A Hero Or A Monster?

A character in the book that I found interesting was Conor. During the beginning of the book it shows Conor having a recurring nightmare of his mother falling into a pit, and being eaten by a monster, and these nightmares occur because she has cancer, and is dying. Throughout the book, it is obvious that he is terrified of his mother dying, and being left alone without her. When the other ‘real’ monster appears to him, he isn’t scared of it at all. I found this aspect of the book very interesting, since I think if most 13 year olds, or anybody for that matter, were faced with a real life monster who visits you every night, they would be intensely scared. I think the reason he wasn’t scared of this actual monster was because he had bigger, and scarier things to worry about - like losing his mum. I think the fact he wasn’t scared of the monster was a little bit ironic, but more upsetting than anything because I was able to feel, and see, just how scared he was of his mother dying. It made me feel a lot of sympathy for him, since it’s obvious he wasn’t getting to go through what a normal boy should. The monster that visits him every night tells Conor that he will tell him 3 stories, and says “You will tell me a fourth…and it will be the truth.” Conor had been in denial about his

Not a Hero is a simple and beautiful World War One poem by Clyde Hamilton which has been read at ANZAC Day ceremonies across Australia. The poem tells a narrative of an ANZAC veteran, or “old digger”, at an ANZAC ceremony telling stories of heroes to a young boy. It effectively uses a simple, yet descriptive and telling vocabulary, as well as using literary devices such as rhyme and alliteration. It’s conservative and structured style demonstrated throughout the poem creates rhythm and makes the poem flow and thus easier to fathom.

Asma states, "Monsters can stand as symbols of human vulnerability and crisis, and as such they play imaginative foils for thinking about our own responses to menace.” This means that human weaknesses and fears are represented through monstrous figures, and these fictional situations provide perspective into how we react in fearful environments. In our current society we fear many things, including but not limited to failed or corrupt governmental systems, the afterlife, the unknown, and captivity, which makes this claim valid. Although we may not realize it, these fears are embodied by the horror monsters we see in popular culture. Society shares common fears, and often times the most prevailing fear is reflected in the most popular characters at any given time. Monsters are the fictional representations of society’s dark subconscious, exploring not only why the author’s statement is accurate but what we actually fear.

Is knowledge always something good to have? In mary Shelley’s gothic novel, Frankenstein, knowledge was the source of great pain and suffering for many of the characters included in the story. The novel supported the idea that ignorance is bliss through both Victor Frankenstein and his monster only receiving pain and destruction in their quests for knowledge. Frankenstein and his monster, each with everlasting hate for each other, were more alike than they were aware. Had Victor just stayed in Geneva Switzerland with his friends and family instead of venturing off into Ingolstadt Germany he could have avoided all the tragedies in the book and lived a long and happy life. Had the monster

In poetry and in song, literature, and action movies, the hero embodies the qualities of bravery, strength, and honor. According to Merriam-Webster, a hero is a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability: a warrior: a person admired for achievements and noble qualities: one who shows great courage. While others define this concept as a trustworthy cause a selfish or unselfish act. On the other hand, a hero is someone who stands for integrity and justice for all mankind and willingly put his life in peril for that belief. As noted there will always be different definitions of a hero as of the diverse perspective on the issue.

What makes a hero? Saving a puppy from a burning building? Or what about being a single mother raising three kids and working two jobs? Both of these could be good candidates for heroes since they both possess the characteristic of strength—not just physical strength, but mental strength. This is one of the most important traits of a hero but it is not the only one. Courage, intelligence, and morality are also necessary in order to really get penciled in to the “hero” category. Being a hero also means doing what’s right almost all the time, even when no one is looking. So that guy who just happened to be in the right place at the right time gets the rubber end while the hard-working mother who

“I want to be Batman.” That is a typical response from a preschooler if they are asked what they want to be when they grow up. However, heroes are not always wearing capes. They can simply be an Indian man that changed his mindset into something more inspirational. There is one thing that Superman and a policeman have in common. They are both heroes. No matter how different the fields are, they are brave, helpful, and hardworking. A hero can be someone known for courageous achievements. They are normally men, but can be women too. Heroes come in many different ways. Some characteristics of a hero are someone who has enormous courage, strength, and knowledge. They usually have a big effect on people’s life and are pretty well known. A hero is also known for helping people and not doing it out of revenge. They must have a good heart because they are putting themselves at risk for others. The people need to have trust in him because he is putting their life on the line, so they cannot be evil. A true hero isn’t perfect. They have disagreements and bad days, but the motivation to get back up and help day after day is definitely a true hero. Being a hero is tiring, because being a hero is not a one-time thing, so one cannot just do something good for a day and call themself heroes. Being a hero means loving what you do. It means getting up in the morning, ready to help people in any way possible, everyday. Mohandas Gandhi is a hero because he was helpful, had leadership and

Richard Matheson’s short horror novel, I am Legend, belongs to the “horror survival” genre, a genre which entails a protagonist’s/hero’s endeavor to outwit and survive dangerous elements that may range from grotesque fictional monsters with harmful intentions to worldwide disease epidemics. I Am Legend encompasses such horrors, told from the tale of lone survivor Robert Neville, and his endeavor to survive a post-apocalyptic world ridden with bloodthirsty vampires. But going against the horror genres usual gradient, the vampires of Matheson’s novel are not Neville’s worst threat. Even more threatening of a monster is the social isolation the vampires corner Robert Neville into. The need for sociality is often overlooked because social contact is embedded in everyday activity. But Matheson shows that, when severed from that privilege, our socially reliant nature draws forth a horror scarier than fictional monsters. Matheson focuses on such implications of isolation in I Am Legend, and subverts the Post-Apocalyptic horror genre’s meaning (or is it

The audience expects the protagonist, Robert Neville, to continue his battle with the vampires up to the point where he is finally able to overcome them. These set of expectations forces the audience to read the novel through a specific lens, a lens symbolizing purity. Robert Neville can “[hear the vampires] outside, their murmuring … their snarling and fighting among themselves” (Matheson 6). By using specific diction to describe the vampires, Matheson sets up the overall image of the vampires. For example, he uses the term snarling which is a term used to describe animals; therefore, Matheson establishes that the vampires are animal-like, inferior creatures in a sense. Also, the vampires are fighting amongst themselves. This demonstrates that the vampires lack intelligence and morality since they are fighting and killing their own. This description allows the audience to automatically refer to the vampires as monsters. Noël Carroll, a preeminent philosopher and aesthetician of modern art-horror, explains in his essay, The Nature of Horror, how an audience's normal reaction to a monsters impurity is a major aspect that classifies novels as a part of the art-horror genre. In regards to I Am Legend, Matheson establishes this claim

The difference between a hero and a villain is the same as the difference between right and wrong or good and bad. A villain is bad while a hero is good. Some villains may not look like villains. Villains could wear a disguise as a method to get through people or to get away with any of their wrongdoings. Just like a villain, a hero may wear a disguise if needed. Sometimes a hero can be a random civilian or a bystander when something bad takes place. I, like many other Americans, consider men and women in the military or armed forces to be heroes. I don’t think the word Villain is used as often as the word hero is used. While watching the news, you may hear reporters calling someone who does something heroic a hero but they usually don’t call

There are many types of heroes (such as the ones in comic books, myths, movies, or even just everyday life heroes) but all of them have perseverance when they’re going through a conflict. Heroes are role models and they’re people that we look up too. They all have unique and special qualities that make one another different from each other. For example policemen battle crime everyday and when they’re overcoming a conflict they have determination, courage and other traits that people admire them for and that make them as a hero. Typically a hero is admired for their achievement/actions and qualities.

Christopher Reeve once said that, “a hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to preserver and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” It appears as though the world is constantly in need of saving. In turn, heroes have always been around to inspire, entertain, and protect people from evil. One society that told of heroes was the Anglo-Saxons. They told of wondrous heroes that accomplished glorious feats reflecting the values of their society. However, as time presses forward societies adapt to the advancement and breakthroughs that come with passing time. With that, the definition and characteristics that describe heroes has evolved over time as well. Analyzing what makes a hero, differences and similarities are present pertaining to the definition of heroes among myself, Hollywood, and the Anglo-Saxons, however, aspect of each definition may be applicable to today’s world.

The definition of the word “hero” varies from person to person. It’s never completely the same. Their definition of what a hero is or should be is formed from their past experiences. The scenes they’ve witnessed, the stories they’ve been told, to the shows and movies they’ve watched. All of these things contribute to their idea of what a hero is. Strong, courageous, outgoing, fearless, never straying from the right path. These are some of the most common characteristics people expect a hero to have. So when I think of someone seeing me as a “hero” or someone who’s “heroic”, I wonder what they’ve experienced to consider me as someone who’s heroic.

Monster and horror movies can be a perfect mode for representing repressed fears and can be seen throughout the history of the genre. Haitian zombies can be seen as a representation of the fear of being stuck as mindless workers forever, werewolves can be understood as representation of our repressed fear of being our most primal selves, Frankenstein as a fear of the power of modern science, and so on throughout history. While this film creates a sense of uncanniness through the replacing of our loved ones with mindless automatons it can also be seen as a repressed cultural fear of being a mindless, emotionless, cookie cutter member of suburbia that was present in the 1950s when this book and film were

When the word "hero" is spoken, everyone has different thoughts. Some will think of super powers like flying and saving people from villains; while others have a certain person they know or have heard of that come to mind who have done something to make a difference in the lives of others but who is a hero to you? To answer this question you must first ask yourself what a hero is; what comes to your mind when someone says the word. When I am confronted with these questions I always have the same thoughts; smart, strong will power, and someone who stands up for what they believe is right.