A Hero In Disguise

A Hero in Disguise

A hero is one who often times has immense physical strength, romantic appeal, and has a great deal of strength in battle. A hero can be defined as "a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability" (Merriam-Webster). Many times one can find a hero possessing these qualities in fairy tales, mythological stories, or even in their own home. He may be the prince who wakes his Sleeping Beauty, Hercules who endures much turmoil, or a father who is sent off to fight for his country in a war. However, Sir Thomas More is not any of these men. He is not a man of extraordinary strength, exceptional good looks, or fights in any physical battles. Instead, More is the hero unlike any other. He can be defined as "a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities" or "one that shows great courage" (Merriam-Webster). He is one who fights a spiritual battle. One would say he is a martyr who is largely respected and looked upon as one of the greatest heroes of his time.

Sir Thomas More is not a controversial man. His spiritual goodness and integrity is in question of no one. He is pleasant man, who is also a good and loyal friend of the king. His opinions and ideas are of tremendous value and are respected by the king. However, when an issue arises, such as the king's divorce and remarriage, which More does no agree with, he stands by what is most important to him, his faith. He will not give his consent because the decision the king is going to make does not coincide with the Bible and its laws. The reader knows that More does not agree, however, he never states out loud that he feels the king's divorce and remarriage is a bad idea. During A Man for All Seasons, when the king comes to visit More at his home to ask for his consent, the king asks more if he has thought about the matter at all. More responds, "That you should put away the Queen Catherine Sire? Oh alas, as I think of it I see so clearly that I can not come with Your Grace that my endeavor is no to think of it at all" (Bolt 53). When the king questions him a second time More tries to explain to him that his decisions go against God's desires. He explains "But Deuteronomy--" and the king interrupts him, stating, "Deuteronomy's ambiguous!" More then replies, "I'm not fit to meddle in these matters--to me it seems a matter for the Holy See--" and he is cut off again (Bolt 54). More suddenly has to make a choice between his friend and his God.

A second instance in A Man for All Seaons where it is made clear that Sir Thomas More will display the courage of a hero and stand firm in his religious beliefs is when he is talking with his daughter and son-in-law. He tells them that God made man to "serve him wittily, in the tangle of his mind! If he suffers us to fall to such a case that there is no escaping, then we may stand to our tackle as best we can... then we may clamor like champions" (Bolt 126). More wants his daughter and son-in-law to understand that God has put people on earth to do his work. No matter what the