Jim:
<<"Fixers," to use your term for those who set things
right in a tough colloquial fashion, have greater nobility of
character than the general population for the clear and
simple reason that they are heroes and it is in the nature of
heroes to have greater nobility of character than the general
population.>>
Yes, but why is, say, John Marshall Tanner seen as a hero by
the readers?
<<Nobility of character aside, "fixers" do what they do
because doing what they do is their vocation, and when what
one does is a vocation, he doesn't argue about it. He just
does it.>>
A lot of PIs don't seem particularly "vocational". Lew
Archer,for example, knows that more often than not the
situation will be worse after his intervention. Yet he gets
into it. It's more like accepting a fate than following a
vocation. We know he's not happy. He may even be
depressed.
Some day, we'll get to the bottom of it. In any case, no
question that nobility of character + bravery are highly
desirable in a hero. They're highly desirable in a human,
period.
Best,
MrT
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