Stephen Marche We Are All Heroes

What is a hero? A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. In the novel October Sky by Homer Hickam, a teenager named Homer “Sonny” Hickam grew up in a coal town in West Virginia where a boy’s usual fate was to end up in the mines. Although his mine-foreman father contemplated him in dismay, Homer still had his eyes on the sky and a love for flying rockets. Throughout the course of the story Homer proves to be heroic by remaining devoted to building the rockets, disregarding his father’s approval and facing the challenge of his stolen belongings.

Everyone has their own idea of what a hero is and what a hero does. Most people think that guys like superman and batman are heroes because they have incredible superpowers and they are famous people who receive glory. Many people describe heroes as strong and indestructible people, however, heroes are actually not always famous and they are not always the way that society portrays them. In fact, most heroes are ordinary people who do extraordinary things and have notable traits for society to follow. Although heroes are mostly overlooked or misinterpreted by many people, a hero is always a courageous, selfless, and persistent person who has the determination to create change for the better.

“It’s not true that there are no heroes anymore…” (Oliver Stone SB 63) Heroes. Today when we hear heroes we think of superheroes with powers. but have we really thought what heroes really are? Heroes are your regular everyday people that work to the best of their abilities to make a difference in the world. A hero is not someone who thinks about themselves but someone who does things that they believe are right and are admired or idealized for their courage.

When people think of a hero, they do not understand you don't need to be just like superman, you don't need to be able to fly, or be immortal and never die. There is no need to wear a mask, save the world, or have special powers. To me, any regular person can become a hero in their own way. I believe a hero can be found in any piece of literature, most main characters are all heroes, but they are all heroes in a different way. To me, in order to be a hero, all you need to do is put someone else's life in front of your own, if you can change someone else's life you can then call yourself a hero. Aristotle once said that a tragic hero is "one who does not fall into misfortune though vice or depravity, but falls because of some mistake".

To most of society, a hero is one who is courageous, honest and acquires worthy qualities. There have always been heroes whether they are not here today, a modern day hero or a hero in literature. Those who advocate for the cause they believe in are heroes, they are able to use their own platform for people who are not able to. To most, people who are courageous and inspiring are seen as heroes especially when describing an epic hero. An epic hero are usually people in an epic poem awarded for their achievements and have strong and noble qualities. A hero shows great courage and strength like Beowulf, Michael Brock, from The Street Lawyer, and Michelle Obama who are great inspiring advocates that have gained trust from the people they advocate for.

The word “Hero” has many different labels. In “ Heroes Versus Sociopaths” Andrea Kuszewski explains what she thinks the word “hero” means to her. In the article she also talks about sociopaths and what they mean to her. Towards the end of her article she starts to compare and contrast heroes and sociopaths so you can have a better understanding. She quoted, “ They are people who possess extraordinary traits of altruism - selfless concern for the well being of others - even at the expense of their own existence”, talking about heroes. A hero could be any person in any type of situation. If someone says “You are a hero”, or “You are my hero”, those phrases have two different meanings. Being a hero has 3 different meanings to me; first, a hero

A hero can be referred to as a brave, courageous, and unique individual who is fearless. In the science-fiction short story, "Harrison Bergeron," written by Kurt Vonnegut, everybody lives in a Dystopian society where the people have worked on changing the Constitution so everyone is completely equal. In this story, in order to make everybody equal, whoever is smarter, stronger, faster, or prettier than anybody else is given handicaps that they must wear at all times, according to the law. Even though they wear handicaps, some people are still too strong for the handicaps, such as Harrison Bergeron. These types of people can either be considered a hero or threat to society. Harrison Bergeron is a hero to society because he could cast a

A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities, according to Dictionary.com. Adam Brown and his wife, Kelley Brown, dealt with a broad spectrum of difficulties in their relationship that most people never have to face in their lifetime. Though they faced their fair share of hardships, Kelley and Adam overcame each one and became heroes in the novel, Fearless, by Eric Blehm. Kelley was a true hero from the moment she met Adam Brown. After falling in love with him, Kelley found out that Adam had a drug problem that he was working to overcome.

A hero is someone who is selfless and is courageous. They also are usually an ordinary person who later does something very heroic and great. They also don’t act like self centered when they get recognized for it. In the editorial “What is a Hero” by Art Green, he shares a story about a man who almost died saving others in battle. In this he says, “ In this case, Benavidez says that it was not he that was the hero; it was the faceless men who paid the ultimate sacrifice.” This evidence shows that Benavidez and heroes don’t “bask in the glory” and this impacts him because he knows that people died for their country and he also did two so he can’t take all the credit for saving the men. Roger Rosenblatt, author of the editorial “Man in the water”

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

The term, “hero” is a wide concept that many people like to use. The greatest stereotype of a hero is someone who is physically strong and can defeat almost anyone, but the idea of heroism isn’t limited to that. There are those who are not physically strong, but a hero can be outspoken and protects what is right even at the cost of their lives. This type of heroism was seen in World War II, where many Jews and others were taken into concentration camps to die, few rose up to the challenge in order to protect what was humane. WWII became a dark time in history because of the slaughter of thousands of people, a large majority being Jewish.

What is a hero? A quote from Maya Angelou perfectly captures the answer; stating that, “I [Maya Angelou] think that a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people.” Heroes are people who promote change for the better, acting selflessly and ethically to help support the wellbeing of all - regardless of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, or status.

What exactly is a hero? To some it’s a fictional character with a cape who possesses a special power that helps them do great things for others; and to others it a completely different story. To me, a hero is someone who has made a good difference on not just my life, but others as well and has inspired us to never give up, to better ourselves, and to try and live life to the fullest. For example, Josh Hamilton, he has made a big difference and has had a good impact on my life in probably every aspect you can think of and not only that, but he has shown me that you can always get back up and fight, you can always overcome your life’s obstacles, also he has shown me that you should always have your faith in the Lord.

When you look up hero in the dictionary it reads: a person, typically a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. If you were to ask a five year old what he or she thought a hero was, they would give you an answer like Superman or Captain America. I probably would have given the same type of answer. Now that I’m older, I have a better understanding and different outlook on the word “hero.”

What is a hero? A hero is not somebody with the ability to fly, run really fast, or control other people's minds,... A hero is a random person that rises to the occasion and performs the action(s) of superhero proportions. “The only use of an obstacle is to be overcome. All that an obstacle does with brave men is, not to frighten them, but to challenge them.” (Woodrow Wilson). I agree with Woodrow that to be truly heroic, one must have leaderships, bravery, intelligence,... to solve common problems in our society. There are many examples of heroes in our modern day world as well as fictional characters. For instances, Odysseus in the Odyssey, Bilbo Baggins in the Hobbit and my mom have those characteristics of heroism.