Comparing Heroism In Candide And The Love Suicides At Amijima

What is heroism? Heroism is typically described with qualities such as courage, bravery, fortitude, unselfishness, or someone who has achieved some fantastic goal or status, or even someone who has accomplished a great task. Heroism consists of always striving to do what is right, rather than what is pleasant, or convenient, or what everyone else is doing. In the stories "Candide" and "The Love Suicides at Amijima," it is proved that almost anyone can be a hero. This is established when people of the so called "middle class" emerge as heroes. Candide finds himself in several situations where it is necessary to be a hero. The first situation in which Candide is a hero is when he is kicked out of the castle in Thunder-ten-tronckh, for having a sexual encounter with Cunegund. Thereafter, Candide is captured by the Bulgarians and is given a choice
"to run the gauntlet six and thirty times through the whole regiment, or to have his brains blown out with a dozen musket-balls (27)." Being the "hero" he is, Candide chooses to run the gauntlet. Instead of the thirty-six times he was to run the gauntlet, our "hero" makes it only twice until he pleads to the Bulgarians to shoot him in the head (27). Subsequently, Candide travels to Lisbon where he experiences the famous earthquake in 1755. One prime example of heroism in Candide, is when Candide no longer has great inclination to marry Cunegund, but honors his promise anyways and does. During the story, Candide is also hunted by the Inquisition and Jesuits, and threatened with imprisonment in Paris. In "The Love Suicides at Amijima," you are not able to depict who the true hero will be until the ending act.
As a reader, we hope for Jihei to come along and save Koharu since she truly loves him; however, there is a catch, Jihei is shown to be a weak man that's unable to choose between two women (his wife – Osan, and Koharu). When Jihei's wealthy rival in love, Tahei, buys Koharu off, Jihei faces a public humiliation that he can't bear. At the same time Osan realizes that Koharu will commit suicide rather than go off with Tahei because she is not unfaithful as Jihei thinks (when he overheard Koharu talking). Osan, the epitome of the faithful wife (this story's hero), urges Jihei to pawn their last clothes and buy Koharu, to save both her life and his dignity. At this moment, Gozaemon, Jihei's father-in-law appears and forcefully takes Osan away, ending the marriage. Jihei and Koharu manage to slip away at night, journey along the bridges to the Amijima, and commit suicide together. Osan is truly the hero of this story because she was able to do what was "right", rather than what was pleasant, or convenient to
herself. Candide and Osan are both great heroes in varying, and also similar ways. Candide not only survives through life threatening incidents, but also, like Osan, knows when to do what is "right." Thus, both men and women can be heroes; also, heroism is the same thing when it comes down to gender (a woman could go through the things Candide did, and vise versa). If anything, these two stories only modify our traditional ideas about heroism, and a small amount at that. Both characters, Osan and Candide, have the many qualities that describe heroism; these include courage (both), bravery (Candide), and unselfishness (Osan). They both strived to do what was "right," and that, right there, is what made them true heroes.