Learning Adventure #2

Gary Stager posed the question from Down Under, "Is Ned Kelly a hero?" At the considerable risk of alienating the sizeable chunk of the Australian population who believes that he is, I would argue that Ned Kelly is not a hero. Instead, he was a criminal whose deeds were popular during a particularly unrestful period of Australian history, but none of these actions would make him a hero.

Perhaps, first, it is best to describe the classical view of the qualities of a hero. The Greeks believed that "a hero fulfills the definitions of what is considered good and noble in the originating culture" (Hero, 2006). Helen Langer believes "[v]irtually all of our facts depend on context," and I believe that in the case of Ned Kelly's heroism that the context of the time would place him as a hero, per the Greek concept (2000). The popular culture of Australia during the 1800s was rough and perhaps a generation or two removed from a criminal past; Australia was used as a penal colony by Great Britain during this period, and Ned's own father had been exiled to Tasmania for the theft of two pigs (Wikipedia, 2006). Given this context, I believe that contemporary opinion would hold Ned Kelly a hero. However, in today's context I do not believe that he is a hero.

The young Ned Kelly's brave rescue of Richard Shelton from drowning is seen by some as his the first act that established him as a hero (Ironoutlaw, 2006). The act was undeniably brave, perhaps bordering on heroic. However, beginning at the age of fourteen Ned began amassing a criminal record, beginning with an assault on a pig farmer (Wikipedia, 2006). Scarcely a year later he was convicted again of assault and spent three months' doing hard labor (Wikipedia, 2006). After release, he quickly was reincarcerated for yet another crime, this time for horse theft (Ironoutlaw, 2006). Subsequently, he was involved in the assault on a police officer, a crime that sent him deep into the bush. From there, Ned Kelly and his gang went on to shoot police officers and rob banks until, wounded by gunfire, he was captured, rehabilitated, tried and hanged.

Perhaps Ned Kelly's status as a hero grew out of his contemporary context. Seen by much of the public as largely ineffective and corrupt, the police force did much to solidify Kelly's reputation as a hero, as they frequently committed perjury, held suspected sympathizers "on remand" in an effort to apprehend Ned Kelly, and generally acted criminally. It is easy to see how the contemporary public would see an individual like Ned Kelly, resistant against the injustices of the police, as a hero. But modern context reveals Kelly to be a common criminal caught up in robbery for robbery's sake.

The concept of heroism is tied to the contemporary opinion, and it is easy to see how an individual like Ned Kelly would be promoted to hero status by his fellow countrymen. However, through the lends of the twenty-first century Ned Kelly is no more a hero than Bonnie and Clyde, for example, part of another gang who were seen by their contemporaries as heroes because of their bank robberies committed during the Great Depression. Robbery, bloodshed, and murder have never been seen by any civilized culture as being "good" or "noble," and for this reason I am unable to label Ned Kelly a hero.

Works Cited:

Hero. (2006, September 21). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:20, September 22, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hero&oldid=77011994

Langer, E (2000). Mindful Learning. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9, Retrieved September18, 1006, from private forum

Ned Kelly. (2006). Ned Kelly Australian ironoutlaw. Retrieved September 22, 2006, from http://www.ironoutlaw.com Web site: http://www.ironoutlaw.com/html/history_01.html

Ned Kelly. (2006, September 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:05, September 22, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ned_Kelly&oldid=76880465

Follow Up Post

Yes, I did consider the persecution Ned Kelly seems to have suffered at the hands of partial and vindictive judges, and it did factor into my determination of Ned Kelly's hero status. The original question, "Is Ned Kelly a hero?" was very open ended: it presented no context by which one could frame the question. In my reply I attempted, I believe, to consider the question in historical context as well as contemporary context. In reflection, I was applying literary critique of the hero as well. I also believe that my determination of Ned Kelly's heroism was based upon my contemporary judgment of Kelly and his character. As I acknowledged, historical context would probably judge Ned Kelly's heroism based upon the corruption of the judicial system in 1860s Australia, his ability as a "resourceful bush-worker" able to make his own and survive in the rough outback, and an ingenious hardware "hacker" who built a bullet-proof suit of armor (Ironoutlaw, 2006). After all, 32,000 people petitioned unsuccessfully to stop his execution; his status and popularity were cemented upon his "martyrdom" (Ironoutlaw, 2006).

In judging Ned Kelly to not be a hero in contemporary context, I believe that I rejected the classical view of the hero, where the heroic individual is judged as such by his or her actions that are seen as noble and just in the originating culture and time. Classically heroic individuals such as Odysseus, or I argue Julius Caesar, whose status was tied to that of the Roman gods, could kill yet still be considered heroic because of the context: slaying of foes, perceived or real, was a valuable skill in his culture and time. I acknowledge that I miswrote that "Robbery, bloodshed, and murder have never been seen by any civilized culture as being 'good' or 'noble,'" for in the classical view the hero could, indeed, define his- or herself by such skills.

Instead, I judged Ned Kelly's heroism in the context of a modern hero, where the hero is held to be a role model. For his crimes and actions I am unwilling to call Ned Kelly a hero. His reactions to his mistreatment did not elevate his above his tormentors nor distinguish him in his own actions. His status among those who hold him as a hero list among his accomplishments him being "expert with a 'running-iron' on stolen, unbranded stock" (Ironoutlaw, 2000). His criminality precludes me judging him a modern hero. I still hold that "modern context [of being a hero] reveals Kelly to be a common criminal caught up in robbery for robbery's sake" (brackets added), though I admit upon releflection the importance of the Jerilderie Letter, specifially his writing about the possibility of uprising and the possibility that he planned the use of stolen funds to initiate such insurrection. Perhaps Ned Kelly's thievery had more intent than "robbery for robbery's sake" after all, but it does not excuse the behavior nor elevate him to a role model. Additionally, it fits too closely with the classical view of the hero, which I already rejected.

Where does this leave leave me in my consideration of Ned Kelly as hero? How do I reconcile the historical context of Ned Kelly's heroism with the modern context of heroism, the context with which I feel most aligned and that finds Ned Kelly to not be a hero? I believe my answer again lies in a literary convention of heroism: the tragic hero. The tragic hero possesses a flaw so fatal that it leads to his or her ultimate downfall. Othello, the leader of men and a nation, the devout lover, becomes consumed by the lies planted by Iago, murdering his own wife and Iago's before taking his own life. I see Ned Kelly as a tragic hero, for it considers the attributes that made him heroic in historic context (resistance to unjust system of justice, bush-ranging) with a fatal flaw (an aptitude and propensity for violence). I believe this determination to finally answer the question, "Is Ned Kelly a hero?" and revise my original answer to, "Yes, and a fatally flawed one at that!"

Works Cited:

Ned Kelly. (2006). Ned Kelly Australian ironoutlaw. Retrieved September 22, 2006, from http://www.ironoutlaw.com Web site: http://www.ironoutlaw.com/html/history_01.html