The Idea of a Hero in the Fiction of Barry Hannah
             The concept of a hero and the characteristics that one person feels are embodied by a hero are explored in the short story "Ride, Fly, Penetrate, Loiter" by Barry Hannah. Everyone wants to be a hero, but in reality few are. There are many people who consciously and unconsciously undermine their attempts to become a hero. Ned Maximus, the protagonist in Hannah's story is just such a person. Ned states that he "wants some hero for a buddy" (page 36). Hannah has definite ideas of the way a hero should act and communicates these through Ned. Ned, on the other hand, seems to act in a manner contrary to these ideas.
             Ned believes that a hero should never lie, but should always be truthful. In being an honest person a true hero should be appalled by fakes and frauds. Ned, a drunk would like to believe that he is truthful but reveals himself as a liar when he states "I have been sober ever since. I have just told a lie" (page 42). He is indeed a liar; therefore, according to his own definition he is not a hero.
             In his dissertation on the qualities of a hero, Ned mentions that a true hero could possibly be a writer and he, Ned is a writer. In "Ride, Fly, Penetrate, Loiter" Ned is stabbed in the eye by an acquaintance, Billy Six Fingers. Since this incident Ned insists that he can "see things more clearly through his one good eye" (page 37). From this clarity Ned states that "I will write some times and my bones will hurt" (Page 38). Ned insists that he now writes with a passion that he never had before he was able to see things more clearly. He asserts that he writes from inspiration, from what he observes and comprehends in his world. This inspiration has occurred because of the clarity with which he now views things.
             Another heroic quality is the ability to love and to place someone else's needs a...