Heroism, Sainthood, and Ordinariness Theme Analysis

Ed Kennedy, a 19-year-old cab driver with no ambition or close personal relationships, feels like the heroism and sainthood others have attained are impossible for a person as ordinary as himself. However, after Ed embarks on a mission of doing good deeds for strangers, those he helps begin to view him as a hero or a saint. When the man who gave Ed his mission arrives at the end of the novel, he reveals to Ed that the mission was meant to show how even a person as ordinary as Ed can become capable of heroic and saintly acts.

At the beginning of the novel, Ed Kennedy views heroes and saints as people completely different from him. Ed introduces himself by comparing his life as a deadbeat underage taxi driver to those of historical figures who made great achievements by the time they were his age, most notably the saintly and heroic figure Joan of Arc. Ed says that the reason he has not lived up to these figures is because he is “unfit” and “weak.” This reasoning shows that Ed sees himself as inferior to heroes like Joan of Arc because of his inherent ineptitude. After Ed foils a bank robbery by preventing the thief’s escape, he fantasizes about his town’s local papers publishing a story about his actions with the headline, “Taxi Driver Turns to Hero,” but he thinks the papers are more likely to call him a “deadbeat.” Not only does Ed have a low opinion of his ability to become a hero, but he also believes that others see him this way too. Ed’s belief in his own ordinariness is so strong that even when he commits a traditionally heroic act like stopping a crime, he still views himself as less than incredible. Later, when Ed receives a playing card in the mail with addresses written on it, it leads him to a house where a man is brutalizing his family, and Ed deduces that whoever sent the card wants Ed to stop the abuse. Ed desperately wants to save the family, but he feels weak and helpless compared to the abuser’s large stature. Ed sees himself as unable to become the hero this family needs due to fact he is not extraordinarily strong, as he believes a hero should be.

As Ed completes more missions, those he helps compare him to a saint or a hero, but he resists this characterization because he still views himself as ordinary. After Ed motivates a teenage track runner to take pride in her performance, she asks him if he is a saint. Ed responds by telling her he is “just another stupid human.” Though the teenage girl believes Ed has committed a saintly act, Ed does not believe that helping her changes his inherent averageness. Later, Ed helps a priest bolster his church attendance and the priest says Ed is the kind of saint who, despite not being involved in church, does God’s work. This time, instead of denying the compliment, Ed quietly accepts it. This shows that Ed is beginning to see himself as capable of committing saintly acts despite his previous ordinariness. Ed eventually manages to save the family of the abusive husband by using a gun to threaten the man into leaving town forever. It’s notable that Ed only threatens the man with the gun, instead of actually committing murder like he originally suspected the card was instructing him to, because he believes he is too cowardly to kill him. This suggests that while Ed still lacks the extraordinary courage or strength of a traditional hero, he is nonetheless able to commit the heroic act of protecting the family from abuse.

At the end of his mission of helping people, Ed meets the mysterious person who has been sending him instructions in the mail, and the person reveals that Ed is both ordinary and capable of heroic actions. The man says he picked Ed for the mission specifically because Ed is the “epitome of ordinariness.” As the man argues, if someone as ordinary as Ed can commit heroic acts, like saving the family from their abusive father, then truly anybody can do the same. Ed’s helpful actions, despite his ordinariness, show that heroism and saintliness are not traits one is born with, but instead are acts that one chooses to commit. Ed’s ability to undertake heroic acts like confronting the abusive father also suggests that Ed’s view of himself as inept is entirely self-constructed. While Ed might not be as mythically brave as a historical figure like Joan of Arc, he can express heroism through simple actions, such as facing his fears and caring for others.

Ed’s development from a man committed to the idea of his own ordinariness to a person who commits heroic and saintly acts shows how anyone is capable of being of great service to others. Ed’s ability to help others shows that one does not need to be blessed with incredible strength or divine fortune to stand up for others. One simply needs to be an ordinary person who chooses to care.