The Intertextuality of Heroism

The concept of heroism encompasses many ideas, culture to culture and even person to person. In media, heroes often take on the sole responsibility of saving all they hold dear and keep others uninformed about plans for safety’s sake. In Steven Universe, Steven tried to sacrifice his friendship with Connie in order to keep her out of the dangerous adventures he embarks on. In May Lee Chai’s “Saving Sourdi” and Sophocles’ Oedipus, however, the protagonists are unaware of the realities or their surroundings. May Lee Chai and Sophocles reveal instead how the desperation humans have to be the hero instills a dangerous sense of ignorance and shallowness in them.

It is easy to identify what appears heroic in the eyes of Nea: action. In the opening scene of the short story, Nea stabs a man harassing her sister, Sourdi. Instead of further punishing the man, her mother appeases him by paying for his meal and apologizing. Nea feels like a powerless bystander after her mother’s unforseen submissiveness and realizes she’ll have to act as her sister’s lone protector (bystander effect). Her narrow mindedness is evident in this scene as she fails to consider the bravery rooted in enduring struggles. Nea’s mother tries telling her, “‘You not like your sister. Your sister knows how to bear things’” ("Saving Sourdi").

Similarly, Oedipus’s idea of heroism is tied tightly to immediate action. When Tiresias angers him with glimpses into the future, Oedipus quickly reviles Creon for scheming against him. He declares, “Then let him go, even if it does lead to my ruin, my death or my disgrace…” (Oedipus Rex). He would rather be wrong than let another minute pass without action against a perceived enemy. This showcases the familiar act of equating inaction with cowardliness. This defensive method of lashing out is enacted out of love, for Nea’s sister and for Oedipus’s afflicted citizens. However, this shows a shallow interpretation of love, never coursing deep enough to consider the true effects of their dramatic actions- merely a lazy proclamation of love fueled by pride.

Chai and Sophocles integrate into their pieces their disdain for the hero complex both Nea and Oedipus possess. Chai does this by writing about Nea’s mom- a passive FOIL to Nea’s intensity: “Sourdi always said that Ma used to be a very brave woman...I don’t remember this mother. I remember the mother who worked two jobs for us.” Nea doesn’t recognize that her mother is a strong hero who has relented her pride in order to support her 5 children. Her calculated actions such as arranging a marriage for her oldest daughter to secure a stable life contradict Nea’s rash decisions. Inversely, Oedipus himself develops by the end of the play into a man who relinquishes his power and repents. He says, “Quickly, for the love of god, hide me somewhere, kill me, hurl me into the sea where you can never look on me again” (Oedipus Rex). He emerges as someone befitting to Sophocles’ own definition of a selfless hero.

In the drama, Reply 1988, Bo-Ra gets arrested and is humiliated by her mother’s pleas to the police. She later remarks, “I didn’t know then. When people get stronger, it’s not through their pride, but when they throw away their pride.”

Throughout the pieces, the writers expose the purposeful ignorance that materializes within a person’s hero complex and the violence fundamentally ingrained in it. When Nea answers a phone call from her crying sister, she instantly jumps to the worst conclusion of domestic abuse believing, deep down, that this was her chance. Nea glosses over any sign that doesn’t fit into the narrative that Sourdi needs a savior. During an investigative phone call, Nea described Sourdi’s baby’s “rather average attempts to crawl,” and, “the simple words she was trying to say” ("Saving Sourdi"). These nonchalant descriptions contrast her lively account of driving to Sourdi’s rescue. She convinces Duke to take her on a journey to rescue Sourdi without notifying anyone who might hold her back. Duke sees Sourdi’s bruised eye and immediately “punche[s] Sourdi’s husband in the nose” ("Saving Sourdi"). The chance to feel heroic destructively overshadowed a chance at noncombatively finding the truth. 

Although Oedipus didn’t go on a physical journey to hear the explanation about his background, his path is marred with purposeful ignorance. In addition to labeling Creon a traitor, he doesn’t acquiesce to Jacosta’s pleas to stop searching and refuses to stop interrogating a shepherd- even threatening torture. Desire to be the hero and “bring it all to light [him]self” (Oedipus Rex) manifested itself in truly brutal ways including Jocasta committing suicide.

Emily Dickinson’s poem, “If I Could Stop One Heart from Breaking,” offers more insight to the basic desire so many have to be a hero. She writes,

“If I can stop one heart from breaking,

I shall not live in vain”

Although on the surface level, Dickinson’s assertions seem purely altruistic, she makes it clear that she wants to add purpose to her own life to “not live in vain.” She seeks the rush that being the hero provides through benevolent acts. However, the ambiguity in the line, “If I can ease one life the aching,” showcases the inarticulateness in “doing good,” exposing her desire to simply gain some deeper meaning in her own life. 

This poem reveals the final truth weaved in the ignorance and violence of Oedipus’s and Nea’s hero complexes. Oedipus and Nea are simply searching for their purposes in life. It’s easy to find a sense of self worth and purpose derived from what people perceive are others’ expectations, causing an inflated sense of heroism to the point where they are actively working against others’ best interests.