[ExI] Heroism without self-sacrifice

[Anne Corwin]

PJ: I understand that emotional appeals to notions of sacrifice in stories can be effective from a "narrative device" standpoint.  However, I'm confused by your suggestion that the pre-sacrificial "hero"'s apparent prescience has something to do with that particular emotional appeal.  The point I was trying to make in the blog quote I posted was that in real life, there's no way to "know" the way heroes in stories seem to that their sacrifice is actually going to have the outcome they expect or want it to.  And I agree that life imitates art, which is why I'm intrigued by the notion of formulating an heroic story in which the protagonist manages to act in a truly heroic manner without "self-sacrifice".

Also, I should note here that when I read the phrase "self-sacrifice" I wasn't thinking in terms of hard work or altruism -- I'm not Ayn Rand. :P  I was thinking in terms of the bit where the hero literally sacrifices his or her life for an ideal or for another person.  But in general, I am interested in looking at ways to point out situations in real life that many people mistake for "zero sum" when they actually aren't, and in putting together literary works wherein the protagonists are able to creatively problem-solve in ways that respect all involved.  I know there's a lot of dramatic tension inherent in the "struggle to resolve who wins in a zero-sum game", but it would be interesting to see if similarly satisfying levels of dramatic tension could be achieved in a setting where everyone manages to win in some way.  In short, I'm curious about the prospects of a story with an Interesting and Non-Dumb Mega-Happy Ending.

- Anne


"Like and equal are not the same thing at all!"
- Meg Murry, "A Wrinkle In Time"
       
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