How can we define the word “hero”? Who is the hero in your mind? Should hero always be someone else? Nowadays, young people really like different heroes like Capital American, Iron Man and so on, and most of them really want to be a hero to save the world. In the eyes of most people, a hero is someone that can save the world from disasters or someone has a superpower. Merriam-Webster defines the word “hero” as “A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, an illustrious warrior or a person admired for achievements and noble qualities”.
I Kill Giants is an American series of comics which was created by writer Joe Kelly and artist J. M. Ken Niimura. The story talks about Barbara Thorson, who is a strange girl in others’ eyes, is addicted to Dragon and Dungeons and related fantasy works. However, she is completely alienated from social aspects because of her obsession with fantasy works. One day, Barbara believes that the giant is real and firmly believes that the giant is coming, but no one believes that she is considered a weirdo, making Barbara stand alone on the adventure of stopping the giant. So is Barbara Thorson a hero in I Kill Giant? Although she doesn’t fit the normal impression of a hero, she becomes a hero of herself.
Barbara is her own hero because she insists on being herself. Being one’s self, for some people, will be a big problem. Whenever they insist on their choices, they will always lack confidence. Self-doubt and self-criticism are their habitual attitudes. In I kill Giants, although all the people around Barbara doubt about what she says about giant, and they just think Barbara is just a girl who addicts in games or her own world. However, Barbara never cares about others’ words, she is sure that the giants will come and she has to beat them. “With respect, principal Marx, until you’ve actually fought a giant…until you’ve seen the horrors that crawl behind them…until you’ve plunged your arteries and felt the hot wet spray of victory by the steaming perfume of spilled entrails.” (ch3).
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Barbara said when the principal asks her to stop talking anything about giants. However, Barbara doesn’t really care the requirement from the principal, she insists the giants exist. It is not so easy to be yourself. It means taking responsibility for failure, going through setbacks, and dare to face conflicts with others. Too many people are attacking others and lack the courage and ability to cope. Hello, everyone, everyone, and a group of sympathy, but sacrificed themselves. Too many people are afraid of the true sense of independence, the inner strong anxiety Make them discouraged. So being yourself is the direction everyone wants to improve, and those who are self-fulfillers are examples.
Barbara is her own hero because she is fearless in the fear of her heart. In her world, she has been preparing for fighting with giants for a long time. She is not afraid of giants and she has the confidence that she can kill giants. “No. I’m not afraid of them…Because I have this. I have the great Warhammer Coveleski.”(ch4) Barbara said to her counselor. Actually, no one is a superhero, nothing is afraid. In the face of our own fears, we always subconsciously avoid the past. Under such circumstances, sometimes we want to change, we must rely on external forces, perhaps reading a book, or looking for a psychotherapist to help them find exports.
“Heroes have always faced pain and struggles in the past, and each has its weaknesses. Realistically, being your own hero is about being your own unshakably loyal friend, not about being super-human. It’s about choosing to rise from experiences and live each day compassionately — starting with yourself.” written by Debra Campbell in How To Be Your Own Hero. It can also be said that when your cognition does not change, you will not have the courage to try to flip your life, and you will not be able to escape from the past. However, Barbara is not afraid of the fears he is facing and she must kill the giants by herself.
Barbara is her own hero because she has an unbreakable faith. The main reason why Barbara has to beat giants is that she wants to save her mother, and it becomes her faith. Barbara never stops what she is doing for beating giants even people around her are doubt with her and try to stop her. She always insists on her faith and prepares for fighting against giants. “You will not take her! Don’t you hear me? You will not take my mother.”(ch6). She said to Titan. What she is doing may be really insane in others’ eyes but it is meaningful for her because she has an unbreakable faith.
Only with an unbreakable faith, people will not lose themselves. If people don’t know who they are, it’s easy to compromise on themselves. If people don’t know their position on one thing, they will inevitably be influenced by the more determined voices of others. The values in people’s hearts are ambiguous, and they don’t even feel it. At this time people are very easy to be told by others. In the experience of life, people gradually recognize who they are. Every step of the effort makes our beliefs stronger.
Barbara is her own hero because she conquers the fear of her heart. I Kill Giants actually talks about the story about how Barbara conquers her inner fear. After the mother got sick, the situation at home changed a lot, the little girl couldn’t accept it, so she always imagines that the giant wants to take her mother’s life, and the giant lurk in her house, and in the nearby jungle, want to ruin her life. Everything, so she is afraid to go upstairs, afraid of the giants and believe that she is a wizard who can kill the giant to save the mother. After a storm, she kills the giant in fantasy and see the reality and finally got out her fear.
“We are a lot stronger than we think we are,”(ch4) Barbara said to her counselor. Everything has two sides and has both positive and negative properties. Psychologically ill people are accustomed to choosing to pay attention to negative attributes although they often expressed as positive desires. For example, wanting to maintain good health is a positive desire, but it is always afraid of getting sick. Excessive attention to the body every day, sensitive and suspicious, may lead to negative results. In this way, not only will there be anxiety, but also the more you are afraid of what, the more you come.
Because of the integration of the mind and body, persistent negative emotions often cause various physical discomforts and even lead to psychosomatic diseases. This is a positive desire that leads to a negative result. However, Barbara finally conquers the inner fear of herself. “We are going to be.all right…”(ch7) Barbara said at the end of the story.
“I Kill Giants follows a segment of the life of Barbara Thorsen, arguably the greatest giant slayer of all time, in her quest to defend the world from giants—and maybe defend herself from some giants and ghouls of her own.” The review was written by John Sudworth on Goodreads. When people were young, most of them imagined saving the planet like a superman and being a hero of the world. When they grow up, they realize that they are only an ordinary individual in this ordinary world. Reality makes people recognize, but it can’t deprive people of the right to be a little hero in their life.
Even without superpowers, people are still irreplaceable and unique in their world. It seems like Barbara is fighting with giants but actually, she is fighting with something inside herself also the whole world. Although she suffered some bullied or some critical comments, she never changes. John. Maybe Barbara can’t be a real hero, but she can still be her own hero.
References
- Merriam-Webster – Definition of Hero
- Comixology – I Kill Giants Comics Series
- Amazon – I Kill Giants (Movie Tie-In Edition) Book
- BookBrowse – I Kill Giants Book Review
- IMDb – I Kill Giants Movie Information
- Wikipedia – Hero (Definition and Examples)
- Collider – I Kill Giants Trailer Breakdown
- The New York Times – I Kill Giants Movie Review
