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Shelby McGarry
Mrs. Petty
ENG 091 Mon/Wed
October 6, 2014
Character Analysis Essay
A hero is defined as this amazing, risk-taking, selfless individual, such Simba
from the Lion King. Simba is a typical Archetypal hero, a person or fictional creature
that goes out of their way to help others, which is a great example of the ideal hero.
Heroes should be defined as an individual going out of their way to put others
before themself. It does not only show bravery, but in addition it shows strength.
Simba is the ideal hero because he is courageous, selfless, and powerful.
Every hero has to be courageous, without courage they would be a coward
and not take a risky chance. Simba shows that he is courageous when he saves his
best friend Nala from being attacked by the vicious hyenas. She trips and falls
shouting out to Simba to rescue her, and he does just that. Simba races back to her
then sinks his claws into the hyenas cheek, swiping his hand across his face. This
causes the hyena to wimp and retreat while leading a bloody trail behind him.
Another example of Simba being courageous was when he saved his kingdom, Pride
Rock. He crossed the hot, dry desert in order to save his family from its new wicked
leader Scar. When he reached Pride Rock, Scar immediately saw Simba as a threat
and suddenly attacked. Simbas strength caused Scar to eventually give up, by
surrendering to him waiting for those last minutes before his life was over. But
Simba did not take his life, but in fact he banished him from Pride Rock for eternity.

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This makes Simba a hero because of his courage to take on both the Hyenas and Scar
to save others from encountering danger.
Selfless is defined as having more concern for others around you then having
concern over yourself. Heros need to be selfless because they are putting themselves
in danger to protect a person. Simba shows this when he saves the kingdom. He
doesnt do it out of the consideration of becoming king, but he does it because he
wants to rescue his friends and family that are suffering under the rule of Scar. In
addition another example that shows how Simba is selfless is that he saves his
mentor, Pumbaa from becoming a meal of the adult Nala. Although he does not
know that the adult Nala was his best friend in the past, he still fights her off until
she realizes that it is Simba. These are perfect examples of Simba risking everything
to protect others around him. In addition, some heroes do risk their lives for other
people, but most of the time it is for the publicity. They want the recognition for
what they did, on the other hand Simba did not.
Lastly, the last characteristic that a hero should have is being powerful. Being
powerful doesnt always have to mean like strength, because there are heroes that
arent super strong. By having power means that they are assertive and aggressive.
Lions are on the top of the food chain; therefore they are the most powerful species.
In addition, Simba uses his power of being on the higher end of the food chain by
defeating the hyenas that were attacking and ruling over Pride Rock. He fought them
until he reached Scar, the ruthless ruler. In conclusion, a hero must identify
themselves as a dominant figure to keep the lives of other people safe.

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Overall, Simba is the ideal hero because he is courageous by defeating the
hyenas and his evil Uncle Scar. Next, he is selfless by putting others before himself.
In addition, Simba is on the top of the food chain because of his power and strength.
Overall, being a hero isnt about the fame and fortune, its about helping others out
and having the power to bring the evil to justice.