Heroes can come in all different shapes and sizes, and oftentimes heroes come in the form of people and things you would least expect. Many different things can make a hero. In the movie Star Wars Luke Skywalker is just a normal young farm boy with an amazing untapped gift and an incredible path to follow. However, heroes don't always have to have an amazing gift or journey to embark upon. Oftentimes being a hero means having the ability to make tough and difficult decisions under trying circumstances and extreme pressure. Just like Luke, the young high school student Doug from Neal Shusterman's short story Blue Diamond is faced with many difficult decisions. Luke is faced with leaving his home after his parents are murdered. Luke has to decide whether or not to go with Obi-Won on his journey to become a Jedi Knight or staying on his parents' farm and living a normal lifestyle. Similar to Luke, Doug also faces thoughts of losing someone close to him and traveling far distances to help save others. Doug travels with his friend Quinn to Las Vegas where Quinn is, unknown initially to Doug, planning to end his own life. Doug trys many things to help Quinn re-think his actions such as telling Quinn all the various things that he has to live for. With Luke leaving to become a Jedi Knight and Doug leaving to help his friend they both grow into something neither of them could have dreamed to become. Facing death made both of the characters to do things they thought to be impossable. Another similarity in the two stories is they both have a "journey to the underworld" and both have to think of how to escape in one piece. In Blue Diamond, Doug and Quinn's journey to the underworld occurs when they are in a deserted parking lot and two obvious criminals approach and try to sell them a blue diamond. In Star Wars, Luke and his friends fall in a garbage compactor chute and face being crunched with the garbage. Just like Doug, Luke has to be creative and think of a way out before him and his friends die. In the two stories, the characters must stay calm and be creative when trying to escape the underworld in one piece. However, the two stories have many differences as well. When Luke goes on his journey, he has people there to help him get through tough and difficult times where as Doug has just himself to change his friend's mind. When Luke is destroying the Death Star, Han Solo and Chewbaka help him by making sure he has time to shoot his missiles into the Death Star. Without their help, Luke's plane would have been shot down by his enemy Darth Vader. Doug however has to do his hero work alone. Doug has to change his friend's mind in a matter of hours without having anyone else with him to help. Often times in a hero's story, the hero has the help of others to get out of situations, but having friends with you doesn't make you any less of a hero. Heroes are revealed by the way they face difficult situations and most heroes don't know they will be a hero until the situation presents itself. Because we can't be sure when or where a hero is made, we have to wait and see when, and in what shape or form, they will be revealed to us.
Differences-Luke
Has Special Gift
Friends on journey
Many opponents
Same-
Help People
Face difficult Decisions
Belly of the Whale
Journey to the Underworld
Differences-Doug
One Person
No powers
Few opponents
