Greatness

    "Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon 'em."
    This quote (from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, Act 2, Scene 5), is possibly one of the Bard's most famous--and most inspiring--lines ever written. The words really stir up emotion, so it's no wonder that people often compare famous fictional characters to it.
    It's definitely quite an interesting label. Rather than focusing on what kind of skills and specialties that make them great, it zooms out and draws attention to how the character became awesome and admirable. For example . . .

Some characters are just born to soar.

    Born. The Doctor from BBC's Doctor Who, Charlotte Holmes from Brittany Cavallaro's Charlotte Holmes series, and Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars can all fit into this category. Because from the very beginning, they've either had someone in their life with a reputation they must live up to, or they have a special ability or just a unique kind of personality that practically demands to be used for a huge, awesome cause. Naturally, it's the character's own choice to become heroic, but their origins usually serve as a big factor in the direction they're going in.

Some have to work a bit to get off the ground.

    Achieved. Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow from the Marvel franchise, Mr. Molesly from Downton Abbey, Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, and Tris Prior from Veronica Roth's Divergent series are all nice examples of people who earned their greatness. Because a bright future full of potential wasn't promised to or expected of them in the beginning; they didn't grow up preparing to save the world, didn't inherit millions, and didn't have a famously heroic relative. Some of them had to rise straight from the dust--or, like Natasha Romanoff, from the ashes of a more sinister past--and work very hard over a long period of time to earn every morsel of honor they receive.



And some really need to be . . .
persuaded to start flying.

    Thrust Upon. One could say that Frodo Baggins from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy had greatness thrust upon him, and Cinder from Marissa Meyer's fantastic Lunar Chronicles series, and Eustace Scrubb from C.S. Lewis's Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games. These are the "poor souls" (poor in their own eyes, at least) who get dragged into a conflict and come out with a cape fluttering behind them. The adventure they never wanted to take part in transforms them, makes them stronger, and changes their heart so that by the time it's over, the character is much more heroic.
    Each of these methods of achieving greatness has admirable qualities about them. Because we can all sympathize with someone surrounded by heroes, wanting to earn a name of their own, or at least not disappoint those who expect greatness from them. The diligent, determined characters who achieve their greatness create an awesome underdog story (who doesn't love those?). And while it's kind of funny when characters are reluctantly pulled into adventure (who didn't chuckle when stuffy, cynical Eustace Scrubb freaked out in the movie version of Voyage of the Dawn Treader?), it's also awesome to cheer them on as they become stronger, greater people.
    So what about your own characters? How does your protagonist achieve greatness? Is s/he born with it, did they achieve it, or was it thrust upon them?