American Heroism

In this lecture the author, Christina Snyder emphasizes putting forward the academic and ethnic comprehension of how America chattel slavery and traditional Indian slavery were part of a lengthy endurance in the evolution of native concepts on captivity. As she stated “captivity was not a static institution for Indians, but rather a practice that they adapted over time to meet changing needs and circumstances” (Slavery in Indian Country: The Changing Face of Captivity in Early America. Pg.4)

The main ideas of chapter one was the conquest and exploration of the early America’s by the spaniards. Throughout the chapter, it explains the difficulties that the spanish explorers faced when attempting to conquer new lands. The primary problem the explorers faced was with the current inhabitants of the lands they wanted to conquer, especially with the cultural differences between populations. On article that exemplifies the cultural differences between the Native Americans and the Spanish Explorers is the third-person biographical narrative called “The Collision of Cultures.” The narrative gives the reader insight on what the indians and the explorers pre-judgement of one another, based off of what the parties believed with their religion and moral. This article’s reader would be

America is a gorgeous country, from her tall rocky mountains to her marvelous oceans. America has fought through the worst of battles, but she always comes out triumphant. America is a place where many individuals call home. She is a symbol of hope, acceptance, and new life. For years, people have been coming to her borders, looking for safety. America is an example to the world, of what a country should be to her people. America holds history, shows the present, and predicts the future. America is always moving forward; she is never content to stand still. However, America could not make all these changes by herself; it is her people that call themselves Americans that make her so great. American is an extremely generalized word. What makes

Louis was bullied, it caused him to do many terrible acts. Louis stole beer, was chased by police, and known for getting into fights. His brother encouraged him to join the track team to keep Louis out of trouble. Louis became such a successful track athlete that he made the 1936 U.S. Olympic Team. From being a track star it brought upon strength to Louis. He became so powerful and calm while lost at sea and at the Japanese POW camp. This expierence taught him how life is so meaningful and what made him who he was.

American Heroes were inspired by Greek Tragic Heroes, yet both are very different from each other, but American Heroes have very similar traits to those who are Contemporary Heroes.  An American Hero is a person who seeks justice and always defeats the enemy which results in all people having the justice they deserve.  American Heroes also tends to protect all and has the tendency to fall in love with the “ damsel in distress”.  This type of hero goes about his daily life, just like anyone else would, until it is time to fight, and at that time, their “supernatural” powers shine through in their fighting techniques.  On the other side, all Tragic Heroes possess a flaw that will change their life from a life of happiness to a life of pain and despair.   Ordinarily, Contemporary Heroes have nearly the same traits as American Heroes.  Contemporary Heroes save and protect many individuals from violence and harm and lives a normal life until they have to face another obstacle.  Both American and Contemporary Heroes are able to celebrate their victories, while Tragic Heroes can not do so because they are not victorious.

“Heroes and victims are the product of the mood they were in when opportunity came or when circumstances were at their worst” said Orson Scott Card. In every movie or television show has a hero and victim but which one is going to have the fans and watchers vote? A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. As an anti-heroic is one who doesn 't act like a typical hero but often is a little villainous. Heroes are from many different cultures for example superman and batman. Chuck Bass is an anti-heroic main character, from the novel and television show Gossip Girls, where he is noted for his financial ambition, hedonism, and personal style. Bass is a huge

For J. Hector St. John De Crèvecoeur and Phillis Wheatley the seduction of freedom was strong enough to have a hold over them throughout their lives. They express obtaining or wanting independence through writing about certain myths of American culture and identity. This idea of unfiltered, unbiased liberty saturates images of America. Even before it officially became a gaggle of nations, North America was known as a wide-open space full of possibilities. Crèvecoeur and Wheatley want the opportunity of self-determination, but it comes easier for one and with more complications for the other. Wheatley has the added disadvantage of her race and gender, while Crèvecoeur comes to these lands with all possibilities open and within reach. These outstanding factors affect the way these two write about American identity. Crèvecoeur’s Letters of An American Farmer: What is an American and various poems by Wheatley comment on the experience of being an American and share a critique on oppression, but there is a dichotomy in their specific views of the American Dream and the Self-Made Man due to their different positions in society.

Heroes have achieved many feats that support the belief of a greater good and expressing valor and selflessness through the ages. There are fictional or real life accounts that have recognized these men and women for their vigor and marked them as heroes due to their events of success and motives of committing the heroic deeds. Yet there are copious amounts of people who have sacrifice themselves for a greater good but they have been lost through time even if their actions were prosperous or doomed in the end with a valiant purpose. They are unsung heroes who committed the actions based on their inner fire of what is right or honorable or rather than the fame they hope to achieve from those acts. The world or a populous may not know of their actions, but the actions and beliefs of an individual or group can entitle them of being hero-like without the necessity of recognition and success. They have lost their lives or a part of themselves to a cause based on righteousness rather than self-gain. They presented selfless heroism rather than the the intention to receive praise from the victories. Sacrifice contributes more to Heroism because the individual invested his or her own determination, valor and accepting the opportunity to risk their self-health (physical or psychological) based on great intentions rather than reaping the accolades of committing good deeds.

The heroic role in America is an indirect, and often unrealized representation of the history of the nation’s formation from abrupt changes and unlikely heroes. Current day society reflects that inconsistency within the cinematic experience, making the choice between a set of character traits unnecessary. The parallelism between the movie industry and the habits of society identifies the characteristics of the American dream; a dedication, but also a discouragement of commitment to community, seeking individualism while also maintaining loyalty to one’s people.

Historically American film have been centered on heroes. In Ray’s “The Thematic Paradigm” he states that heroes as have two preset archetypes with certain characteristics. These two archetypes are the family orientated “official hero” and the loner “outlaw hero.” In Segar’s “Creating the Myth” she states that heroes are made by the steps or events that they go through on their way to becoming a hero. This means that to Seger the heroes do not start out as heroes, but as normal people. However, Ray and Seger suggest different ways in which Americans relate to film heroes, they both agree heroes are popular through common experience and relatability.

American Character is defined as “mental and moral qualities distinctive to an American individual” (Suarez, Different Mirror Lecture). Ronald Takaki is a prime individual that demonstrates American character. Through the development of ethnic studies that was led by him, he acknowledges that American society was built by a diverse group of settlers, from the black slaves that were present before the European settlers, black cowboys, and Chinese settlers who came to mine for gold that were prevalent in towns throughout the Wild West. Takaki also develops the theory of the Master Narrative, that states that America was settled and created by European whites, and this narrative is ultimately what circulates around our country even in present day modern America. Despite the fact that America history also includes a range of groups from the Native Americans who were

Veterans are our American heroes because they made it their responsibility to protect the United States and risked their lives for our country to give us this freedom and wealth. The stress combined with having to leave their families for such a long time can leave a huge impact on them that they have to fight through. Without these devoted people, the America that we know and believe in today would not be present.

I believe that in order to be considered a tragic hero there should be an attempt to go beyond the ordinary person, not necessarily royalty. While Americans may use the simple individual, I would have difficulty in finding their uniqueness to prove hero. Nonetheless, I do believe that it may be dependent on your perspective for the situation. A father who works hard, provides stability, attains a sense of respect and kindness and does everything he can to support and love his family, yet dies on his way to his new job that he worked many years for, would be considered a tragic hero. However, a father who moves from job to job, yells at his family, stays uninvolved with family activities, though he comes home every day and pays the bills,

What is an American and how does literature create conceptions of the American experience and American identity? An American is anyone who pursues the American Dream. The American Dream is defined as, agreeing to abide by the laws set forth in America and acknowledging and accepting anyone else who shows interest or pursues to do the same, putting forth the best effort to support America’s best interests, and not denying the rights of any other person and acknowledging the equality between one another. Literature creates conceptions of the American experience and identity by highlighting both the struggles and positive achievements of American society and the journey taken to get to the American dream.

It is easy to see that current events and issues of the world around them have had an impact on authors and what they have written from the stories in this time period. The Native American authors wrote stories describing life during and after white man came to America. We read Oratory’s by two Native American’s COCHISE and CHARLOT. They gave heart-wrenching speeches, giving great details into the history of the tribes and the devastating effect the white man had on them. Author Zitkala Sa gave us a powerful interpretation of her life as a Indian and how the white’s coming to America affected her life.