Strong Men in Fiction

Although many in our culture might say that fiction does not need any more strong men and that they are a stereotypical prototype I fervently disagree. Most books and films these days do not have good men, despite what others tell you. At first glance, this might seem a little absurd to say, but maybe this article will change your mind. Although it is not always as easy to see in black and white and things have broadened out a little especially when it comes to the introduction of antiheroes, or tragic heroes, a lot of times we find three types of leading character men in books. The first is the gruff macho, who simply uses his good qualities, strengths, and power for his own good and pleasure without regard for a high standard. He is many times a bully throughout most of the story. Next is the coward, who is not a leader, is very indecisive, and often only does a brave act around at the end of the story to redeem himself. Although these two types of men can be irritating if their characters are written wrong, there are times that they work very well. Even though these characters are overdone to death, a coward and bully both have a chance to either become a true hero or memorable villain, depending on whether they feed the monster of vice or destroy it and rise victorious. The coward in particular can often be a relatable character for many of us. Fear is something that is very real to men, and a man's greatest fear is more than often the doubts in his head about if he has what it takes in a moment of decision or has enough courage to die for someone. If a man's greatest fears are a reality, then the protagonist has a great challenge ahead of him filled with conflict, and a chance to either conqueror mightily or fail epically. One great way to write about this type of character is to go outside the box a little bit and not use the stereotypical guy who seems weak for no real reason. Give him a backstory with something like past brokenness or a ghost that haunts his mind with some terrible dramatic memories, that he must learn to overcome.        

Now the third kind of man I am about to describe is the most common and, in my opinion, the worst type of character you can have. Almost always the protagonist in a high-action film or book, this character has plenty of good qualities. He is smart, brave, very skilled, and athletic, managing to keep alive in the very jaws of grave danger, and despite all the odds he comes out on top a hero, despite all his imperfections, often dethroning some horribly evil villain. At first glance, this kind of character is a true hero. After all, didn't I just describe most superheroes? I did but without looking a bit deeper into all of their actions. If we look at protagonists like Iron Man, Indiana Jones, or the typical James Bond we can often overlook some rather serious problems with their characters. They might be heroic at times and fight for good, but they are far from virtuous. They engage in promiscuous sex with various women with little or no future responsibility, seek personal glory, have little discipline, often commit questionable moral discissions, and are pompous and prideful. The worst part of this is most of the time there is no change of heart, repentance, or consequences. These vices are seen as cool or just part of who the "hero" is. Even men from ancient works like Achilles from the classic Greek Myths or Sir Lancelot in Arthurian Legends suffer from this selfish hero syndrome of doing great things but falling so far short in their morality. However, most of these older more traditional works also include serious consequences that result from the failings of these characters. Even so when it comes to these latter mentioned protagonists of ages past, it is hard for me to even think of them as heroes at all. In my opinion, strong men are far more than people who can defeat the enemy on the battlefield, they must quell the evil inside of their own hearts. They must have not only courage but self-control and decency. Sure, they don't have to be perfect, but a good male protagonist should love his family, own up to his mistakes, and strive for far more than just being able to get the girl or win a battle.