Folk hero
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A folk hero is type of hero, real or mythological. The single salient characteristic which makes a character a folk hero is the imprinting of the name, personality and deeds of the character in the popular consciousness. This presence in the popular consciousness is evidenced by mention in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore. Folk heroes are also the subject of some films.
Although some folk heroes are historical public figures, they generally are not. Because the lives of folk heroes are generally not based on historical documents, the characteristics and deeds of a folk hero are often exaggerated to mythic proportions.
The folk hero often begins life as a normal person, but is transformed into someone extraordinary by significant life events, often in response to social injustice, and sometimes in response to natural disasters.
One major category of folk hero is the defender of the common people against the oppression or corruption of the established power structure. Members of this category of folk hero often, but not necessarily, live outside the law in some way.
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[edit] Historically documented folk heroes
[edit] United States
- Johnny Appleseed - He introduced the apple to large parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois
- Aylett C. (Strap) Buckner - a Indian-fighter of colonial Texas
- Billy the Kid -- a 19th century American frontier outlaw and gunman
- Bonnie and Clyde - bank robbers who evaded retribution in the United States in the 1930s
- Calamity Jane - A tough Wild West woman
- Casey Jones - United States railroad engineer who chose to die rather than abandon his locomotive during a collision
- D. B. Cooper - pseudonym] for an aircraft hijacker who leapt from the back of a Boeing 727 as it was flying over the Pacific Northwest
- Davy Crockett - An Indian-fighter, Congressman, and died as a hero fighting in the Alamo. Also known as the King of the Wild Frontier
- Kaluaiko'olau - Hawaiian who evaded deportation for leprosy by hiding in the Hawaiian rain forests [1]
- Tamanend -- An Indian Chief who became the source of many folk legends that propelled his fame to mythical proportions during the time of the American Revolutionary War
- Mike Fink - The toughest boatman of the Mississippi and is rival of Davy Crockett. Also known as the King of the Mississippi River Keelboatmen
[edit] Other countries
- Norman Bethune - Canadian doctor, active in China with the Eighth Route Army
- Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson - Swedish rebel and temporary regent in the 15th Century
- Eppelein von Gailingen - German robber baron
- Tomoe Gozen - Japanese woman samurai warrior
- Ned Kelly - Australian outlaw
- Lam Sai Wing - Chinese martial artist and student of Wong Fei Hung
- Nils Dacke - Swedish leader of a 16th century peasant revolt
- Robin Hood - English outlaw usually associated with the motto "Steal from the rich, give to the poor"
- Spartacus - led the largest slave revolt against the Roman Republic
- William Tell - began the Swiss Rebellion against the Austrians
- Wong Fei Hung - Chinese doctor, martial artist, and revolutionary
- Janosik - Polish outlaw living in Tatra Mountains in the time of partitions of Poland, defending Polish peasants from the tyranny of Austrian landlords
[edit] Possibly apocryphal folk heroes
- Rummu Jüri - Estonian folk hero, an outlaw who stole from the rich to give to the poor
- Till Eulenspiegel - German trickster
- Fionn mac Cumhaill - Irish warrior
- Mulan - Chinese heroine who disguised herself as a male in order to join an all-male army
- Fong Sai-Yuk - Chinese martial arts folk hero
- Molly Pitcher - A heroine of the American Revolutionary War
[edit] Folk heroes known to be fictional
[edit] United States
- Febold Feboldson - A Nebraska farmer who could fight a drought
- Joe Magarac - A Pittsburgh steelworker made of steel
- Paul Bunyan - giant lumberjack of the North Woods
- Pecos Bill - giant Texas cowboy who "tamed the wild west"
- John Henry - A mighty steel-driving African American
- Alfred Bulltop Stormalong - An immense sailor whose ship was so big it scraped the moon
- Tony Beaver - A West Virginia lumberjack and cousin of Paul Bunyan
[edit] Other countries
- Cúchulainn - Irish folk legend and the pre-eminent hero of Ulster in the Ulster Cycle
- Koba - Georgian folk hero whose legend bears a resemblance to Robin Hood.
- Taylor Bradshaw - Canadian folk hero, possibly a variant of Paul Bunyan
- The Little Dutch Boy - Saves Holland from disaster by persisting in keeping his finger in a dike; first mentioned in the 1865 novel Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates and sometimes incorrectly called Hans Brinker
[edit] Current folk heroes
Only the passage of time reveals which folk heroes will endure; the following persons have been described as folk heroes in the current international media.
- Marvin Heemeyer - constructed an armored bulldozer and destroyed a number of buildings in the town of Granby, Colorado on June 4, 2004.[citation needed]
Additionally, figures from newer storytelling mediums may be seen as folk heroes. The Man Without A Name of the Spaghetti Western Films and Bruce Wayne (Batman) could easily be classified as such.
