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Literature vocabulary · Character and Characterization

Hero

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCore term

In literature, hero means: The main admirable character in a story, often facing danger, difficulty, or moral tests while driving major events.

In Turkish: kahraman

How it is used

Common in general reading and literary analysis. It may describe a brave central figure, though modern works sometimes question or complicate the hero's status.

Example sentences

  1. The committee discussion focused on whether the novel's hero deserves admiration after hiding crucial evidence from his closest friend.

    In this example, hero means the central admired figure, but the sentence questions whether that admiration remains justified.

  2. While proofreading the textbook, I noticed that the chapter calls the farmer a hero because he protects the village during the flood.

    Here, the word points to a character whose brave action gives him moral importance in the narrative.

Common collocations

  • tragic hero
  • epic hero
  • hero figure
  • characterA person, or sometimes an animal or creature, who takes part in the events of a story, play or poem.
  • protagonistThe main character of a story, whose goals, problems and choices drive the plot and whom the reader follows most closely.

More terms: Character and Characterization

Practise with graded reading

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