A hero is a person who is admired for his brave deeds or noble qualities. In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace portrays the actions of a hero. To be considered a hero, one must have a strong sense of courage. In Braveheart, William Wallace portrays having courage throughout the whole movie. For example, he killed around 100 men and he could shoot fire out of his body. Also, he risked his life and fought to protect the freedom of the children in Scotland and that shows a strong quality of courage. Braveheart is a classic action film that not only follows the epic hero cycle, but also has done much to define it. In the movie, William Wallace clearly exhibits the hero archetype self- sacrifice. When Wallace was young his father was killed, and he had the courage to keep living life and he moved on from his horrible loss. His sense of self-sacrifice was also tested when the Nobleman of Scotland betrayed him. Wallace did not give up on the chance of freedom for his fellow compatriots no matter if it meant he would die. The fact that Wallace was willing to risk his life for the sake of others, that shows that he has a strong quality of self-sacrifice. All throughout the movie, Wallace was determined to fight until Scotland was free. This shows that he was very courageous and does not mind risking his life if it will help out others in the end. .
In the movie, there is an archetype of "star-crossed lovers" that plays a huge role in the movie that was similar to Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. Throughout the entire movie, William Wallace's childhood sweetheart, Murron, experienced many hardships when the English discovered that her and Wallace were married. For example, an English soldier attempted to rape her. Following that, the village sheriff of England captured Murron. The English officials then executed her in front of the public. Following Murron's terrible death, this made Wallace want to fight back and get revenge from the English.
