Welcome to week two of the A to Z Challenge. I can’t believe how much fun week one was and I was blown away by how many people liked and commented on my posts. You guys are awesome. Also, I got to read some marvelous posts and I can’t wait to see more in the coming weeks.
So the post for today is about Heroes. Face it, every story has a hero, no matter if it’s fiction or non-fiction. In fiction, it’s usually a person or an animal. In non-fiction, it’s an object or subject. For example, in a non-fiction book about agriculture, farming is the hero of the book. Why is it the hero? Without it, the book cannot exist. Take a look at any book. What person or subject if you remove it, makes the book impossible? That is the hero of the story.
However, that is not to say that there is only one hero in any given story. Stories are complex, intricate things, much like humans are. Which isn’t really a surprise, because what are stories but the result of human’s dreams and imagination? So while there is usually an instantly visible hero, there are also hidden heroes. Yes, you heard me right. Hidden heroes. ‘But’, you say, ‘You just told us that without the Hero, the story wouldn’t exist’. That’s true, I did indeed just say that. But at the end of the day, heroes aren’t infallible. In the course of a story, there are often many times that a hero would’ve fallen or given up if there wasn’t someone there to support him or give him something to fight for. These characters are the ones that I like to refer to as hidden heroes.
One of my favorite hidden heroes is Samwise from Lord of the Rings. Although he thinks of himself as a simple hobbit, he is the reason in the end that the ring is destroyed. There are so many times that Frodo would’ve never made it to Mordor without Sam’s help. His perseverance and loyalty are truly awe inspiring and sometimes having just one friend at our side can make all the difference. Not to mention that he risked giant spiders to save his friend with only a vial of light and Sting. Shudder, those were some big spiders. I’m not afraid of spiders but I sure would have arachnophobia after encountering those things. No matter how tired he got, or stressed, or even betrayed by his friends, Sam never gave up, never faltered in his quest to help Mr. Frodo. Can you imagine what you could achieve with a friend like that at your back?
However, there is one point, in the second book “The Two Towers” where Sam and Frodo have hit one of the lowest places in their journey. The have been captured and taken from their trek to Mordor and while captured, they have been attacked. Frodo has reached his breaking point and tells Sam that he can’t do this, he can’t go on. I believe that this is the truly pivotal point in the journey and that there is a real chance of Frodo giving up and going home right then and there. And Sam doesn’t argue with him, doesn’t tell him all the reasons why they have to get the ring to Mordor. Instead, he simply shares his heart, giving Frodo the strength to keep going. This scene makes me tear up almost every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6C8SX0mWP0
Here is beautiful kinetic typology of his speech. Kinetic typology is a fascinating thing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pErpW0vFtPE
So who is your favorite Hidden Hero? I can’t wait to see 😊
The Seeker Files 
I am not going to day about any books but let me tell you, I am my hidden heroine. Yes. No bragging or no exaggeration. There are few things I know I can do, but hesitant to proceed further due to expectations. I always have the dilemma. Even the blogging happened to me after so many rehearsal.. I was not sure to make myself public. The hero in me striked the chord and thus here I am.
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That is awesome! I love that you are your own hidden hero!
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Sam is one of the best examples I can think of. He never sees his role as pivotal; it may be why he can persevere.
Happy A to Zing!!
https://moondustwriter.com/2018/04/08/hello-children-atozchallenge/
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I love Sam, he is my absolute favorite character (Well, besides Legolas and Aragorn. It’s kinda a three way tie) To be honest, if I had been the one with Frodo, I would’ve walked away from him many many times during the story. And then what would’ve happened? It wouldn’t have been good, I can guarantee that 🙂
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I can think of a few, but the most obvious one to me that acts a little like Sam is Han Solo in Star Wars. Luke Skywalker is the main hero, but with out Han, who is I think a reluctant hidden hero, then the Darkside would win. Plus, Han is really cool! Another interesting post 🙂
https://iainkellywriting.com/2018/04/09/h-is-for-den-haag-the-hague-netherlands/
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Han Solo is an excellent example of a hidden hero. Although he is portrayed as a lovable rogue with questionable morals, there is no denying that without him, the empire would’ve won. Thanks for stopping by!
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I can’t think of one now but certainly there are a lot even if we don’t know about them. I think anyone who does what they do out of loyalty and love and hope, is a hero in some way, even the bad guys can be a hidden hero.
have a lovely day.
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It’s true, a villain can give the hero strength and courage to go on. Thanks for pointing that out 🙂
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Good hero choice. I like strong and damaged heroes. I think Sam qualifies.
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Poor Sam was betrayed by the man that he had followed loyally for months. He definitely qualifies 🙂 Thanks for stopping by
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I couldn’t agree with you more, I always thought that Sam was the real hero, growing into himself and always being the steady force behind their journey. Beautiful summary and so glad you think the same! 🙂
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Sam is the real hero 🙂
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Sam is a fabulous choice as a hidden hero. My husband and I have just begun re-watching the movies and delighting in them once again.
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Lord of the Rings are one of the few movies that does justice to the books. However, in my opinion, The Hobbit fell far short. Thank you for stopping by!
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I think I may be the last person alive not to read the Lord of the Ring books! Great take on heroes, we all need them.
@IsaLeeWolf
A Bit to Read
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Have you watched the movies? Lord of the Rings are one of the few movies that stay fairly true to the books, sadly I cannot say the same about the Hobbit. Thank you for stopping by.
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I haven’t! I might eventually, but there are just some things that you kind of think you’ll get to but just never do. I’ll keep that in mind, though, thanks!
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My hero from the movies has always been Rocky, making my hidden hero, his trainer Mickey who kept believing in Rock, kept pushing. It took two movies for him to win, but he never quite, never gave up. Always inspires me, even in my worst of times. As for other hidden heroes, I have to shout out to Christine Ray at Brave and Reckless for her unwavering support for me during a time of great struggle. May we all have a Sam in our story, may we all have a Mickey, may we all have a friend like Christine. Thank you for sharing this post with us – Stephen.
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Those are great hidden heroes. Thanks for sharing!
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You are most welcome, and thank you for the prompt.
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