The Big Question #3: Revised

The Big Question: #3 Is Peter considered a hero?

Q: The character of Peter is a 15 year old ordinary lower class boy who becomes a heroic figure by the end of the novel. People can be heroes in many ways. Commonly, people choose to lead noble, honourable or risky lives and they become heroes as a result of their choices or training, like peace keepers or firemen. Others are "accidental heroes" where circumstances arise and it is their unexpected responses that make them heroic. What kind of hero is Peter? Or is he one at all? Provide examples from the text and compare Peter to someone from the past or present that you would call a hero.

In the beginning of the story, Peter had to run away from his hometown hiding from a tyrant called Sir. Philip, due to a small incident that sparked Sir. Philip’s anger towards Peter, and he had no choice but to leave his hometown. Later, Peter meets various people and events who lead him into becoming a hero of Queen Elizabeth.

In the novel, Peter is considered a hero, since he stopped the conspirators from murdering the Queen and the evil plans they had in mind of overruling England. However, he wasn't born determined to save England, which makes him an "accidental Hero". Some of you might ask, what differs an accidental hero from heroes in general? Well, for instance, heroes in general include firemen, policemen and many more. They are people that others rely on and being a hero becomes their duty. On the other hand, accidental heroes, are people who weren't born to be a hero but because of their actions that makes them become heroic figures. Therefore, Peter would be considered an "accidental hero".

The situation that sparked the whole adventure was when Peter threw the rock at Sir Philip. If you think about it, if Peter never threw the rock, in result, he would not have had to run away from home, and then he would not have become a hero. He had no choice but to run away from his hometown and later met Mr. Desmond's theater company, which eventually lead to him meeting kit and William Shakespeare. These events were all leading to Peter finding out the plans of the conspiracy against the Queen of England. Also, Peter met the “Yellow Gentleman” and gave his script to him and later found out where all the conspirators were meeting to discuss their evil plan. The entire journey and experience made Peter realize that he had to become a hero and save the Queen, because he was the only one who knew their secret and the only one who could stop them. It was his actions that made him a hero, for instance, when he went to the yellow gentleman's house and retrieved his script back, he could have just went back to the theater and not noticed and cared about the things that were written on the back of the script. Instead, he tried to figure out what they meant. He took the initiative to investigate in them and made the choice to save England and stop the conspirators from assassinating the Queen.

Peter, as a character in "Cue for Treason", was similar and comparable to Harry, in the novel series, "Harry Potter". Harry Potter was also considered a hero from saving his school and the entire wizard world. However, no one ever thought he would become a hero, not even himself. He had a long and dreadful journey but he always stuck to his plans and choices in saving the wizard world and that resulted him in becoming a heroic figure at the end. Peter, on the other hand, had quite a similar journey as he went through many troubles that tried to stop him, such as when Sir Philip constantly chased after him and when he got caught and was trapped in a deserted island. He could have just given up and forgot about the whole situation. In the end, Peter chose to save his country and not let it get taken over by the atrocious tyrants and that was what made him become a hero.

Peter was not born determined to be a hero, but his actions and choices made him a heroic figure since he risked his life and did whatever it took to go for what he believed in (saving England), and that's what makes up a hero, and in Peter's case, an accidental hero.