Over the years, stories have been regaled of ordinary people that lived amongst other people and accomplished extraordinary works. From assisting people affected by natural disasters to protecting innocent and defenseless civilians from evil harm, the achievements of heroes are emulated and envied. The society holds these individuals in high regard as a result of their heroic deeds. Based on their accomplishments in the society they live in, heroes are categorized into: 'willing, unwilling, tragic and anti-heroes (Volger, 44).
Willing Heroes
Also referred to as the active heroes, these types of extraordinary humans are always devoted to the purpose that they are so much revered for from the very beginning. They are heroes that are depicted to be very focused towards achieving their aim, and are always self-driven. From the literary stories, they have attributes such as being overly focused and determined. They also are very brave individuals. Moreover, they are confident in their own abilities and do not doubt the results of the activities they choose to undertake. According to Volger, these heroes are also called 'the gung-ho heroes and examples are: Tarzan, King Arthur and Luke Skywalker' (p. 44).
Unwilling heroes
According to Volger, these types of heroes are forced by certain phenomena to get into action. They are skeptical of their own abilities and the adventure scares them at first. Also, these heroes tend to be reluctant to respond to a situation, until something happens to them to spur them into action (p. 44). However, when at some point, they turn al their attention towards the problem and become fully focused and brave. The results of being focused and determined are usually that the situation is solved in a dramatic way. Appropriate examples from the real world are the character of spider man in the spider man movie, or Han Solo, the chief character in the Star Wars Movies.
Anti-heroes
According Volger, these types of heroes have a specific skill that proves essential when dealing with a certain situation. In some quarters of the society, however, opinions of their roles are hugely varied, on whether they are actually heroes or villains (p. 45). The reasons for varied opinions is because there is a misunderstanding of their roles and why they undertake their activities. In the end, they gain the society's sympathy when they triumph over the situation that they face, for example widespread corruption in the society. Examples of anti-heroes in the society include 'Billy the Kid" and Jack Sparo.
Tragic heroes.
Volger describers these types of heroes as those that never overcome their inner inadequacies throughout the duration of dealing with the situations that confront them (p. 46). They are charming individuals, however, and it's their perceived flaws that are instrumental in winning over the society to their side. They are however, helped by their flaws to overcome the situations that they are so famous for. Examples of such heroes are Sky Wars character Darth Varder and Brutus, the Roman Republic politician who played a significant role in the assassination of Julius Cesar.
Conclusion
The roles performed by the heroes in solving as situation faced in the society have a big influence on the perception the society has of them. Despite having a common responsibility of helping the society overcome the problems that bedevil them, the way they go about it differentiates the types they are. Most heroes that the society is able to resonate with, however, have the common attributed of having the will to overcome setbacks placed in front of them and their societies.
Works Cited
Volger, Christopher. Types of Heroes Wiese Productions 1999: 41-44
