According to Umberto Eco, "The true hero is always a hero by mistake..." In other words, we do not act heroically as a lifestyle, but by surprise when the time comes to do it. Being heroic means putting others before yourself in a desperate time of someone else's despair. Two works of literature that fit the critical perspective 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 an exceptional father to his children and always teaches them the right perspective on life and the people around them. He was appointed as a lawyer for a black man who had “raped” a white woman. This was a daring task because it was a white woman's word against a black man's. While Atticus took this challenge as an opportunity to really try to win this case, everyone considered it already lost. Atticus wanted the trial to be fair and to make it clear that Tom, the man he was defending, was innocent. He shows...