Modern Day Heroes

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.

Could a fugitive and drugged girl be consider a hero? Hero is a person who stand by the others, is brave, and risk her/himself on a journey to achieve justice. Sarah Manning from the TV show Orphan Black used to use drugs, and she stole money from a drug dealer to give a better life to her daughter. After she takes her child back, she finds out that she has ten more sisters, or clones. Therefore, Sarah is a hero because of her journey and her personality.

Heroes come in many forms. Some of those forms ware capes and some like to scare little children and ware tights, but some are like Malala Yousafzai who is still fighting for girl’s right to education around the world. Or like Susan B. Anthony who fought for woman’s right to vote.

Heroes have been around for centuries. From Joan of Arc who help win France's 100 year war to Oskar Schindler, who saved over 1000 Jews from the Holocaust and countless

Are there heroes in today’s society? No one thinks of themselves as a hero, but it does not take any special skills to be a hero because anyone can be a hero. The characteristics of a hero only show up when there is a time of need such as a major catastrophe or minor incidents that happen on a daily basis. During the twenty-first century there have been quite a few major catastrophes. The major catastrophes include the 9/11 attacks, two major hurricanes (Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy), and the Boston marathon bombing. There are also several different major and minor characteristics that a hero will show in times of need. For instance some major characteristics of a hero are perseverance/determination, bravery/courage, dedication/endurance, and selflessness/sacrifice. Some minor characteristics include humility, fearlessness, skill, strength, integrity, and intrepidity (Wanamaker, 2013). In the twenty-first century the 9/11 attacks is the first major catastrophe. During this major disaster there were quite a few individuals who helped to rescue people. There were heroes in each of the three crash sites that occurred on that very eventful day.

We may all agree that today's heroes think about others before of themselves. For example, September 11, 2001 there was a terrorist attacked on the twin towers in New York. Some of the heroes in that situation were the firefighters, the police, and even some of the employers. While the towers were burning to ashes, some of the employers ran towards the fire to help people get out.

Another example of a hero are the people at the shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are heroes because they didn't have plan to save people and from out of nowhere, they had to think fast and do something for other people. They were jumping on top of each other to protect one another. Others were getting their cars and picking up people and driving away. They went from normal people going to a concert, to heroes that did something to save their community.

Heroes care not only for themselves, but for others. In the White House Funeral Sermon for Abraham Lincoln, “...not for himself only, not for us only, but for all people in all their coming generations till time shall be no more…” This means that President Lincoln took risks not to ensure his safety but to make sure that he would be known as a doer. Lincoln knew that what he was doing would revolutionize the way not only the way his generation would live but all future ones. This showed that he cared not only for himself but for people he would never get the pleasure of meeting. Back in World War II a true hero was born. One of the bloodiest battles of WWII, Hacksaw Ridge, was lucky to have Desmond Doss as a part of their medical team. He saved 75 people. Most in which others had left behind, for they thought that they weren’t saving. He cared about every single one making it back to base to be helped despite who was after him. Or even in the 9/11 boatlift many heroes stepped up to the plate. Vincent Ardolino, Captain of the Amberjack V,

A hero's place in society has remained relatively consistent since the very beginning of time. Throughout the years, people have seen many different versions of larger-than-life heroes, who have completed seemingly impossible tasks and persevered through immense adversity. The common denominator between all of these heroes has always been that each and every one of these beings has put his/her own life in danger and fought great battles in the pursuit of a better life for mankind as a whole.

Although we may not see hero’s such as Beowulf, or Batman in our society today, we have people that show their courage almost as well as well as these hero’s depicted. Beowulf showed tremendous courage becoming famous and popular among the Geats by slaying the demons that awaited them in the depths of the night. Batman also showed his courage and strength by helping to defend his city while trying to keep himself completely anonymous. Although the two hero’s responses to situations can be contrasted, their example of stepping up and being a leader both come together equally. Knowing this information about our hero’s, what is a hero’s importance in society? Without these important hero’s, the people that they protect wouldn’t stand a chance against what lurks in the shadows, and their examples proved that the horrible can be defeated.

Heroes are so much more than people that fly around in capes and fight off villains, heroes can be everyday people that just want to help. Take the movie Hacksaw Ridge for example. In the movie there is a character named Desmond T. Doss, Desmond decides to join the army during WWII as an Army Medic but not only does he want to join the army but he refuses to carry a gun do to his religious beliefs. At first the Army would not let him join unless he used a gun because they all thought he was crazy and did not know how he was going to survive.

The idolization of heroes is at the pinnacle of human culture. Humanity draws inspiration from those it a deems a model and aspires to achieve a heroic quality that they possess. Throughout history, and an indeterminable number of heroes have risen to fame or have been conquered by authors and storytellers. The concept of heroes in universal yet each hero is unique. Heros all live different lives and achieve their renown in a number of ways, from slaying dragons to stand for what they believe in.

However, over the years, especially within the last few decades, there has been a massive shift between the types of heroes that are held in such high esteem. Heroes used to be viewed more commonly as mythological beings, rather than men or women of average strength. In fact, many years ago, if a person mentioned heroism within a conversation, the topic would have automatically sparked a thought of magic and mystery within the people surrounding them. Today, the reaction would be different. This is not to say that modern heroes are less exciting or less accomplished, but that

     Some wonder if or why it is important to be a hero. Others don’t think that heroes are important at all. Why would it be important to be a hero? A hero, in today’s society, is someone that simply saves another person’s life. The “hero” doesn’t have to have an enormous amount of strength or ability. When a situation occurs where a life needs to be saved, there isn’t always an enormous amount of danger involved. Heroes show the rest of the world how to help others. Heroes also display what can be done in an emergency situation. Heroes are important because they provide everyone with good examples of morals that are lacked in present day society. Each minute of everyday, the morality of our country is reduced. Heroes show us all that there are still good people

Heroes have many goals and many challenges, but whether they are successful or not is a whole different story. Always trying their best to achieve their certain goal and risking to help others is what heroes live for. For example, during the attacks of 9/11, boat drivers such as were rescuing people from the island of Manhattan in New York. There were thousands upon thousands of people, but with enough support, the boat drivers were able to rescue everybody. Vincent Ardolino, one of the boat drivers during the 9/11 boatlift, said in the documentary “Boatlift” that he tells his children to “never go through life saying you should have. If you want to do something, do it.” This mindset is what all heroes should adopt for the future. These people may not have the most difficult job in the world, but they carry out small challenges with a lot of passion. Likewise, were the heroes during Hurricane Harvey and Irma, two very devastating Hurricanes that have costed the USA many lives. Many people from outside of the area have done countless things to help like rescue people with their boats, donate money, and help rebuild. Many of these heroes have risked their lives and struggled on for the greater good.