Cullen Family: What Makes A Hero Or Villain?

In literature, characters are always portrayed in such a way so that the reader is more or less able to classify them. Heroes and villains have played an important role not only in literature, but also in other of the many forms of animation and even visual arts. If we look up these words in the dictionary or ask around for different opinions, the interpretation will more or less be the same. A hero is defined merely as someone who sacrifices himself for the good of others. [1] A villain is a wicked or evil person. [2] However we must ask ourselves if these definitions are going to be the same for every case. An open mind is needed to fully understand why a specific character is considered a hero or a villain. It is never enough to simply classify
a character or a person. One must take in consideration what the creator of this character had in mind. [3] Vampires have always if not most of the time, been considered as evil creatures that take the lives of innocent human beings for them to survive. However do we all agree? Stephenie Meyer had a different outlook to what is today and yesterday’s interpretation of a typical vampire stereotype. Breaking Dawn is one of the Vampire Diaries chronicles which has caused an impact around the world. The contrast of different vampire families and the romantic love story of such creature and a human itself, I believe changed many perceptions. In this piece of literature we have the Cullen family, a set of vampires who have managed to control their craving of blood and live around humans pretending to be so.
However they are vampires after all and could be argued the fact that they’re evil like villains. On the contrary we must look at the reasons why they act like this. What makes a person a hero or a villain? How much comes from inner predisposition, from personal destiny, from mere interpretation? Is someone obliged to become a hero or villain by virtue of their existence, or are heroes and villains molded over time with an outcome that could potentially have gone either way? How much of it is
voluntary? The Volturi also play an important role. They are the total law, they possess powers that are lethal not only to vampire themselves, but also to humanity, and most of all they retain the fear and respect of all vampires. Here, we can say that the possession of such powers and the fact that they know exactly how they’re seen is the factor which made them the way they are. Can too much power completely change the way you see things? Absolutely. Furthermore, if we look into their past and fully understand how they were formed and why they act like this, I think about the fact that some of the Volturi themselves were obliged to turn into vampires. Is it their fault that they were almost brainwashed? Would they have been different if some had been turned by the Cullens or even turned at all? It’s a matter of personal opinion but also a matter to take in consideration every possible reason before making any assumptions or characterizing an individual. Edward and Bella have proven to the world and themselves how deeply they love each other and how fond they are of each other.
In a rare but possible outcome Bella got pregnant whilst still being human and as time went by her health was threatened. The baby could kill her, yet she was willing to sacrifice her life and die to save her baby. She had made her decision and made it very clear to Edward. For the baby Bella was a hero. To give away your own life for the sake of another, not even knowing if it was going to survive, I consider it as a heroic act which not everyone will do. However to Edward she was a villain, the most evil one. To simply give up on him like that, not knowing what the result is going to be, was heartbreaking. She knew how if she died he was going to die as well. As a result Bella can be both a hero to the baby and a villain to Edward, yet her reasons for making those decisions were
strong. After a long period of pain and suffering, Bella was about to die. “Something sharper than knives ripped through me.”[4] She expresses her pain very clearly and makes us imagine how Edward must be feeling. The only solution is to turn her into a vampire, yet he did not want this. He knew how she would be dead and alive at the same time, he knew what was like to be such creature, he knew every consequence and did not want that for her. On the edge of her death he had no choice but to turn her. He was going to lose her forever and Bella always wanted to become a vampire. I see Edward as a hero since even though he technically took away her life, he gave her what she wanted. It doesn’t matter how others see your actions, it matters how the affected person feels about it and Bella was happy. Some ask themselves whether it was his decision to turn her but that decision had been made by her. It probably wasn’t easy for Edward to take the first step knowing the results might leave to the death of the love of his life. He took a risk and followed his heart and her desires. To Bella, Edward was and for such reason will always be her hero. He granted her wishes, saved her life and most important to Bella, saved her baby. This baby was a blessing to the Cullen family, however word got to the Volturi that an immortal child was born. This was illegal and could lead to severe penalty. The baby, Renesmee wasn’t such thing. She was half human and half vampire, but the Volturi didn’t know this and planned to come and kill such creature along with the Cullen family. At this point the Volturi are seen as the villains since the writer portrays the Cullens as the innocent vampires and they are threatening their lives. This is a very effective way of making obvious to the reader who the evil characters are. Making them vulnerable and fearful makes us feel pity for them and automatically dislike the Volturi, characterizing them as villains.