A True Hero Essay - 3569 Words

A True Hero As I read David Halberstam’s ideas in his essay, â€Å"Who We Are† (2004), I started thinking about our nation’s leaders and heroes. September 11th came to my mind and the many firefighters and rescue workers who heroically risked their lives to save complete strangers. Then, I remembered that the media dubbed Jessica Lynch a hero when she came back to the United States. Not only Jessica, but also many other American soldiers fighting abroad are called heroes. I started wondering if their bravery actually makes them true heroes or not. I asked myself, what is a hero? Do people need heroes? Where does the belief that we need heroes come from? This belief has caused us to over apply our use of the word to almost everyone:†¦show more content†¦Thinking under such an old light causes unclear shadows to be cast on our ideas of who we call heroes. II. Popular Definitions of a hero Today, the archaic meaning of â€Å"hero† has transformed so that there are not only larger-than-life heroes, but also ordinary people with the title. Instead of looking far and wide for a hero, we just have to look near and close for heroes. These heroes most often exist in the unlikeliest of places, right among us. Helen Keller once said, â€Å"The world is moved along not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker† (Think Exist Quotations, 2005). Honest workers are ordinary people who perform extraordinary accomplishments. They make the world a better place by simply doing their jobs and being the best person they can be. In A Choice of Heroes, Mark Gerzon (1982) discusses men who â€Å"symbolize the emerging masculinities† or archetypes, which he calls The Companion, The Mediator, or The Nurturer, for example. However, these men that Gerzon describes as his leaders â€Å"are not superheroes; th ey are real men with ordinary faults. They are ordinary heroes† (p.236). These ordinary heroes that Helen Keller and Gerzon describe could be a father, a preacher, or a doctor. Often, times of tragedy unearth other everyday heroes. For example, on September 11, 2001, policemen, firefighters, and rescue workers became the face ofShow MoreRelatedHero As A True Hero1427 Words   |  6 PagesThe great and mighty Hercules once said, â€Å"A true hero isn’t measured by the size of his strength, but by the strength of his heart.† The word hero comes from the Greek, literal meaning of â€Å"protector† or â€Å"defender†. A great example of a tenacious protector is Beowulf, â€Å"Higlac’s follower and the strongest of the Geats - greater and stronger than anyone anywhere in this world,† (Beowulf 195). A man beloved and looked up to by his people- a noble warrior at heart. 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The needless killing and disrespect to other people s wishes is not part of what a hero should be, or is to endanger the people that he is in charge of. This is why odysseus is not a true hero. â€Å"A favorable wind brought us from the land of Troy to theRead MoreOdysseus : A True Hero1227 Words   |  5 Pageshave held debates about Odysseus. The discussion is whether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. There is abundant supportive evidence to verify all sides of the debate and opinions held about Odysseus. Odysseus had encompassed many qualities that I believe make him a hero. The qualities he embodied were mental strength, physical strength, and spiritual strength. I would like to advocate for why Odysseus was a hero. To support my thesis, I want to explore Odysseus, first in the area ofRead MoreOdysseus Is A True Hero1233 Words   |  5 Pageswhether Odysseus was a true hero, as read in The Odyssey. 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Maybe inside the hero they are nervous, or even scared, but outside they show that they will power through whateverRead MoreThe True Meaning Of A Hero1240 Words   |  5 PagesTo many the true definition of a hero varies. The true meaning of a hero varies according to the individuality of a person due to our uniqueness. A hero to some if not many, is a person who acquires courage, intelligence, strength, and has risked and sacrificed his life for the dignity of himself and the wellbeing of others. A h ero bears the characteristics of a leader, by not only possessing physical strength but most importantly intellectual strength. A hero is also described as someone who landsRead MoreBeowulf : A True Hero1763 Words   |  8 Pagesimpressionable king. Beowulf displays four key characteristics, courage, strength, knowledge, and respect/trust, which are extremely important to the plot, as well as for the life of the Geats, the Danes, and Beowulf’s true identity. From the beginning, Beowulf is viewed as the epitome of a true hero. He may have been somewhat selfish at times and boast about his achievements, but when it really mattered he is there for his people. These traits truly expose the heroic king he becomes. The courage and braveryRead MoreA True American Hero637 Words   |  3 PagesA True American Hero After reading about Alexander Hamilton we can definitely see the importance that he provided in establishing the United States. The author also did a very good job of explaining how Hamilton was able to do this. When we reading the story we can see that Hamilton was able to use his intelligence, Finical knowledge, hard work ethic,background, patriotism, and the respect that others had for him to influence and help establish the United States. It was by successfully obtainingRead MoreThe True Hero: Odysseus623 Words   |  2 Pagesan epic hero. Epic heroes all have good and bad qualities, for example Hercules is known as the strongest man in the world, but he is not that smart. Odysseus is a great example of an epic hero. He is smart, strong, and protected by gods and goddesses, but he does have faults in his actions considering he is only just a mortal. In Homer’s book, The Odyssey, Homer shows how Odysseus is truly an epic hero, by showing his journey back home to Ithaca. Odysseus’s most known trait of an epic hero is his