According to Umberto Eco, "The true hero is always a hero by mistake...." In other words, one does not act heroically as a style of life, but by surprise when the time comes to do so. Being heroic means putting others before you in the desperate moment of someone else's despair. Two literary works that agree with the critical lens are the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, and the memoir Night, by Elie Wiesel. Atticus Finch and Elie Wiesel both demonstrate heroic actions unintentionally. Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird, is characterized as a wise man who is a great father to his children and always teaches them the right perspective on life and the people around them. He was appointed as the lawyer for a black man who “raped” a white woman. This was a courageous task because it was a white woman's word against a black man's. Even though Atticus took this challenge as an opportunity to really try to win the case, everyone already considered it lost. Atticus wanted the trial to be fair and to make it clear that Tom, the man he was defending, was innocent. He shows...