Whether the hero realizes it or not, in the end they end up doing something for the greater good.
The Anti-Hero
People have come out to call this kind of person the anti-hero. Why? It is the last thing you will ever expect from this kind of hero. There is no honor, dignity, nobility (even if the hero might have noble blood), bravery or compassion for others. This kind of hero is the best hero. For lack of a better word, he/she is ‘REAL.’ He is what we all are. Everyone can try to be a hero, because we have it somewhere in us but would prefer not to be. Jorg Ancrath is the perfect example of anti-hero. No one can expect Jorg to help the world. He has one goal and one goal alone…revenge. But his journey for revenge makes our anti-hero come out.
But if we are to take a look at Tolkein’s world once again…it is littered with anti-heroes unbeknownst to many of us. Gollum is often viewed as a villain, but if you look at the story of Middle-earth, his greed for “The Precious” more than saved the world. He got what he wanted as well as becoming the hero, though he was never recognized. Even Boromir was an anti-hero. He wanted to make Gondor great and powerful at whatever expense, but he ended up sacrificing himself for the Fellowship.
In my eyes, the hero, The Usual Hero is good. We need them and will always read them as young people. But when you grow up and enter the world, you will discover our Grey Hero…the Anti-Hero, the one you can relate to.
Richard Marpole
Jennie Ivins
I don’t agree that heroes like Aragorn and Samwise are for children or are representative of children’s heroes. Children have a need for ‘grey’ heroes as much as adults do. And even stories for the youngest children are full of flawed protagonists, especially those that appear in the earliest fairytales. Neither Sam nor Aragorn are unrealistically heroic. Sam isn’t blind to Frodo’s corruption. He is all too aware of it, which is why he’s so cautious around Gollum, who is a constant and painful reminder of someone who the ring has corrupted incontrovertibly. Sam is an unlikely hero whereas yes, Aragorn is likely. He’s a classic example of one who at first tries to deny his destiny before eventually coming to accept it. And that’s a popular characteristic of the hero archetype, a formula that links every hero throughout literature.
I’m afraid I can’t relate to Jorg or any antihero of his ilk. To put it plainly, he disgusts me. And I don’t think he is representative of reality. I think what you call grey heroes have far deeper roots in reality and make the ‘best’ heroes if that’s the right word, though I suspect we all look for something different in our heroes. I think Boromir is probably more grey than anti too. His failure to resist the lure of the ring is a failure that many of us would share. Heroes like Aragorn are rare for the reason that true selflessness *is* rare. There are far more Boromirs in this world than Aragorns. Or even Sams.
I’m glad you mentioned Gollum, though, because I don’t see him as a villain either, just as someone who succumbed to the evils of the world. As it turns out, his role in the story is of far greater importance than the reader initially suspects. But he is only able to fulfill that role because of Bilbo’s pity and compassion, both traits exhibited not only by a hero but also by any decent human being.
Sorry if this came across as an attack! Absolutely not intended. I just feel that true heroism should not be in any way dismissed or labelled unrealistic. I can relate to heroes like Aragorn (and prefer to)! far more than I can to monsters like Jorg.
Heroes in fantasy are, by necessity of the genre, larger than life in one way or another. I view the hero in a much simpler light, from the viewpoint of the saved. I can illustrate it with one character from an old story, The Good Samaritan. The person who was robbed, beaten and left for dead doesn’t care who the person saving him is or isn’t. Doesn’t care if they are Good, Grey or Anti. He is simply happy he is saved.
This is what interests me as a reader – the Thomas Covenant sort of hero. A man who should be reviled because of a single selfish act and shunned for it. However, the end result of the sum of his actions is good. I like the moral struggle the reader has to go through to accept a person like that as the hero. I like the pain of acceptance. This is what most interests me.