Sunday 10 February 2013

Is he a hero? For?

As I was first reviewing, and then proofreading, Mo's essay on Slim, I realised that Mo probably drew the most challenging topic to write about. My own essay on Carlson seems to me to have been much easier to write: it's pretty clear that although Carlson has some heroic characteristics, he is not and could never be a hero. (A t least, after having written the essay, it seems clear to me.)

But what about Slim?
As I read Mo's well argued position, I started thinking more about my own ideas, and why this character is so much more difficult to write about.

In the end, I decided that, like Law does for faith, we have to divide the possible question of Slim's status as a hero into three distinct questions that need to be kept separate:
  1. Is Slim a hero for Campbell? Does he meet Campbell's criteria well enough either be, or to have the potential to be, a hero? 
  2. Is he a hero for Steinbeck? That is, does Steinbeck present him as a hero in Of Mice and Men? 
  3. Is he a hero for me? Do I think he qualifies as a hero? 
And also similarly to Law, I think that these questions are largely independent. Slim might, for example, be a hero for Campbell, but not for Steinbeck or me. Or he might be a hero for Steinbeck and Campbell, but not for me. Or he could be a hero for all three of us.

But there is at least one salient difference between the three questions, a point that comes out in several of your essays: two of the questions have answers that are right or wrong for everyone, whereas the answer to the other will vary from person to person.

I think I might actually need to write the essay to properly explore my own thoughts on whether Slim is a hero for Campbell or not. But not this evening.

Any thoughts?
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5 comments:

  1. Peter.AUA10 February 2013 at 20:54

    Of course, the same distinctions need to be kept clear for all of the characters in Steinbeck's novel; my question asks, after all, what Campbell would say, not what Steinbeck or you say. So why did it seem to me more difficult in the case of Slim?

    Do you think that Slim might be a more difficult character to correctly judge the heroism of?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mö10 February 2013 at 22:49

    Yes Peter, Slim isn't an easy characters to write the essay. It's not easy to decide that he is a hero or not for Campbell's heroic description.

    Moreover, after reading your blog, it makes me think about him more to afraid that I didn't answer your question directly. lol

    On Campbell's ideas, I still think that Slim isn't a hero. Like in my essay, he has the hero characteristic but he doesn't perform a courageous act.

    But in the novel, I think the writer intends him to be a hero. He's smart, respectable and kind. If I were one of employee in the ranch, I would have respect him as my hero.

    For me, he is not my hero. No characters in the novel make me think like that. I compare to my hero in a cartoon. They are definitely different characteristics.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown11 February 2013 at 00:20

    I am not sure about the answer to the first question, but for the second one, I think Steinbeck clearly display Slim as a hero.In the novel, he is fairly a flat character which is presented only the bright side. For me, Slim is not a hero but he could become one. I would put him in the same category as fireman, not Batman.:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peter.AUA11 February 2013 at 00:41

      But does he make the PowerPuff girl category?

      Delete
    2. Unknown13 February 2013 at 21:55

      Absolutely not, because he lacks the qualifications to be included in this group which are; cute face, ability to fly; and colorful outfits. hahaha

      ( ps. I tried to put their photo in this reply , but I don't know how to do it.)

      Delete

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