Yossarian As A Hero

Yossarian may not be the ideal image of a hero, but in his own way he fulfills this reflection of a hero. This may be either by making the correct moral decisions, earning the respect of others, or serving as a model towards other soldiers. But what is a hero? According to Time’s “Webster’s New Ideal Dictionary” a hero is a “mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability”. This is only one of the many definitions of a hero, the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, for example, defines a hero as “a person who is admired for brave or great acts or fine qualities”. So, how does Yossarian fit into any of these categories? Yossarian is definitely not a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, but he does have some of the qualities in the second definition. He is courageous, brave, and sometimes moral. There are many types of heroes. As J.S. Morin states in his article “7 types of heroes” there is the perfect hero, the misfit, the grizzled old-timer, the everyman, the anti-hero, the prodigy, and the un-hero. The perfect hero is that who portrays everything good about humanity and possesses great courage, skills, bravery, etc. The misfit is the one who everyone least expect, be it because of appearance or that he is a social outcast. The grizzly old-timer is he who already has experience and knowledge; he serves as a teacher towards others. The everyman is the one who was at the