Example Of An Epic Hero In A Princess Bride

Epic Hero

A deceased, decorated mythologist, author, and lecturer named Joseph John Campbell once said, "A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself." A hero doesn't always have special powers or magical capabilities like you may think. You could walk by a hero every day of your life and could never know. In the film, A Princess Bride, directed by Rob Reiner, an example of an epic hero is the protagonist, Westly because he put others before himself, went through the hell-like journey of a hero, and went through events that changed him forever.

First, Westly is a hero because he put others before himself. For example, Westly guided Buttercup safely through the fire swamp that "no one ever [had survived]." Everybody that has ever went into the fire swamp, has died. However, Westly not only got himself through, but Buttercup as well. This proved that Westly was willing to put himself in danger for someone

For instance, when Westly and Buttercup were navigating their way though the fire swamp, Westly got attacked by a "RUS" (rodent of unusual size), that scratched and clawed into his arm. A giant rodent attacked Westly as they were wandering through the swamp. This supports that Westly went through a hell-like journey because he encountered evil in a bad place, and was wounded. More importantly, Westly had the life "suck[ed] out of him" when he was held captive in the Pit of Despair. Westly was tortured by a machine in a secret lair where nobody could get to him. This location and circumstance is hell-like because he was being put through extreme pain and there was nothing anyone could have done to stop it. However, through both of these situations that westly went through, he still lived with only one goal on his mind, rescue Buttercup. Another reason why westly is a hero is because he went through a hell-like