The Lure of the Reluctant Hero
Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and
some have greatness thrust upon them. -- Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
OK, I’ll admit it. I’m a sucker for the reluctant
hero. So maybe he’s not the prince born into his noble role in life.
He’s not the tough-as-nails navy seal who’s trained diligently to defend
life and country, or the armor-clad warrior returning victorious from
the fight with the prize. He’s just your average Joe, an ordinary person
thrust into extraordinary circumstances forcing him to rise to heroism
through trial and tribulation -- whether he wants to or not.
You all know who I’m talking about. He starts out
as the down-to-earth guy next door or the co-worker with the nice smile
sitting three cubicles away. Maybe he’s the son struggling to save the
family farm from the flood. Or he’s the crofter who picks up the sword
and enters the battle when nobody else will. He’s the father who will
sacrifice all to save his sick child. In a romance, he’s often the humorous
brother/cousin/best friend to the alpha hero. If we’re lucky, he gets
his chance to take center stage and get the girl in the sequel. (God,
I love sequels!) He’s the beta with an inner alpha he doesn’t know he
has until circumstances arise that force the hero hidden within him
out. He’s the guy you might not notice at first when he walks into a
room, but when the going gets tough and he finally steps up to the plate
-- yowza -- we sure take notice of him then!
Us writer types will recognize the reluctant hero
as one of the heroic archetypes described by Joseph Campbell in The
Hero With a Thousand Faces:
“The hero may refuse the adventure or deny the
ability to move beyond the status quo. The heralded event may even
be ignored – all of these constitute the ‘Refusal of the Call.’ The
use of magical intervention is then needed to plunge the hero into
the unknown. The reluctant hero requires supernatural forces to urge
him on, while the willing adventurer gathers amulets (magical items)
and advice from the protector as aid for the journey.”
Unlike a pure-bred alpha, the reluctant hero (RH)
doesn’t seek out fame, glory and adventure. He doesn't want to be the
star, to have all eyes on him as he rescues the kitten in the tree or
saves the world single-handedly. He'd much rather stand back in the
crowd and let someone else take all the glory. But the RH usually has
a special skill or hidden talent, often unknown to him until he needs
to use it, that will see him through his trials. So when it becomes
apparent no one else will do it, our RH will heave a heavy sigh, straighten
those broad shoulders we didn’t know he had and pick up the sword to
charge straight into the fight. Examples of reluctant heroes include
André Merrick in Timeline, John McClane in Die Hard, Han
Solo in Star Wars, Quinn and Creedy in Reign of Fire,
as well as Indiana Jones, Braveheart, Rob Roy, Harry Potter, and Spiderman,
to name a few. These guys didn’t start out wanting to be heroes, but
when push came to shove, they said “F*ck it” and did what they had to
do.
Take
a look at one of my favorite TV series, Heroes. It’s chock-full
of reluctant heroes. Just about every character on the show started
out as someone ordinary, going about their ordinary world, when suddenly
everything changes. Or, more accurately, they change. They discover
they possess a superpower they aren’t prepared to deal with and then
learn they must use it to save the world. Talk about pressure! Some
of these heroes, like Claire, tried to hide what she is, denying it,
almost ashamed of the incredible things she could do. Others, like Hiro,
embraced his new-found responsibility, ready to do whatever needed to
be done, even at the cost of his life. And still there were others,
like Mohinder, who has no apparent super ability and yet he joins in
the fight against the bad guys, because he knows it is what he must
do.
Let’s examine another reluctant hero a little more
closely . . .
Jack
Shephard from Lost
Jack is the quintessential RH. There he is, minding
his own business on a plane flight home, dealing with a family crisis
and his own personal demons in stoic silence. Then -- BOOM -- he crash
lands on a deserted island where his fellow castaways immediately look
to him for the answers to their survival. He doesn’t ask to be the leader.
He doesn’t want to be. He doesn’t think he’s the right guy for the job.
But the others see something in him -- a strength of character, a hidden
courage, a sense of justice -- that makes them believe he is. So he
leads them, because nobody else will. He gives them hope, when sometimes
all seems lost. And he’s willing to sacrifice everything for people
he doesn’t even know to make sure they all live long enough to get off
the island. Now that’s my kind of hero.
So you can keep your uber warriors and larger-than-life
alpha studs. I’ll take the underdog any day. I love my reluctant heros
. . . the guy pushed to the limit until his honor demands he take a
stand for what he believes is right.
© 2007 Lori Dillon