Final Writing Test

In the 1960s, a popular theme is frequently used by writers in their novels: heroism. More specifically, a hero is generally characterized by the attainment of superhuman powers suddenly and accidentally. He is one exceptional being among ordinary people. Moreover, the person is forced to use his powers for greater good. In the end, after numerous hardships and fights, the hero defeats the villain and saves the world. In the novel Dune, written by Frank Herbert in 1965, we see the birth of a savior. However, Paul Atreides, the hero in this story, is unlike the usual superhumans created in those years. He has not gained his godlike status spontaneously and, in that way, he shows how ordinary people can become great.

Although Paul has many differences with the typical hero, he is similar by his unfortunate circumstances forced upon him. From the beginning of the book, he realizes he will not live a normal life : «Paul felt that he had been infected with a terrible purpose. He did not know yet what the terrible purpose was.»(p.11) In these sentences, it is clearly shown how little power the character has on his future. The word «infected», signifying being contaminated or being invaded by an unwanted agent, refers to Paul’s awareness of slowly being forced to take on a horrible task without the possibility of backing out.

However, as it was mentioned before, he is not the usual superhero. He has gained his strength of mind, spirit and body by slow and painful personal progress : «But strongest in Paul so that he felt it with his entire body was training and the instinctual reaction mechanism that had been hammered into him day after day, hour after hour on the practice floor.»(p.301) This is the biggest dissimilarity betweem the main character and the heros of the 1960s. As we can see in this quotation, Paul has trained since infancy to develop his skills in combat and his mental capacities. They have not appeared out of thin air.

The previous paragraph demonstrates how the hero is not a unique individual. Hope blossoms in the readers after realizing how they too can become a superhero if they choose to work for it. The author finds it extremely important to show his fans that anyone can become strong, smart or skilled in any domain if they work hard enough and put some effort into it . A parallel with our time can be made with this quotation : « All of them, she thought, an entire culture trained to military order.» (p.288) In the book and in our world, the army has always been seen as a group of powerful and strong humans, capable of surviving extreme conditions. Also, all of the citizens know how they have gained such force. It is through long and hard training. The military is one case of exceptionally strong humans, but many more can be seen in more common and less physical domains. In other words, everyone who works hard can become a hero.

In conclusion, Paul Atreides is another superhuman character in a novel which follows the heroism trend of the 1960s. He is forced to free his people on his desert planet and, in the end, he defeats the evil Harkonnens. However, he differs from the stereotype when he gives hope to the people reading this book by showing them how an ordinary person can become exceptional. This is what makes him an outstanding hero and is one of the many elements that causes Dune to be the best-selling science fiction novel of all times.

Word count: 600