What is a hero? Is the true meaning of the word being diluted in today's media?

What is a hero? Is the true meaning of the word being diluted in today's media?

Introduction

It start from a conception of literature as linked to the evolution and transformation of society or, at least, of literature as a means responsive to the changes that occur in it, not without significance that the radical change perceived between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth century. This period reflects a change of mind that can be recognized by the hero.

In order to detect this change, it is necessary to start from an initial definition of hero. The term "hero" has a number of implications that transcend the role of "hero" in the society. The literature, from its beginnings in the myths, has always had heroes. Aristotle noted in his poetics that imitation could be done in three ways: by painting the characters better than they are in reality, painting them as they really are and making them look worse than they are. When taken as reference to human beings to indicate the qualities of the characters, Aristotle was offering a role model for viewers or readers. Given the need to better admire, to peers and to recognize the worst guard. The hero of the classical world and the medieval world is a model of the values ??that society understands as positive. In the hero embody the virtues to which men aspire at all times in history (Maricopa, n.d.). Similarly, literary works also offered examples of what not to do, for models with contemplation, men understand the wrongfulness of his acts.

Discussion

Heroic Values and Social Values

Linking heroic values ??and social values ??is essential for understanding the transformation that occurs when you reach the contemporary era. Let us note one point: to show the hero in a society must have a sufficient degree of cohesion to exist recognized and common values. No values ??no hero, no shared values, specifying more, there can be a character that allows the modeling heroic. The hero is always a proposal, an incarnation of ideals. The hero status, therefore, comes from both their actions and the value that others give. This allows the heroic dimension in each historical situation varies depending on the prevailing values. The company generates its heroes in his image and likeness, or, to be exact, according to the idealized image of itself. No matter how real presence of the virtues in a given society, it must have an ideal, a goal toward which to turn or what could go.

Given this principle, the hero's existence depends upon adherence to social values, that is, the degree of agreement that exists around virtue, regardless of what is meant by it. In medieval times, for example, the values ??were Christians and embodied in the chivalric ideal. If it is true that the existence of heroes depends on the above, in the times when there is no cohesion that their presence will be more difficult (Kitch & Hume, 2008). The hero will then have to fight not only their enemies but against the advice of his ...