Similarities Of A Hero In Mitch Albom's Five People You Meet In Heaven

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.

In the “Odyssey”, Odysseus goes through obstacles throughout the book that a normal man couldn’t subside. One example is in book 9, his main obstacle that he is trying to face is to escape from being held hostage in a cave by a Cyclops better known as Polyphemus. Odysseus is a archetypal hero, he is also a role model, with an ambition to get to his homeland Ithaca. He goes through resisting temptation and using his intellect and physical strength to get him there, no matter the obstacle nor the negative flaws that he faces. Odysseus put himself and his men in that situation by being curious and wanting to know what kind of land his ship and the winds led him to. This was selfish of him because it cost him some of his men, but a leader and hero has to play that role and some lives will be dealt with on the way. Odysseus says, “The rest of you will stay here while I go with my ship and crew on reconnaissance. I want to find out what those men are like, Wild savages with no sense of right or wrong Or hospitable folk who fear the gods” (Homer 429). Saying this quote alone makes Odysseus a humble man due to the fact that not even a piece of land is going to slow him down on his journey back home.

Odysseus only cares about himself and his personal benefits, like a villain. “With great power comes great responsibility” this quote is used by many heros and odysseus obviously shows no responsibilities, so his power is simply bad, or evil . When “trapped” on Calypso’s island he shows no attempt to escape and instead finds pleasure in being their. After 7 years on this island he finally decides to go home to has son which he has never seen and his dog who is nearly dead due to old age (not to mention he barely does anything with his dog and the first thing he says to his son is basically to ask him to risk his life for Odysseus's house). “ Don't waste your time on revenge. Those who hurt you will eventually get their own karma”. This quote shows that good people and heros should not seek revenge and should show mercy to their enemies however Odysseus obviously shows no interest in mercy… After killing many people and not letting a single person out which many heroes would have especially if the people did not directly mistreat him and believed he was dead which would be a logical thought he finally revealed himself to his wife. At first his wife did not recognize him which filled him with rage even though he should be happy that his loyal wife wants to make

Odysseus is a walking conflict machine. Wherever he goes, something is bound to go wrong, which is turns out alright for him, because he is lucky, and helped by the Gods, but his men...not so much. When Odysseus demands a gift from Polyphemus, saying “...here we stand, beholden for your help, or any gifts you give--as custom to honor strangers.” (11). By saying this, Odysseus creates a big conflict that ends up killing many of his men. Odysseus, of course, is spared, but a lot of his men are eaten alive. They did more than Odysseus in trying to avoid this situation, but he refused, and they paid the price for it, all because they happened to be less lucky than Odysseus. Odysseus being favored by the Gods is always a huge stroke of luck when conflict rolls around, no matter the conflict. They can’t even punish him correctly. When he disobeyed their direct orders about eating Helios’s cows, the still protected him right after punishing him. When Odysseus is on the verge of death because of their punishment, and at ready to be eaten by Scylla, Homer writes, “ Never could I have passed her had not the father of gods and men, this time, kept me from her eyes.”(23). Another example of this is when Odysseus and his crew mates land on Circe’s island, he sends his men first to investigate. When before he can catch up to them, a God stops him, and warns him of a

A quality a hero must have is bravery. Bravery is being courageous, fearless. Bravery is needed to be heroic. You have to be strong to help people or yourself. You have to do things that are scary but you have to be strong.

Odysseus commonly lets his pride or emotions get in the way of his thinking, resulting in more harm coming to him or his crew. This is shown in the book when Odysseus is leaving Polyphemus’ cave on page 14 when Odysseus exclaims “if ever mortal man inquire how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye”. This eventually results in Poseidon, Polyphemus’s dad, hating him and making his trip more difficult. None of what Odysseus said was necessary and his actions were influenced negatively by his pride. Odysseus is also blinded by his emotions when he arrives back from his journey to find multiple men trying to marry his wife, Penelope. After Odysseus kills Antinous, one of the other men says “Antinous was the ringleader, he whipped us on to do these things. He cared less for his marriage than for the power Kronion has denied him as the King of Ithaca”. This quote shows Antinous was forcing the men into the marriage, but Odysseus doesn’t care, he was filled with rage and killed all the suitors. These actions by Odysseus were not necessary and were simply acts of

During his journey Odysseus used what he has learned from is mistakes to return home and kill the suitors of his wife. On the island of Cicones,and with his encounter with Polyphemus, Odysseus learned that bragging can bring great misfortune. On Ithaca Odysseus never brags to the suitors and is able to enter his house with the Antinous and the other suitors knowing his real identity. He takes the punishment of Antinous and the other suitors without saying a word and is able to see those who have invaded his house. Odysseus is able to see who is loyal and who is not and take his revenge with the suitors never knowing who

In the beginning of the story, it seems as if Odysseus has a lot of respect for his crew. That is, until he decided upon bad decisions later on. For example, when Odysseus ventured to the land of the dead to speak with Teiresias, the blind prophet, he was warned of what could happen if he ate Helios’ cattle. He said, “You will find the grazing herds of Helios,” and “avoid these kine” (677). Unfortunately, Odysseus never told his crew of the precautions of eating the cattle. Therefore, they were oblivious of their unpreventable doom. In hindsight, if Odysseus would have just told them, they would have known that they would make it out alive. Odysseus also had an extremely hard time being loyal to his kind and devoted wife, Penelope. First off, he was held captive by Calypso for ten years, “Seven of them as Calypso’s not entirely unwilling captive” (652). Soon after that, he proceeded to have an affair

Another trait that Odysseus demonstrates repeatedly throughout the story is his loyalty. In various situations he never gives up on his crew, even when he has reason to. During an episode in the epic, Odysseus travels to the underworld to receive a prophecy. He meets his great friend Elpenor, who has died earlier in Circe’s hall. Because he is unburied and unmourned he asks Odysseus to build a cairn in his honor. Odysseus replies, “Unhappy spirit, / I promise you the barrow and the burial.” (Homer, lines 609-610). Although Odysseus is preoccupied with finding Tiresias, he shows loyalty to his crew mate by spending time with his spirit, and carrying out the spirit’s request. It could have been easy for Odysseus to ignore the spirit of Elpenor, but Odysseus shows a real emotional reply to this meeting. Not only does he show loyalty to his crew but his homeland as well. Although he could have given up during the ten year span Odysseus wandered from home, he persisted even though giving up would have been easier. At one point Odysseus is detained by the enchantress, Circe, but remains determined to reach home:

To be a hero, it requires certain qualities that very few possess. One must be brave, alert, and be able to take risks. Being a hero is not an easy task, and it takes lots of dedication to be able to cope with the danger of saving someone else’s life. Firstly, being brave is the number one quality that a hero must possess within them.

Throughout the history of epic literature, heroes have been an integral part of many different cultures. Some of these heroes are fierce and powerful, renowned for their skill in battle, while some others and clever and cunning, able to talk their way out of any difficult situation. These traits usually emphasize the values of the cultural from which the hero came, and depending on the culture,traits viewed as heroic may drastically differ. Although there exists a plethora of traits any one hero may have, there are three core characteristic that, in my opinion, a hero must have to be considered a hero: the courage to face hardships, the willingness to make major self-sacrifices for the benefit of others, and most importantly, the dedication to do what it takes to reach their goal.

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.

Normally, they have one weakness that compromises their noble quest, but they overcome this obstacle with grace, endurance and fortitude. By the end of the work, classic heroes generally live happily ever after.

A hero has many definitions from a Mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, an illustrious warrior, and many other definitions. “To be heroic is to be courageous enough to die for something; to be inspirational is to be crazy enough to live a little.” ― Criss Jami, Venus in Arms. Growing up I’ve read books that were bigger than me, like mythological books because it had adventures and heroic people that would risk their lives for another. The Iliad, The Odyssey and The Harry Potter series were always my favorite and no matter how many times I read them, I find new things I missed and record the heroic deeds someone has done in their story. What makes a hero and how does one remain loyal to those he trusts around him?

What does make a hero a hero? Is it there looks? Alternatively, maybe is it their personality? However, the question is what are those essential qualities that make one a hero? Different people require different heroes to look up to or try to emulate. However, whoever it may be, they all possess certain qualities. My hero is my mother, for the reason that she is selfless, compassion, and courage. That kind of selflessness can often be premeditated, since concentrating on others' needs often winds up helping one accomplish one’s own goals. However, a heroic leader does so without any anticipation of a return. The display and concern show the care one has for others. This can often apparent itself in strong but gentle actions planned to increase the lives of others. Courage and bravery come to mind first when we think of heroism. However, it is difficult to achieve anything truly heroic unless one is up against overwhelming chances. As Nelson Mandela put it, "Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." These minor acts of heroism rarely attract any notice. A true hero is always sympathetic, benevolent and shows a great deal of compassion and sympathy to those poorly or in agony. He or she keeps away judgements; that are oriented to the self and embraces an attitude that serves others.