Scarlet Pimpernel; How to Be a Successful Hero free essay sample

Like many groceries are needed to feed a family, many requirements are needed in being a successful hero. To be a great hero, one needs a good disguise, money, courage, intelligence, loyal followers, and needs to be able to keep secrets. If one does not have any of those, then one’s plan of becoming a hero will be crushed like a falling building. In the Scarlet Pimpernel, Percy, who is the Scarlet Pimpernel, has all of the listed requirements of being a hero. Having a disguise is a major requirement. To be a hero, one must have a disguise to keep their real identity hidden from the public. Percy uses many disguises throughout the book Scarlet Pimpernel. One of those is acting stupid to everybody, so they would not expect anything big from him. Then, to be able to help people escape from the guillotine, which chops people’s heads off, Percy dresses up as an old lady, so that no one knows it is him. We will write a custom essay sample on Scarlet Pimpernel; How to Be a Successful Hero or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Then, towards the end of the book, Percy dresses up as a Jew, so that Chavelin, a worker for the government, couldn’t find him. Marguerite, Percy’s wife, finds out about Percy’s disguise as the Jew, when he yells, â€Å"Damn† (Orczy,2002,p. 204) in a good, solid, absolute British voice that she could not mistaken for someone else. But a good hero also needs money to be able to succeed. A good successful hero needs money to afford the requirements of a hero. First, one needs money for transportation, like when Percy needed a carriage. Then, one needs money for costumes for dress disguises, like when Percy was disguised as an old lady and a Jew. Next, one needs helpers to carry out one’s plans. Finally, one needs money for bribes. Heroes can bribe people to keep secrets and to do other parts of the hero’s plan for them. A hero also needs courage to do the job. To be a hero, one needs to have courage. Percy has a lot of courage as the Scarlet Pimpernel. First, the Scarlet Pimpernel is known for saving aristocrats from the guillotine. One must have courage to help people who are about to get their heads chopped off. Then, so Percy could stay undercover and not be caught, he allows soldiers to beat him with a whip, while he is dressed up as a Jew. Percy had the courage to take the whipping and not confess his true identity. Also, one needs intelligence to be a successful hero. One needs much intelligence to be a successful hero. Percy has enough intelligence to secretly plan to save people from the guillotine. He also uses his disguises well enough so he remains anonymous to his enemies. Percy has the intelligence to earn enough money to afford the duties of a hero. He also knows he has to keep his â€Å"hero status† a secret. In addition, Percy needs loyal followers to help him through his plans. Loyal followers are a â€Å"must† for a hero. Sir Andrew was one of Percy’s best friends and loyal follower. Sir Andrew and many others assisted Percy, Scarlet Pimpernel, in helping others escape the guillotine. Once they helped Percy in his plans, they were loyal enough to keep his secret about his identity, as Scarlet Pimpernel, from the public. As important as it is for heroes to have loyal followers, it is just as important for the hero to be able to keep secrets. A hero must be able to keep secrets to be successful in his or her job. Percy keeps his most valuable secret from his own wife, Marguerite. He acts stupid in front of her, so she will not suspect him as being Scarlet Pimpernel. Percy also has a secret room. He keeps all of his hero paraphernalia hidden in his secret room. However, his secret room is later uncovered by Marguerite. Although Marguerite found Percy’s secret room, she joined him in keeping his secret from the public. If one has a life ambition to become a hero, one must meet the requirements of having a good disguise, money, courage, intelligence, loyal followers, and the keen ability to keep secrets. A disguise is very important in keeping one’s identity from the public. One must also have money to carry out a hero’s plans. To do those plans, you must have courage and intelligence. Loyal followers must be able to keep secrets and help the hero through his or her work. Keeping secrets is a key to being a hero. One must meet the above requirements to become a successful hero.