"There are heroisms all around us"

One of the passages I have highlighted in the book is in the very first chapter when Malone is talking to Gladys.

"But chances are all around you. It is the mark of the kind of man I mean that he makes his own chances. You can't hold him back... There are heroisms all around us waiting to be done.... ... ...But you shouldn't do it merely to please me. You should do it because you can't help it, because it's natural to you - because the man in you is crying out for heroic expression." (pg. 5-6)

I found this passage really interesting when I first read it because it encompasses such an "antique" view of what and why men, in particular, should do things. I thought about how it's now "okay" or accepted for women to be the heroes too. However, as the story continues to develop, I see how Gladys' trivial statements at the beginning are actually developing into truly meaningful things for Malone. During the beginning of the book, I was honestly annoyed with Malone because it didn't seem like he had any kind of direction or passion for himself. It was only to please others (Gladys in particular). But as the story is unfolding, I think that he's finding that thing inside him that "can't help it." Like his persistence in convincing Challenger to not only tell him about his expedition but also following and how comfortable he feels about going. I think that he's developing passion from curiosity and this parallels with how he's transforming from a boy into a man (as discussed in class).

In the end will Malone find that a part of him was always "crying out for heroic expression" and will end up being the kind of man that Gladys has envisioned? Will he discover a passion for adventure and the unknown? Will he regret not being more skeptical about Challenger's claims? Or will he continue to be "gullible" even after his trip to the lost world because in all reality, he did simply believe what he was told about there not being a lost world without question until he met Challenger. Will this cause him to question other "norms"?