The intellectual as a hero: The critic of reality in Jose Ortega y Gasset, Edward Said and Manuel Puig

The present essay represents an examination of the necessity of the intellectual hero in modern society, as perceived by three writers from the second half of the twentieth century: Jose Ortega y Gasset, Edward Said and Manuel Puig. Although, the provenance of these authors ideas are from different cultural backgrounds and lifestyles, their main goal is the same, the transformation of the ideal individual into an intellectual hero. This individual is an absolute hero able to rescue society from imminent chaos and decline. This society in need of salvation and redemption, can only see hope in this hero capable of saving and stopping society from present and future deterioration. This deterioration is mainly caused by ignorance, laziness, prejudices and lack of education. The essay presents a view of how society can decline or worsen without the presence of an individual capable and willing to rescue it from social and cultural misunderstandings. This individual with the capacity and willingness to salvage society cannot be other than the intellectual hero.;To Ortega, the responsibility of saving society from falling into the obscure abyss of barbarism and decline belongs to an ideal individual hero, one who comes from a minority group of select people with a capacity to overcome the unruly masses. Said's hero on the other hand is an individual able to recognize the oppression and injustices of higher authority and who comes to the right of the oppressed minority. Puig's ideal of a hero can be seen as a combination of Ortega and Said's hero. For all three authors, the intellectual is an individual who looks forward to progress by absorbing information through education, in order to save or help a chaotic society from ignorance and injustice.;The Intellectual hero is a figure who is able to open the eyes of an otherwise blinkered and stubborn society that refuses to recognize choices and redemptive possibilities and ignores cultural diversity. This hero is an answer to society's prayers for progress and improvement, to the oppressed incapable and unable to raise their voices, and to all future generations.