Heroism In The Twisted Hero

“I think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.” A simple quote from Maya Angelou on her definition of a hero supports what I believe a hero is personally. Twisted Hero, as defined by a simple Google search, is an individual who is idealized for outstanding achievements and courageous acts, yet has an unhealthy warped mindset. Often when we think of a hero, we see a war veteran or a local firefighter, similar to what Maya Angelou believed. To the students of Yin Munyol’s novel Our Twisted Hero, a hero is a person like Om Sokdae; the class monitor who shows leadership and maintains order within the classroom consistently. But is that really all it takes to be considered a good leader? Om Sokdae is a dictator to the other children and manipulates them to the extremes. It is not until a new teacher comes in and recognizes the inequalities quickly. The new teacher has the children, one by one, confess all of the wrongdoings of Om Sokdae. Then, the teacher goes on by giving each child a harsh beating for letting Om Sokdae rule their lives so horribly for so long. He goes on by explaining to the children why the beating was necessary. Full of tears, the young students listen but don't understand the importance of the lesson until they are matured adults. The new teacher was very strict and aggressive with his teachings about life morals as shown in the novel, yet ended up teaching the children a valuable lesson. This is why I believe the new teacher is the twisted hero.

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.

Heroes are not extraordinary people. Heroes are just normal people doing things that most people could do. The media views heroes as exceptional beings, that posses super powers. Therefore, kids grow up thinking of Heroism or being a hero as something almost impossible to happen; and the closest they would get to being a hero is wearing a cape. Many people measure heroism based on the number of people the one’s heroic act had helped. As a result of the image the media portraits heroes, there is a believe that heroes cannot happen by accident, and in order to be called heroes they must have the intention to change the world. Regardless what some people believe that a hero cannot happen by accident, a hero is not a result of training or pursue of heroism; everyone can be a hero depending on these factors opportunity, strong will and desire to make a change, and compassion.

“Heroes are everyday, common people. Most of what they do goes unheralded, unappreciated. And that, ironically, is heroism: not to be recognized” (Oliver Stone pg. 73). Heroism doesn’t offer recognition or rewards, in fact, most heroes go unnoticed by the public. People are heroes because they care about problems that might not affect them, but may affect other people in a harmful way. Heroes can be afraid, but over time they have to overcome their fears and achieve what they are shooting for. They are never selfish, and are always looking out for others, even if that means they have to go out of their way to help someone. Heroism always means determination, and always continuing to push through the hard obstacles in life that they might

There are many interpretations of what describes a hero and the actions they take. Whether it's selfless individuals that protect others against harmful entities or powerful figures in costumes that depict moral greatness and power fantasies, everyone has their own vision of what constitutes a hero. Like many of our own thoughts and opinions, these visions often stem from the environment and upbringing of the people that have them. A fantastic example of this aspect of our thoughts is the way George Orwell described a hero. He views a hero as someone who will do whatever they can to change social systems that lack respect for human decency, even if they know it is impossible to create such change.

A possible theme for Oedipus the King by Sophocles is that one’s blindness can hide the inevitability that is his destiny. Oedipus is in this situation. He struggles to escape his fate: killing his father and marrying his mother and believes he is successful. Sophocles believes that the gpds control one’s destiny and the inevitability that a person will do what is destined despite there hero’s intentions.Oedipus represent the standards of a true tragic hero: he is well known, basically good, his punishment is out of proportion compared to his crime, the audience at some point feels sorrow and pity for him, and Oedipus has a tragic flaw. During the whole story Oedipus thinks that he may be able to change his fate a live life how he wants but he falls to that which is his destiny.For these reason Oedipus is truly an example of a tragic hero and is unable to avoid his tragic fate.

Finally, a person who doesn’t care and wouldn’t make a good hero. A hero needs to be somebody who could care about what would happen to someone if they don’t help. A bad example of a hero is someone like Hitler, someone who wanted change, but used deadly force to get it. To some people he might have been considered a hero because of what he was aiming for, but the results of his actions caused millions of deaths. On the other hand, people like Martin Luther King brought change without using violence which is why he is the true meaning of a

Today’s concept of a hero have dramatically changed from which they once were. While some still hold the true values of a hero, most are ignorant to the fact that these values are slowly

In Korean culture, a hero is the best contender in leading the team, Korea, to victory, such that the citizens are willing to resign some of their liberties to provide a better chance at winning for the common welfare. This is demonstrated in Yi Munyol’s Our Twisted Hero through Han’s description of Om Sokdae and his blind trust from the teacher in the eyes of the class after Han’s failed attempt at driving a wedge between Sokdae and the teacher: “With Sokdae overseeing our planting project, we recorded the best results in the school.” (Munyol 28). This information highlights an important characteristic about the class and Korean culture on a higher level. Om Sokdae’s success as a class monitor combined with his charismatic personality gives

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer”- Ralph Waldo Emerson. Heroes are the people who don’t give up. They walk into the unknown out of love or compassion. Heroes are humble and kind. Heroism is a sacrifice, not giving up, it is not arrogance.

Many words come to one’s mind when they hear the word hero. In particular, a common phrase associated with hero is “With great power comes great responsibility”, although not all heroes seem to follow this moral guideline. Those kinds of people are the twisted heroes, the ones who contain the traits necessary to be deemed the “hero” status, but alter them in a way that gives them a slight advantage in life. What makes these twisted ones significant is how they abuse their environment and peers to affect not only their own life, but change others in positive and negative ways. On the other hand, we have the classic hero: One who stands up for himself and attempts to make the current state of affairs right now only for himself, but the common

Some may dispute that a twisted hero is embodies an identity who performs a remarkable act of good without the intention of doing so. Others will conclude that it is someone who had the positive intentions to change the world but wasn't successful. To refute, how can someone be twisted for merely minding their own business? An accidental hero is someone happens to be at the right place at the right, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, society would title this individual as a hero. The sole characteristic of being twisted is purposely adopting unethical means to achieve a goal; they are not your conventional hero. The same idea applies to someone who wants to change the world but isn't successful. How can we consider them

The United States is well-known for espousing patriotism and valuing the service of our military men and women. When we see them dressed in their uniform and saluting to the flag, illusions of indestructible heroism fill our minds because they are supposed to represent the military principles of duty, loyalty, honor, courage, commitment, and others.

Tragedy. The protagonist (hero or heroine) is overcome in the conflict and meets a tragic end. The tone is serious and build in the audience a fatalistic sense of the inevitability of the outcome and, as a result, is sometimes frightening. Yet the inescapable aspects of the catastrophe serve as a catharsis that somehow inexplicably purges the viewer of pity and fear. The significance, then, is not that the protagonist meets

Terrorism, one of the most twisted causes in the world, yet it is seen as heroic to some people. When considering cultural ways of viewing heros, we generally put them on the highest pedestals for what they do. They are seen as admirable and an image people strive to be. But, a twisted hero is not someone who is put on that pedestal. They are not admired and look upon as great. By definition twisted means unpleasantly, or unhealthily abnormal. Also, if you just think about it, twisted is something grotesque in nature and not desired upon being. Therefore, a twisted hero is someone who, although they use unconventional and undesirable methods to advance a cause, by the fruit of their actions they are heroic.