Hero vs. Protagonist

The terms 'hero' and 'protagonist' have become interchangeable in modern fiction, with the latter seeing far more usage than the former. The protagonist is the main character, the person who is the focus of the story and who drives the action. The hero, on the other hand, is usually a morally good person who is trying to make the world a better place, often by conflict with the antagonist, or villain.

But in today's writing, the protagonist doesn't have to actually be a good guy; in fact, it's considered passé and gauche to have an actual hero. After all, the thinking goes, the real world doesn't have people like that, and it sets an impossible expectation on the reader to suspend their disbelief so much that they would accept such a character. 'Shades of grey' is the phrase, because black-and-white isn't 'realistic.'

Heroes and villains often don't even exist in the minds of many modern writers. Look at Game of Thrones; can anyone in that story honestly be described as a hero? Even the best of them have serious moral deficiencies. Not just flaws; flaws aren't at all the same thing. But these characters have no moral center, and their motivations are almost entirely selfish. And these are the people we are told are the role-models we need.

Call me crazy, but I don't want to take my life-cues from someone who is only slightly less horrible than the serial killer they're chasing. And I most definitely don't want my kids doing the same.

Heroes have always been important to us. Heroes give us something to aspire to, to emulate. People don't read Greek Mythology because Hercules was a wife-beater or Zeus is a womanizer. They read it because Hercules fought terrible monsters and beat them. He is a hero, in the classical sense of the word.

And for those who insist that heroes are unrealistic, I suggest they start looking at some of the real-life heroes in the world. Firefighters, for example. What kind of personal and selfless courage is required to run into a burning building to pull out an unconscious person before they suffocate and die?

Children need heroes; those heroes are people who can help those children feel safe. Not because the heroes fight off the monsters, but because they teach the children that they, too, can fight off the monsters and win. And it's not just the men who do the fighting, for all the feminists demanding equal representation. Read the legends of Bradamante and Atalanta, ladies. If you're looking for a real-life person, St. Joan of Arc fits the bill. A more modern story? Jirel of Joiry by C.L. Moore is a great example. Or, if space opera is more your jam, check out the incomparable David Weber and his Honor Harrington series.

What links these women to the heroic tradition is not their biology, but their attitude. They do what is right BECAUSE it's the right thing to do, often without expectation of reward. Just like the men. Congratulations, we have achieved equality.

Alright, so what about the boys? Well, one of the biggest complaints we hear about today's boys is that they don't have good role-models. Too many absentee dads, athletes with feet of clay, and television shows that show men as wimpy and constantly using them as the butt of jokes.

Where are their heroes, the men they can look up to?

Heroes, not protagonists, are the missing ingredient in so much of today's writing. Compare Jon Snow from Game of Thrones to John Carter of Mars; it's night and day. Compare Luke Skywalker from the original trilogy to what he became in the newest iteration of Star Wars; if they weren't played by the same actor, you would not believe they were the same character. Young Luke was heroic, brave, and took action when it was required, whether it was behind the controls of an X-wing or standing before Darth Vader, fighting to save his friends.

In the new Star Wars trilogy, Old Luke is a hermit, a failure, hidden from the galaxy he fought to free from tyranny. Cynical and weary, he burns away everything he once believed in. What message does that send to the young man watching the entire Star Wars trilogy? "It doesn't matter how hard you fight, because in the end nothing matters and you're going to lose in the most humiliating way possible." What young boy wants that message resonating in his mind?

More importantly, though, what kind of person wants that message resonating in a young boy's mind?

Civilization has had heroes since there was civilization. The heroic tradition goes back to the earliest writings; Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions and Sumerian tablets bear witness to the heroic deeds of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, or pharaohs like Menes and Khufu. These men were flawed; they weren't perfect, but they strove to be the ideal of their civilization, and were held up as being those ideals for generations.

Unfortunately, civilization today has abandoned this heroic tradition in favor of 'protagonists' who have the moral fiber of Josef Stalin or Jack the Ripper. All in the name of 'realism.' Well, if that's realism, I'll take the fantasy, thanks.

We need heroes today more than ever. Whether it's bringing back the heroes of old, such as the great mythologies or the fairy tales, whether it's the pulp heroes like John Carter and Conan or movie heroes like young Luke Skywalker or Indiana Jones, we need these heroes to remind us of what we can be, who inspire us to rise up to greater heights instead of dragging us down into the mud. We're already in the mud; it's time to soar instead.

If you're interested in heroes instead of protagonists, check out my Chronicles of Meterra: Arrival, available now on Amazon.