In almost every fantasy book or film, the main protagonist is portrayed as a hero who must struggle to overcome deadly obstacles and potential defeat. Peter Beagles' novel The Last Unicorn published in 1968 and JK Rowling's novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone published in 1997 are two very different stories, but they share numerous similarities regarding heroism. Harry Potter and The Last Unicorn share a similar ideology of what a hero is, in the sense that a hero is portrayed as a single entity. It is common nature to read a fantasy novel and describe the main protagonist as the hero; however, when looking at Harry Potter and The Last Unicorn, the secondary characters display much more heroic qualities than the main protagonists themselves. Harry Potter and the Unicorn are the main heroes of the novels, but it is the secondary characters that help give them their sense of heroism, which subsequently leads to the secondary characters becoming heroic themselves. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Comparing Rowling's and Beagles' novels, it is obvious that there is a main protagonist - Harry and the Unicorn, or Lady Amalthea - and other secondary characters, such as Ron, Hermione, Schmendrick and Molly. However, the protagonists are not the only heroes present in the novel. If heroism is based on nobility and courage, Lady Amalthea might not even be considered a heroine. After being transformed into a human, Lady Amalthea loses her sense of heroism and simply becomes a damsel in distress dealing with her love interest, Prince Lir. He only restores his sense of heroism when he returns as a unicorn and defeats King Haggard and the Red Bull. Before Schmendrick transformed Lady Amalthea into a unicorn again, she was planning on remaining as a human to be with Prince Lir, and evidently leaving all the other unicorns as King Haggard's prisoners. Schmendrick and Molly had to persuade Lady Amalthea to make the right decision to leave Prince Lir and save the other unicorns. Without Schmendrick and Molly's encouragement and help, the unicorns would have remained King Haggard's prisoners and Lady Amalthea would have remained a damsel in distress. There may be only one protagonist, but there is no single hero in these novels. Harry Potter and the Unicorn are both the central focus of the two novels, but the secondary characters serve to advance the plot while keeping both Harry and the Unicorn prevailing over Voldemort and King Haggard. In The Last Unicorn, Schmendrick's definition of a hero is that "[t]he hero must fulfill a prophecy, and the villain is the one who must stop him." Schmendrick also states that "a hero must be in trouble from the moment of his birth, otherwise he is not a true hero" (Beagle, 127-128). Schmendrick's definition of a hero is identified with the Unicorn, but surprisingly also with Harry Potter. By definition, Harry and the Unicorn are heroes. Their names, being the titles of both novels, represent Harry and the Unicorn as the only heroes, even before reading the stories. The reader is set up knowing who the focus of the narrative is on, and therefore analyzes and criticizes only the main protagonists, without looking further at the other secondary characters. Secondary characters do not have the same opportunities to be considered heroic due to the lack of focus and strict definition of what it means to be a hero. By Schmendrick's definition, it is clear that he does not consider himself a hero. His decision to help the Unicorn was not because he sees himself as a hero, or as her "knight in shining armor", but because he simply wants to helpunicorns. Schmendrick considers himself an amateur magician, but he still uses what little magic he has to help save her. Schmendrick's ignorance of his own heroic qualities further highlights his humility and goodness of heart as a character. Harry Potter and the Unicorn are heroes, however they do not become heroes by defeating King Haggard or Voldemort on their own. The two villains in the novels – King Haggard and Voldemort – only target the Unicorn and Harry. King Haggard sought to capture the last Unicorn, just as Voldemort's only revenge was against Harry Potter. Despite this, the secondary characters still chose to join forces with the protagonists, risking their lives to support a friend they only met for a short period of time. In Harry Potter, Voldemort targets Harry because he is the only one he is unable to defeat. Voldemort would be able to kill Ron and Hermione without any difficulty, as they pose no threat to him in any way. Ron and Hermione prove themselves to be heroes, because despite the terror and anxiety surrounding the name of Voldemort, they decided to fight alongside Harry and use all the magic they can to help him kill Voldemort. When Harry was planning to search for the Philosopher's Stone alone at night, Ron and Hermione reacted by saying: “…you don't think we'll let you go alone?…Of course not. How do you plan to get the stone without us? I better go look at my books, there might be something useful” (Rowling, 291). Ron and Hermione relentlessly show their loyalty to Harry despite their own fears and insecurities. Their friendship with Harry was brief, however, as the threat of Voldemort's return became reality, Ron and Hermione, despite their freshman level of magic, did not allow Harry to face anything alone. Just like Voldemort only targets Harry Potter. , King Haggard only targets and preys on unicorns. The terror of King Haggard and the Red Bull has no impact on Molly and Schmendrick, yet they risk their own safety to help the Unicorn find more of its kind. Molly and Schmendrick even degrade themselves by working as King Haggard's clowns and scullery maid, allowing Lady Amalthea to secretly search for the captive unicorns. Unlike Schmendrick, Molly has no magical powers or abilities of any kind, which, however, puts her in further danger; as a woman, she is able to see the Unicorn for what it truly is. Due to Molly's infatuation with unicorns, she begs Schmendrick to allow her to accompany them on their journey to King Haggard's castle. She argues with Schmendrick, “[s]he is letting you travel with her, although I can't understand why, but she doesn't need you. She doesn't need me either, heaven knows, but she'll take me too” (Beagle, 99 years old). Molly and Schmendrick are aware of the little influence and ability they have against King Haggard, but their passion and nobility surpasses their strength. In fantasy, there is substantial importance placed on magic and becoming a superb wizard or magician. In Schmendrick's case, his struggle to become a good magician began when he failed to free the unicorn from Mother Fortuna's cage. Despite his constant struggle, Schmendrick has always been able to use his magic in dire straits to save Lady Amalthea and the unicorns. When Schmendrick was tested and had to use his magic to make wine from water, the skeleton exclaimed “ah that was the real stuff, that was wine! You are more of a wizard than I thought” (Beagle, 237). Initially reading this novel, Schmendrick would not be considered a hero due to the fact that his magic tricks often fail and he is not taken seriously as a magician. While Schmendrick's magic is inconsistent, the Unicorn hashe continually needs him throughout the novel and is always able to prevail. In Hermione's case, although all wizards at Hogwarts place importance on magic, she is particularly passionate about her studies and is becoming a stronger and more powerful wizard. Hermione studies for months before her exams to be the best, however, being a hero isn't simply about demonstrating impressive magical abilities. Hermione is not a hero for being at the top of her class, but for her help in defeating Voldemort and saving Harry. Schmendrick is a failed wizard struggling to perfect his magical tricks, while Hermione is a first-year student at Hogwarts just starting her wizarding studies. Schmendrick and Hermione are heroic not because of what they are capable of, but because of how they use their magic to save the main protagonists from defeat. Although the secondary characters do not have the same power as Harry and the Unicorn, with their help they are powerful enough to defeat King Haggard and Voldemort. This struggle and perseverance is what the fantasy genre captures as heroic. Harry and the Unicorn are born heroic prophecies, but it is the supporting characters who help them discover their full potential. Harry was astonished when he began receiving letters addressed to "Mr H. Potter: The Cupboard Under the Stairs", and was even more perplexed when he discovered that he was a famous wizard (Rowling, 36). When Harry went to Hogwarts and the name Potter quickly circulated, Hermione asked him, "are you for real?... I know all about you, of course - I have a few more books for basic reading, and you're in History of Modern Magic." , and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and the Great Magical Events of the Twentieth Century” (Rowling, 113). Similarly, in The Last Unicorn, the Unicorn overhears hunters discussing the extent to which unicorns were becoming extinct. In a moment of anguish and confusion, he states “all I want to know is that there are other unicorns somewhere in the world. Butterfly, tell me there are still others like me” (Beagle, 15). Both Harry and the Unicorn share a similar humble and heroic virtue and are unaware of the magnitude of their powers. Harry and the Unicorn discover their full extent of heroic qualities and potential through encouragement and constant reassurance from the supporting characters. Harry Potter and the Unicorn began as prophecies; however, their popularity plays an incremental role in their reputation as heroes. The name Potter was known to everyone at Hogwarts before Harry's arrival, which led to Harry being treated like a celebrity by both students and staff. His fight against Voldemort as a child, which led to the death of his parents, and the lightning bolt scar on his forehead made history in the world of magic. As a result, in The Last Unicorn, the Unicorn was given similar treatment due to its magic, beauty, and horn. She was wanted to take part in Mother Fortuna's midnight carnival, because her beauty was considered profitable. Even under the male gaze, she was still considered a “pretty cutie” (Beagle, 9). Popularity and heroism are not interchangeable, but it can be misunderstood that Harry and the Unicorn are considered prestigious for what they are, rather than what they accomplished. Defeating King Haggard and Voldemort is heroic; however, their defeat cannot be blamed on Harry and the Unicorn alone. The novel's secondary characters are indisputably the cause of both heroic defeats because of their endless support, encouragement, and help in magical abilities. Secondary characters tend to be overlooked in fantasy because they are often not considered important enough to have a specific title. or role apart from "lateral kick". Since i. 2014