A Curious Case of Heroes on The Example of Harry Potter

Heroes are a constant topic in any given language arts class, considering the fact there are many different types of heroes. Examples of which include, the classic, tragic and epic hero. Each type referring to a different era, style of writing, authors and even characteristics of these heros. However, when referring to such, these different types all become jumbled into one when we think about what a hero is. 

Often times falsely giving away the title or having an unreasonable expectation when it comes to heroes. Such is the case with J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, who is commonly thought of as the “classic hero”, described as a normal person who had some sort of talent that made them different or special. He is just an ordinary boy taken from his life and thrust into a world filled with witchcraft and wizardry. Harry Potter seems like the “classic” example of what a hero is, but in reality Harry is trying to live up to the expectation of what a hero is thought to be rather than truly being one and as such, those who are heroes are looked over.

There is no question that there are many different classifications to what heroes are and what qualifies them as such. However at the end of the day the question is, what is a hero. Dictionaries will say that a hero is “a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities.” Stories such as King Arthur or even the Avengers will claim that a hero is someone who is gone against all odds and done what is seen as the impossible. However the CEO of The AllHumanity Group, an organization who aims to help the lives of everyone, Robert Cipriano put into words what others could not and explained that, “there are different types of heroes…[that] show us anything is possible, [heroes] that...demonstrate a courage...not common...heroes that find the strength to overcome adversity and thrive.” Taking what Cipriano said and applying it to Harry Potter, well the number of candidates for who is a hero expands tremendously. Every single character demonstrated courage throughout the many challenges that life through at threw at them. Snape had the courage to kill his boss, his friend and teacher so that he could prevent Malfoy from having that blood on his hand. Dumbledore, the one who always stood stall and wise allowed for himself to be killed so as to not blow Snapes cover. Professor McGonogall and all the fellow teachers who stood against the Dark Lord, to save what they love. Hermione had the courage and strength to be a witch when all those around her doubted her abilities. Ron saved the day back in the very first book, during the fated game of chess and without Ron’s knowledge, Harry would never have succeeded. None of them ever realizing that their actions could be considered heroic, they did what they had to, even if the odds were stacked against them. And that is what a hero is, they do not need the title of hero to be one, they simply are one.

As previously proven, everyone already has a pre-existing notion of what a hero that often leads towards an unconscious bias.And with a bias comes a stereotype of what is to be expected. In a recent article on stereotypes and their effects, Psychologist Noam Spancer asserted that, “stereotype-based expectations...stymie individual freedom and achievement.” This is seen from Harry’s first introductions into the wizarding world when Hagrid,the giant groundskeeper tasked with helping Harry, takes him to the Leaky Cauldron. Everyone acts differently towards Harry when his name is mentioned, customers there all going quiet, some even walking up to Harry honored and awed by his presence. Moments after stepping in to this new and magical world and Harry is treated like a celebrity, as he “killed” Lord Voldemort, he who shall not be named. A twelve year old boy who grew up thinking he was never important goes from that to being a celebrity, it is quite the change. Especially as he’s young and impressionable, this may as well be setting a precedent in his head how he’s to be treated in this new world. These witches and wizards view him as a hero, fellow classmates are awed by his presence and want him to be their friend. Young Malfoy wanted Harry to be his friend, warning him of the families he shouldn’t be friends with. Hero status, popularity, all given to Harry because of what he had done when he was fifteen months old. Having this in your life would certainly prevent Harry from his own freedom and as everyone expects him to be a hero, he has to live up to that expectation. From the moment he became a wizard, his fate was predetermined, who he was to be was written for him. All he had to do was try and fit into the shoes and stand in the shadow of what was believed of him. 

One of the reasons Harry is often viewed as a hero is because he went on the “hero’s journey”. This idea is based on Joseph's Campbell’s, an american literature professor, 12 step journey which are as follows: “ordinary world, call to adventure, refusal of the call, meeting the mentor, crossing the threshold, tests,allies and enemies, approach to the inmost cave, ordeal, reward, resurrection and returning with the elixir.” Following this outline, it would seem pretty obvious that Harry was the hero as he went through everything stated here, however the same thing can be said for his friends Hermoine and Ronald who were there with him every step of the way. Especially Hermoine, she came from a muggle family with no prior knowledge that magic even existed, she lived a normal human life, her parents were hard working dentists and muggles ( those who did not possess the ability to use magic).And just like Harry, on her twelfth birthday she received a letter that would change her life forever.Dumbledore may not have been an active part of Hermoine’s life, he still trusted her and eventually lending her the time turner. Which was a magical device that allowed the user to go back in time and she used this to take more classes and to save Buckbeak, Hagrid’s Hippogriff, from the jaws of death. Although Hermoine never died and came back to life, she often stood by Harry’s side throughout his struggles as well as her own. She may not have given her life but she allowed for the minds of her parents to be erased of her so they wouldn’t be in danger. This may be the cost of war, but it was still a huge sacrifice Hermoine had to make for the greater good. Not forgetting Ron, who has a deep fear or spiders but still accompanied him into the forbidden forest as they tried to understand the attacks on their school. When the trio was trying to understand and destroy the horcruxes and Ron was able to destroy the locket even though it caused those who wear it to become quite upset and sad. He also remembered that basilisk fangs could destroy them and with Hermione's help they were able to destroy another horcrux. Ron’s normal life, was a wizard family and being introduced to Harry changed that forever. Although he never had a mentor, he learned through school, Harry and Hermoine. Just like Hermoine, Ron stood by Harry’s side never leaving him , always loyal, and also the hero of this story.

J.K.’s Harry Potter is certainly quite the tale of heroes and the title should not solely placed on one person. Everyone in this magical tale has a part to play, no matter how big or small it may have been. Predetermining one’s worth and what they are supposed to be confines them, where they are not allowed to extend their wings and fly. If Harry was not “the chosen one” , would he still have gone out of his way to try and be the hero, we will never know. However, Harry Potter is not just a story confined to one hero trying to live up to expectations, it is also a story of what lengths the multitude heroes will do to save what they love.