Harry Potter Rushing Into Action

A hero is someone that shows courage and bravery and is admired for their actions. Sometimes, a hero is someone unexpected and would never have been thought to be a hero by anyone because of who they are, or what and where they come from. One example of unexpected heroism, is from three greasers, Dallas Winston, Johnny Cade, and Ponyboy Curtis from The Outsiders. Dally, Johnny, and Ponyboy can be considered heroes because of some actions and choices they made.

The hero is usually the character who fulfills a necessary task and who will restore justice to a community. In some ways Christopher Boone a 15-year-old boy with Asperger’s does restore justice to a community by finding out who killed Wellington. Wellington was Mrs. Shears’ dog. He was found dead with a garden fork through his body. Christopher is more of a hero for proving that just because he has Asperger’s it does not mean he can’t do what others can. During the book

Heroes are selfless and put others before themselves in dangerous situations. Such as on 9/11, when a call was given out for boats to come rescue people off the island of Manhattan, where the terror attacks happened, as pictured in “Boatlift” Vincent Ardillo after hearing the news told his wife, “I gotta do something.” This represents heroism because Ardillo is not thinking of how he will be impacted, but rather of the people who need help, as many other people with access to a boat did as well. Also, Ardillo could have stayed home and been safe, but chose to sacrifice his well being and comfort for others. Another hero would be Clara Barton, the founder of the Red Cross, as Barton declared in a Civil War speech “I may be compelled to face danger, but never fear it, and while our soldiers can stand and fight, I can stand and feed and nurse them.” Barton distinguishes she could be hurt while helping the soldiers, however she does not dwell on the fact, deciding instead to carry on and make a difference despite the threat to health. This is heroic because Barton is putting others who cannot care for themselves and acknowledges she could be hurt, but does not let that get in the way of her reaching her goals. To sum up, heroes are everyday people who go out of their way to help others in need without the thought of payment.

How do you define a hero? Some may define a hero with the ability to fly, or run fast; to others a hero may be saving someone who is in dangers; others may define a hero as one who is able to help another in various ways. Harry Potter is a orphan boy who find out he is a wizard and goes to a magic school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. While he is at Hogwarts, he develops his supernatural qualities, goes on a journey, and defeats evil. Although Harry Potter is not a Epic hero in the same way as Odysseus, Harry Potter still fulfills the stages of epic hero cycle and proves that he is a hero by overcome obstacles and showing his bravery, and selflessness.

Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to preserve and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. Hero’s are around us in our everyday lives such as firefighters who put their lives on the line to protect people and their property. Other hero’s can be found in literature. These hero’s, also know as an epic hero, exhibit superhuman qualities to help fight and protect others while on their quest. Being a hero means taking on enormous responsibilities. With these responsibilities comes great praise from others which both Beowulf and everyday firefighter receive for their extraordinary work.

We have all had someone whom we have considered our hero. We call them our hero because they have exhibited certain characteristics that make us feel safe or protected in harmful situations. A few books demonstrate heroic characteristics masterfully through their characters. Beowulf portrays a strong, self-sacrificing hero. Canterbury Tales shows us a wise and caring hero. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight displays a flawed, loyal hero. These three men give us some of the attributes it takes to be considered a hero. These books tell us that to be a hero, you have to sacrifice, have wisdom, and loyalty.

Being a hero does not always mean wearing capes and fighting villains during the dark hours of the night, it means so much more as Susanna Barlow, in the article “Understanding the Hero Archetype”, explains. In the novel Sleeping Freshman Never Lie by David Lubar and in the movie The Wizard of Oz, Scott and Dorothy fall upon two incredible journeys to becoming true heroes. Throughout their remarkable journeys, Scott Hudson and Dorothy Gale experience similar difficulties, obstacles, lessons, and characteristics. These experiences demonstrate how the obstacles and lessons they suffer through teach both characters very important lessons in becoming a hero. Being a true hero requires kindness, generosity, strength,

Anyone who influences anyone else by saving or helping save his or her lives can be a hero. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of millions of people by bringing justice to minorities. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest heroes, led a nonviolent revolution to free his country. Even a parent can be a hero to his or her child by leading them in the right direction. All teachers are heroes when they make it their job to teach a child anything that will help them in life. You don’t have to go to great lengths by risking your life to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Heroes are not created during hard times, but it is during these hard times that heroes are revealed. Christopher Reeve explains that a hero is an ordinary individual who possesses the strength to persevere and rise above overwhelming obstacles. Meaning no matter your size, your age, or your gender the capabilities of becoming a hero comes from within, as long as you have the determination and will power to triumph over the devastating obstacles that lay in your path. The stories “An Act of Vengeance” and “A Worn Path” by Isabella Allende and Eudora Welty, respectfully, are prefect examples. Allende portrays a young lady overcoming the terrors of her youth as she grows in to a strong woman and avenges her father. Whereas, Welty gives a description of a fragile old woman demonstrating the strength and perseverance to succeed and obtain the medicine that her grandson so desperately needs, even though her body struggles to make the trip. Although both stories depict a tale of what a hero is one has a better description, “An Act of Vengeance” more closely follows the guidelines of Christopher Reeve’s idea of a hero.

In the short story, “Where are you going? Where have you been?” written by Joyce Carol Oates depicts how being young and innocent, conflicts with the reality of evil people out there. Connie, the main character of the story, is a 15 year old girl that has sexual fantasies. When she is confronted with the harsh realities of adulthood, she cannot think and ends up making a life decision that saves her family, making her the hero. Hero is someone who makes sacrifices that they may not be happy to do and may impact their lives in a negative way, but they do it for the sake of people they love. On the webpage hero means, “A person, who in the opinion of others, has special achievements, abilities, or personal qualities and is regarded a a role model or ideal” (dictionary). They are looked upon and considered role models because no anyone is willing to make all the sacrifices that they do, but desire to be like them.

When people think of heroes, they often think of muscle bound men in spandex with unrealistic powers of flight, strength, or x-ray vision. But in real life, heroes are often determined based on the smallest of situations and their outcomes. In both of the stories I have chosen (A&P and Harrison Bergeron), the main characters are classified as heroes because of their willingness to defy the authoritive forces around them, whether it be the store manager Lengel in A&P or the Handicapper General in Harrison Bergeron, as well as their willingness to strike out on their own instead of adhering to social norms. In Harrison Bergeron, the main character Harrison

A hero can be viewed differently in many eyes. Author and lecturer Joseph Campbell, has correlated a hero as usually being a male, often of lowly birth, but with special powers or a higher birthright, the hero doesn’t know about. Also, the hero parents are often dead, absent, or uncaring, and the hero is judged by the actions he takes and the way he reacts and relates to people. In the opinions of others, a hero is also a person admired for bravery, great achievements, abilities or good qualities and is regarded as a role model. A hero is also, admired for having done something very courageous or having succeeded in something great. In literature, the hero is the main character of a story, play, or movie. In the textbook, The Norton Anthology

Oliver Stone once wrote, who he saw his heroes as“ Sciences who spend years of their lives trying to find cures...The inner-city kid who works at McDonald’s instead of selling drugs. The kid who stands alone instead of joining a gang, which would give him instant identity...People who take risks despite fears. People in wheelchairs who don't give up…”. (SB, pg.64) Heroes are people who choose the right no matter the situation. Making sacrifices for others benefit, being determined to rise over challenges, and not being perfect instead making mistakes are just some of the traits that make a hero.

Heroes are not always people who lead marches or do things for their country. For example policemen, firefighters, nurses, lifeguards etc. are heroes everyday because they take the time to save lives. When they’re going through a challenge or trying to overcome a conflict they always have courage. These people risk their own life to save someone else’s. To be more specific Dr. Ginger Holt from Dallas had saved a little boy’s leg. She was confident and determined to finding out what went wrong in the boy’s leg and went through many procedures looking at the tests.

In our life we always need someone super hero to help us in difficult situations but this is not just happened in fairy tales also in real life. We have seen ,listened and read a lot of heroes and their stories such as in television, radio and books. According to Oxford Dictionary, hero is defined as" a person who has good act, noble achievements and great qualities."This word comes from Latin . Oprah Winfrey and Angelina Jolie who believed in their duty to help poor people underprivileged, and sick people .The hero demonstrates humanitarian and giving generosity without waiting a give back from others.