1. Hero Formula?

I wish to compare and contrast an ancient Greek hero with a modern American one. I will use Achilles in The Iliad and Jack Bauer in the Fox TV show 24 as examples. Jack Bauer is a fictional character who has saved tens of thousands of American lives from terrorist attacks by working as a Federal agent . Most importantly, both Achilles and Jack are the typical heros of the eras.

Two main aspects will be discussed: their Identities and Motivations.

First, both Achilles and Jack have similarities. In The Iliad, Achilles loses his beloved woman, Briseis, at the beginning. Likewise, Jack’s wife is killed by a terrorist in the first season. These events give them identities as avengers. Besides this, both are the best in their fields. Achilles is the best soldier among the Achaeans army, and Jack is the best agent in the government. They both have instant access to higher level authorities. Achilles can ask for God’s aid through his mother Thetis. Jack can ask for the President’s help through his later-found girlfriend Audrey, the President's daughter. Both of them quit for a long period after the disappearance of their love one. Agamemnon eagerly asks Achilles to come back to the army after a long period of losing the battle. Likewise, the President of the U.S. in 24 strongly requests Jack to return and aid the government after a terrorist attack on the U.S. soil.

One major difference shows up in their motivations. Although both have the identities of avengers, when Jack is fighting against the terrorists, he always does things for the sake of protecting the lives of innocent Americans, even during circumstances when he needs to make sacrifices. As a typical American hero, acting with justice and not being selfish is a core value and motivation for him. However, because his wife has died, audiences will feel sorry for him and he has excuses for doing some “out-of-line things” as an avenger. For example, he always interrogates suspects harshly without due process to save time; as long as he stops the terrorists’ attacks to save lives, the viewers is ok with this.

However, Achilles has a more selfish motivation as an avenger. After his friend Patroclus is killed, all Achilles wants to do is avenge relentlessly. He becomes a cold-blooded killer with nothing to lose. Jack can still put “protecting his country” over “avenging his wife,” because his daughter is still alive and well. While Jack can always find comfort seeing his daughter living happily and have sympathy on the innocents, Achilles has lose every bit of mercy that he even kills twelve innocent young Trojan boys for Patroclus’ funeral.

I cannot blame Achilles for being too selfish and cold-blooded because the world in The Iliad is harsh. Neither can I blame the producers of 24 for creating an unrealistic world to create an idealistic American hero, because unlike most American superheroes, Jack is more realistic comparing to superman, spiderman, and batman. He is even captured by the Russians at the end of the last season, not a happy commercial ending.

Despite the differences between ancient Greeks and modern Americans heros, I believe that the hero formula is:

A person

+ Great pain of losing

+ Great skills

+ Great relationships with higher authorities

+ Great accomplishments

= Heroes

Both Achilles and Jack meet all four of the “Great” requirements for a being a hero. However, something doesn’t make sense for me. For Achilles, how can the selfish actions of satisfying his own lusts with the expense of others’ lives be viewed as heroic? On the other hand, how is that possible for the perfect hero Jack, whose has a redemption characteristic, to exist in the real world? The only people recorded in history who successfully brought down influences to human history through redemption is Jesus Christ.

Sadily, the truth is: although Achilles has disgusting faults and lives in an antiquarian world, Achilles is the archetype of many great person, or heroes, throughout history; like revolutionary leaders, presidents, and generals, whose morality are constantly being questioned by many people. Vise versa, although Jack is a perfect axiological hero, it is not likely for Jack’s type of hero to exist in the real world. Jack only exists in TV.

I always wonder: why can’t there be more Jack’s type of heroes in our society rather than Achilles’ type?

Sources:

Dozy, Jorik. Post Apocalyptic City At Dawnmash Up Of Various Photos Taken Picture. Digital image. Channel.com. Community for Entertainment Artists, 12 May 2010. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cgchannel.com/2010/05/new-talent-jorik-dozy/>.

Surnow, Joel. 24. Digital image. Watching TV Online. N.p., 22 Apr. 2009. Web. 9 Oct. 2014. <http://www.textually.org/tv/archives/images/set3/241.jpg>.