The Hero

Dear Deagles:

Although Carton plays the role of the hero at the end of the story, he is not the classic hero we often see in literature.

The classic hero usually has these attributes:

-He is the chosen one--designated from an early age, via tribal custom or religious beliefs, to be a leader/hero (think about Superman). In other words, he is considered special from an early age/maybe even birth (think Lion King).

-He may be strong or very smart.

-He is noble/brave

-He undergoes a journey that starts with him pursuing one thing.

-He fails in attaining that one thing.

-He realizes he needs to pursue something else more valuable/worthy.

-He overcomes many hardships while pursuing this secondary goal.

-He attains that secondary goal, or achieves some kind of understanding in the pursuit of that secondary goal.


Carton is certainly not considered special at the beginning of this story.


He comes closer to being an anti-hero. An anti-hero is someone who does not come across as the chosen one, who is not strong or exceptionally wise. He can be very common.

The anti-hero may even appear as bad to many people (think Batman: the Dark Knight).

Since Carton is lazy, drinks too much at beginning of story he could be close to an anti-hero. Still, he doesn't quite fit that bill. He really doesn't undergo a journey of any sort.

He is more of a Byronic romantic hero. He does things because of his love for Lucie, coming from his position as somewhat of an outsider, and because he wants redemption for his wasted life.

Go and look on the Internet for the concept of the Byronic hero, classic hero, and anti-hero to see if Carton fits the bill of either of these literary types.