The villain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The villain - Essay Example The story of Eric from The Cape is a great example of fluidity between definitions of hero and villain. As a child it is clear that Eric wants to be a hero. He feels his cape gives him special powers. He likes what is good and wants to work hard to support it. Once he loses his cape, even though he leads a life of incredible good fortune with Angie, he seems lost. He is no longer a good person. He is certainly no hero. Left to his own devices, is the true character of Eric a person without any redeeming qualities? Does Eric need a crutch (i.e. his cape) in order to be good? Doesn't goodness come from within? These are questions for a longer paper. 3:10 to Yuma illustrates this dichotomy a bit more effectively in the personages of Ben Wade, a villain if there ever was one, and Evans, a hero. Wade shoots innocent people and feels nothing, as we see at the beginning of the story. The contrast between Wade and Evans is key. Without the good of Evans it would be harder to see the bad of W ade. Nevertheless, we see people change. At the end, Wade effectively saves Evans' life on the train. Is he a cold-hearted killer after all? He does seem to live by some kind of code. What does it mean that it is Evans he saves? Does he see the good in Evans and feel like he is worth saving for that reason? These are curious questions that the story leaves us with.