What is a hero? A hero is defined as someone who, in the face of danger or from a position of weakness, displays courage and the will for self sacrafice for the greater good of all humanity. Stories of heroism are seen throughout literature and occur in the Bible, Greek myths, and almost all writer's works. The idea of the hero has carried on from the beginning of literature to todays many forms of media. Heroes can be seen in books, television, movies, and cartoons. Some of the most famous heroes today are the comic book heroes such as Superman and Batman, but does a hero always have to be good? Angel is a vampire and Doyle is a half demon, but both of them are heroes. Angel and Doyle are both willing to scrafice themselves for the greater good of all the half bloods in the episode "Hero." Doyle is the real hero in the episode because he sacrafices himself for Angel as well. I think this episode is appropriately titled, and I think the idea of the hero is an interesting topic to discuss when taking about the character of Angel. I believe he is a hero because he is trying to protect the Los Angeles area from harm, but I think others may not classify him a hero because he is something evil himself, a vampire.
Along with this idea of a hero, I starting thinking about Angel's name. Do you think there is a reason for his name being Angel? I believe Whedon named him Angel because he is an angel, saving people in every episode.
Whether you see him as and Angel, a hero, or just a concerned citizen, it's hard to deny he is looking out for the common good of mankind.
8 comments:
so if he is looking out for the good of mankind...is it from a place of altruism, or is it all atonement?
I think it's altruism if my understanding fof those two words is correct. I believe Angel helping others is selfless and he really just wants to help others. However I don't know much about Angel so my idea of him as a character is not based on much.
I'm up in the air, because I feel like it is a mix of both. I think he feels guilty for all the bad he has done as a vampire, which is leading him to be a more altruistic person, and in the first episode you can see him genuinely reaching out to Tina, and even Cordelia.
But at the same time he seems to have such trouble with relationships and being a good boyfriend etc., I don't know if he would be so good a person if he hadn't done so many bad things he feels he needs to make up for.
I always believed Angel's soul demanded atonement for the wrongs he has done, but after watching 'Hero' and the preceeding episode 'I will remember you' I believe now that his willingness to turn back into a vampire (with a soul) was a completely altruistic decision. He knew that if he remained a human many lives would be lost and he was unwilling to sacrifice their lives for his own happiness.
So I guess the evolution of Angel has encompassed both.
After thinking more about this, which I have been since Cait asked it, I also think it's a mix of both.
Whedon plays with stereotypes in a lot of his writing. While vamps may usually be seen as "evil" creatures, Angel is obviously not, allowing him to break from the stereotype and actually be seen as a "good" hero. With regards to his name, I just see it as more of Whedon's ironic humor.
This is a great thread. You all are pretty smart!
As for Angel's name, it is addressed in some flashback episodes. His "bad guy name," Angelus, is given to him by the vampire who makes him a vampire, and she clearly means for it to be darkly ironic. That's the short version of the answer.
Yes Michelle, after reading all this I see it as a mixture, but I just lean to the more human, and therefore flawed side of Angel, even though I DO find him to be a very altruistic character a lot of the time.
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