Most Famous Literary Heroes
From curling up with Treasure Island or Robin Hood as a kid, to delving into the Odyssey or Don Quixote as a college student, to laughing at the foibles of Jane Austen's civilised gentryfolk, the heroes we revere in our literature can carry us through life. Here is a selection of the brightest and best from almost 3,000 years of literature. See which ones tally with your most-thumbed novels!
Approx. 800 B.C.: Odysseus (in The Odyssey by Homer). Odysseus is the epitome of the Greek hero, which makes him the origin point of all hero myths. His failed attempts to return to Ithaca after the Trojan War spark the stories of the Odyssey, and create an epic quest home-wards. Odysseus is proud, duplicitous, and ingenious.
Approx. 420 B.C.: Oedipus (in Oedipus the King by Sophocles). Oedipus the King ruled over the city of Thebes in ancient Greece. In this archetypal Greek tragedy, King Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and weds his own mother, fulfilling a prophecy told by an oracle before his birth. He is a tragic hero: a strong, intelligent leader, whose pride leads to his downfall.
1597: Romeo and Juliet (by William Shakespeare). These two young lovers, whose feuding families disapprove of their marriage, have become the archetype for a star-crossed romance. The two are heroic for their passion, youth, and innocence, and above all for their tragic demise.
1601: Hamlet (by William Shakespeare). In perhaps the most famous of all Shakespeare's plays, Hamlet agonizes over whether to avenge the death of his father. His intense soliloquies betray how unfit he is to carry out a bloody, thoughtless vengeance: he is too reflective for the brutal role he must play.
1605: Don Quixote (by Miguel de Cervantes). This book is considered one of history's best works of fiction, parodying knightly ideals of heroism with the creation of a comic hero. Don Quixote is a self-made errant knight who sets off to carry out the adventures he has read about in his collection of books about knights and chivalry. He is an idealistic innocent: rash, enthusiastic, and totally crazy. He provokes both sympathy and laughter.
1719: Robinson Crusoe (by Daniel Defoe). Crusoe is an average man who yearns for a life of adventure. He sets off to sea, is shipwrecked, and spends 28 years alone on a desert island. The adventures he has subsequently prove that he can be resourceful, persevering, and brave.
1813: Elizabeth Bennett (in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen). Elizabeth has stood the test of time: she is a much-loved literary character even today. She is witty, well-read, sensible, and intelligent. Her confident independence and sense of self-worth made her a radical role-model at the time.
1815: Emma Woodhouse (by Jane Austen). Emma is precocious, pretty, spoiled, and strong willed. She is a character that many fall in love with easily, despite - or perhaps because of - her many faults. When her role as matchmaker leads her on to the rocks she gains some self-knowledge, and becomes more sympathetic.
1844: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis (in The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas). The Three Musketeers have gone down in history as the quintessential brave and dashing heroes of 19 th century literature. They are noble, devoted, and skilled at their craft, but it was their daring and playfulness that won them the hearts of their readers.
1847: Jane Eyre (by Charlotte Brontë). Jane is perhaps the first feminist heroine in the literary world. She has a strong sense of morality, and is determined, talented, and hard working – and noticeably independent in a world dominated by men.
1883: Jim Hawkins (in Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson). Jim is a young boy who discovers a map of Treasure Island, and sets out on a ship to find it. His courage and craftiness make this adventure a resounding success.
1868: Josephine March (in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott). Jo grows up with three other sisters in the traditional 1800s, yet stands out as the hero for her independence, creativity, and strong-willed nature. She is famous for her free spirit, her refusal to play the conventional submissive female role, and her lack of concern for others' judgments.
1883: Robin Hood (in the Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle). Robin Hood was an honorable bandit, an outlaw who “stole from the rich and gave to the poor.” He was a brave, courageous fighter, and an excellent swordsman and archer. He was also mischievous, honorable, and daring.
1904: Peter Pan (by J.M. Barrie). Peter Pan is a mischievous boy who runs away to Neverland because he doesn't want to grow up. He becomes the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with other magical creatures and evading Captain Hook. He is admired because he is independent and rebellious, daring and courageous. And he knows how to fly!
1908: Anne of Green Gables (by L.M. Montgomery). Anne is an orphan adopted by a brother and sister who own a farm on Prince Edward Island in Canada. She is imaginative, spunky, talkative, and strong-willed. Her struggles with loneliness and hardship make her a heroine you can relate to.
1918: Antonia Shimerdas (in My Antonia by Willa Cather). Antonia is the oldest daughter in an immigrant family that settles in rural Nebraska in the early 1900s. She is free-spirited, hard-working, and bold, despite the pressures of her domestic life as a woman at the homestead.
1926: Winnie the Pooh (by A.A. Milne). Kind-hearted, fun-loving, generous Pooh is a stuffed animal come to life who gallivants with his friends through trials, tribulations, and good times in the Hundred Acre Wood. This children's book came out at a troubled time between the two World Wars, and was a welcome lighthearted addition to the literary world at the time.
1936: Scarlett O'Hara (in Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell). This archetypal stunning-but-selfish Southern belle is an independent, witty, and calculating American heroine. She was able to manipulate the minds and actions of men at a time when women tended to live in subservience to their fathers and husbands.
1938: Superman (in DC Comics by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster). Superman is one of the most famous heroes of all time. He goes by Clark Kent in the everyday world, but is in fact a survivor from the planet Krypton. He has superhuman powers, and is incredibly masculine, handsome, and debonair. He saves everyday people from evil, yet keeps his identity a secret.
1939: Bruce Wayne/Batman (in DC Comics by Bob Kane). In a series of comic books, Bruce Wayne sees his parents murdered at a young age and dedicates his life to fighting evil. He remains human but exercises some superhuman powers, such as flight, superhuman strength, and cunning. He remains anonymous and humble throughout his adventures.
1950: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy (in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis). These innocent, sheltered, and self-interested children gradually transform into adventurous, self-sacrificing, and brave characters in their trek through the magical realm of Narnia.
1951: Holden Caulfield (in the Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger). Holden is an everyday hero, making his debut in the literary world at a time when the public sorely needed a character like him (though like any rebel, he had his detractors). He is a sixteen year old who is jaded and cynical about the world around him, and critical of the adult world he is expected to participate in. He is intelligent, sensitive, and flawed. Above all, though, he is believable – a troubled, ordinary kid – allowing millions to relate to him.
1953: James Bond (in the 12-book series by Ian Fleming). Bond is the archetypal badass: men want to be him and women want to be with him. He is a secret operative spy and leads a fast-paced, dangerous lifestyle. He is sexy, reckless, and suave.
1954: Frodo (in Lord of the Rings by J.R. Tolkien). More than 100 million copies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy have been sold, and it is considered the first series to bring fantasy into the mainstream literary world. Frodo and his friends are average hobbits, kind, generous, and friendly, but they are also willing to risk everything to save their town and Middle Earth as they know it by traveling to Mordor to destroy a dangerous ring.
1960: Atticus Finch (in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee). Atticus is a lawyer, and the father of two children, in rural Alabama. He is morally upstanding, unprejudiced, and a crusader for worthy causes. He defends a black man accused of rape while the majority of the town stands against him; and he became a literary hero during a period of U.S. history when a progressive, tolerant voice was sorely needed.
1963: Max (in Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak). Young boy Max is rebellious towards his mother, and finds adventure in his imagination. He travels to the Island of the Wild Things and becomes their king, but finally, feeling lonely and homesick, returns from his dream back to real life.
1997: Harry Potter (by J.K. Rowling). This series of seven books has sold over 350 million copies and has been published in 65 languages. Harry is an average adolescent who learns that he is a wizard – in fact, the most important wizard of all time. Selflessness, courage, magical powers, kindness, intelligence, and a simultaneous sense of normalcy are Harry's characteristics: a blend of the ordinary and the extraordinary.
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