Who Is Your Hero? #StorytellingOverTime

We have always told each other stories. Stories are how we connect with each other – sharing experiences to help others, emotions to better understand ourselves, and adventures for both entertainment and as warnings. Many such stories are repeated across the centuries, because they speak of universal truths or behaviours, illustrating the core essence of who we are as humans. With each retelling, small details might change, indicating shifts in our collective concerns or values, or reflecting new challenges. Other details might persist, exposing ongoing difficulties or celebrating enduring triumphs.

Heroic quests are among such stories, having universal appeal to every culture around the world, and all throughout history. Generally speaking, we tend to like our heroes as strong and resolute; we like to test them to their limits, have them helped by friends and rise above temptation; to journey into unknown places, risk deep dark obstacles to defeat menacing adversaries, then return transformed, having greater wisdom and self-knowledge to build a better life. Possibly the reason for the popularity of such stories is that we find in it reassurance – that whenever we face the darkest nights of our soul, there is every chance we might return unscathed, if not improved.

This ‘hero’s journey’ has been studied by many over the years, from both a psychological and structural perspective – including by Joseph Campbell in his famous book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). However, the nature of a hero’s journey will always change and evolve as ‘who’ we idolise as a hero also evolves, and ‘how’ we face problems changes. Thus nothing will ever fit a single hero-story model, because there will always be new paths to forge in our contemporary lives.

I had to think about this a great deal when writing When Dark Roots Hunt, given all the YA readers I have come to know as both a writer and reader myself. One of the most common concerns of young people today seems to be their inability to trust adults – to care for them, to care for the planet, and to care for the future. They worry about the kind of world they’re going to inherit, and how they’ll physically live in it. Concerns about land scarcity and environmental issues in particular led to my creation of the world of Palude, with towering hillfarms as the only source of land and only dark shaded swamps between. It also led to creating a pro-active hero.

Indeed, while many heroes embark on quests reluctantly, being forced into their various dilemmas, I wanted mine to have agency – to be someone who chose to address a certain dilemma, which they had identified themselves. Such a person would have the autonomy they needed to make a difference in the world, because such a person wouldn’t stop until they did so. Such a person would be a true hero to any contemporary YA reader.

This is one of the reasons I love speculative fiction stories, because they can reflect so directly on our contemporary world, leaning on subtle parallels and analogies to share concerns about the present; yet provide enough escapism for readers to take a breath, then see the world differently. I hope readers see this through the main character of When Dark Roots Hunt, Sala. If you read the book, please let me know what you think!

In the meantime, what are your favourite hero stories, and has your definition of the ideal hero changed over time?

More #StorytellingOverTime Posts:

• Who is Your Hero – all about the hero’s journey in stories
• Fear of the Unknown, Fear of Yourself – how we find a part of ourselves in wilderness stories
• No One Listens to Change – how stories can test out elements of progress
• The Power of Love & Betrayal – how stories help us understand the complex nature of love
• Monsters are Metaphors – how monsters are metaphors for the dynamics of society – to come!