Hero Vs Anti Hero Essay

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Hero’s Journey Comparison: Hero or Anti-hero? Over the past couple of months, our literature and composition class has examined and analyzed three classical pieces of literature and compared them to the steps of Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey concept. As we delved deeper into the analyzation process, the most prominent question brought to my attention was whether our three protagonists, Santiago, Edmond, and Odysseus, were heroes or antiheroes. Given, there are many different definitions of the term “hero”, we will base my analyzation off my own definition of a hero, a respected individual who possesses admirable traits. Throughout this essay, I will explain and demonstrate why all three men, Santiago from The Alchemist, Edmond Dantes from…show more content…
Similarly to Santiago, Edmond started off as an honest and naive individual, shown when he trusted a stranger and mailed a letter for him, “‘I wonder if you would deliver it for me...it’s just a letter from one soldier to another. It’s totally innocent, I assure you… Now I do not wish this letter’s existence to be known to anyone...Do you understand?’ ‘I am a man of word, Your Majesty’”. This naivete and innocence lead to a rough patch in Edmond’s life, where he struggled with survival in prison, dealing with betrayal, and wanting revenge. Here, Edmond can be seen spiraling down the path of the anti-hero’s journey and it is clear he is revengeful, grudgeful, and hateful. This is exemplified when he says “‘If you ever loved me, don’t rob me of my hate. It’s all I have.’” However, his period of hate doesn’t particularly prove that he isn’t a hero, it merely shows he is human and has flaws. He was able to turn his life back around, mature, and make peace with God. Everybody can see Edmond is quite an intelligent human being with a strong drive. Though Edmond might’ve had a troubled past, he was able to overcome it, proving that individuals needn’t be perfect to be a
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