...think a hero is any person really intent on making this a better place for all people”(Angleou Online). A hero does not have to be some strong or supernatural human being. A hero is someone who does something from the heart or for the common good without needing recognition for doing so. When people think of heroes they automatically think Superman, Batman, and/or Spiderman. But, do people think about the hidden heroes? Such as, parents, teachers, and normal people. To illustrate,” So there you go- heroes are everyday, common people. Most of what they do goes unheralded, unappreciated. And that ironically, is heroism: not to be recognized.”(Stone 64) Heroes are not always big name, hot shot people they can be people we don’t think of, the most unlikely of people, a teenager that wants to help people,wants to finish school, and through all the drama at school still has an open relationship with his/hers parents....
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...depends on the day.” ― Brad Meltzer. What brad Meltzer is trying to say is everyone can be a hero at any given time, but tomorrow they could be the villain. A hero is a person who is into saving or helping someone else rather than themselves A hero isn’t selfish or self-centered, a hero could be your parents, teachers, or the people who fight for your country Who is your hero? When asked this question some people answer with “My hero is an athlete” or “my hero is a celebrity” People say that they are their hero because they are big in the media and are showed most on television or on movies...
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...Hero Essay English 9 Mr. Castellano Our next major writing assignment is to write an essay about someone you consider to be a hero. We are doing this essay now because it coincides nicely with our reading of The Odyssey. As we have discussed in class, Odysseus is the archetypal Western hero: brave, strong, clever, quick-thinking, steadfast. The list could go one. My point is that as we read about this ancient and, I believe, still relevant hero I want you to think and write about someone who is a hero to you. This should be a fun assignment. I am sure you have heard all too often that there are no more heroes today, that everyone we look up to is corrupt and will ultimately disillusion us. I whole heartedly disagree. Heroes are everywhere we look: we just need to look. (In a book I read this Summer, one of the characters says, “We find what we look for.”) Heroes can be people we know personally and people we have only heard about. Here are only a few suggestions: Jesus Christ, St. Francis, Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, Captain Chesley Sullenberger, your Mom or Dad, an athlete, coach, teacher, or friend. Again, the list goes on. Just thinking about and planning this essay (as well as writing it, of course) will be a good exercise in recognizing how many heroes you have – how many people strive for high ideals and live virtuous lives. They’re there: look for them. Part of this essay will include what you define as...
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...Definition Essay 06 September 2012 Definition Essay The key principals of heroism are courage, selflessness and a lasting impact. To some people that can mean a person admired for their achievements, to others it could be a renowned warrior. A hero to me is someone who shows great courage and puts others before themself but expects nothing in return. It is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as a mythical or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability. Often heroes are portrayed as male figures in films and stories usually depicting warrior- like traits. Some dilute heroism when they attribute it to celebrities, giving them hero recognition when in reality they’re job is to entertain. Some illustrious political figures are also admired for their stature, sometimes being thought of as heroes. Many religions hold mere men as demigods or magnates. All of these fail the true definition of heroism in my eyes. Heroes can be described as someone who is able to resist fear. An individual who does a courageous act doesn’t necessarily have to affect society as a whole but can definitely change the lives of those involved. They’re putting themselves at risk, or using their resources purely to help someone else in need. These people may not get media attention, or be praised by hundreds of people, but they have certainly made a lasting impression on people’s lives. A hero, in Greek Mythology or folklore, was originally described as a demigod...
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...Arthur Miller wrote his essay titled “Tragedy and the Common Man” in 1949. This essay explains Miller’s definition of a tragic hero as well as why a common man has as much ability to be the hero of a tragedy as someone of nobility. The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1953 that dramatizes the Salem witch trials of the late seventeenth century in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the play, the town of Salem falls into hysteria after Reverend Parris finds his daughter, niece, and their friends dancing in the woods with his slave Tituba. The young girls claim they have been bewitched by people in the town to avoid punishment, although, the punishment then comes for the accused regardless of their innocence. A vital character to the...
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...Kayla Romine Mr. Kaplan English 12 P.4 25 October 2011 Heroes Essay “Hero” is one of the thousands of words a person is capable of looking up in the dictionary and the definition is not exactly described what it is stated as. Many Americans believe that the definition they are capable of getting out of the dictionary is the most correct and reliable definition. However, that is not the case because everyone in the world as their own definition of a hero. On the website of The My Hero Project by Ashley from Fredericksburg it is stated, “ When asked "What is a hero?," Christopher Reeve replied that he used to believe a hero was someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences. Now he believes that ‘A hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.’ ” A hero does not have a specific definition that could be set in stone for each individual to comprehend. As in the Iliad with Achilles and in the epic of Beowulf, both were heroes in different ways. Whether it be them being main characters or being a male. Beowulf's’ heroic strengths and weaknesses versus the strengths and weaknesses of Achilles’ will be further described. Although the characteristics between the two are widely different, they are both fueled by pride and glory. The only reason Achilles goes to Troy is to enhance his own glory. On the other hand, Beowulf is not as persistent, but the value of glory in his society implies...
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...Seth Wilson Barrick English 9/ Period 1 3/13/12 Odysseus Hero Essay We consider heroes as crime fighters like Spiderman, Batman, a soldier, or a cop. Someone who does something courageous. My definition of a hero is someone who does something that no one or a few people would do. Even if it’s something small like quit smoking to save money for rent like my mom did, or something big. A man named Leonard Skutnik was just walking home from work and witnessed a plane crash straight into the ice covered waters of the Polomac River, an as people watched the passengers start being rescued they noticed one woman start to drown, and that’s when Leonard jumped into the freezing water...
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...sufferings or emotions that the hero experiences. He has a 'tragic flaw' - this could be a personality trait (like greed, lust, ambition, jealousy, etc.), OR an error in judgement (a bad decision). This 'tragic flaw' leads to his downfall - usually ruins his career, reputation, power, etc. He is enlightened at the end of the story, meaning he realizes where he went wrong, he is humble, and he accepts the consequences . A tragic hero is a character in a work of fiction (often the protagonist) who commits an action or makes a mistake which eventually leads to his or her defeat. The idea of the tragic hero was created in ancient Greek tragedy and defined by Aristotle (and others). Usually, this includes the realization of the error (anagnorisis), which results in catharsis or epiphany. Aristotelian tragic hero Characteristics Aristotle once said that "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall." An Aristotelian tragic hero must have four characteristics: Nobility (of a noble birth) or wisdom (by virtue of birth). Hamartia (translated as flaw, mistake, or error, not an Elizabethan tragic flaw). A reversal of fortune(peripetia) brought about because of the hero's Hamartia. The discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by the hero's own actions (anagnorisis). Other common traits Some other common traits characteristic of a tragic hero: Hero must suffer more than he deserves. Hero must be doomed from the start,...
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...Yes, Mandela ------------------------------------------------- Essay Nelson Mandela became a legend long before he passed away and to most of the world he is known as the greatest hero of South Africa. According to the Oxford dictionary a hero is: “1 a person especially a man, who is admired by many people for doing sth brave or good. [...] 3 a person, especially a man, that you admire because of a particular quality or skill that they have.” There were several political prisoners imprisoned on Robben Island both before, during and after Mandela served on the island. But why was Mandela the only one to become a living legend? The poem “Yes, Mandela” by Dennis Brutus, is a lyrical poem describing the sender’s strong emotional relationship to Nelson Mandela, as both a personal hero and a hero for fighting apartheid. Brutus was born and raised in South Africa in the year of 1924. He was a teacher, a political activist, a poet and an academic. He fought against racial discrimination, like Mandela, and he was sentenced and served part of his time in Robben Island convicted to hard labor, like Mandela. In the poem, we therefor see Brutus express an inside understanding and appreciation for Mandela’s actions and will to stand up for his believes, no matter the price, and yet remain the same person: a role model, a leader and a savior. “in the salt island air you swung your hammer, grimly, stoic facing the dim path of interminable years now, vision burred with tears we see...
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...To What Extent is Eddie Carbone the Tragic hero of the Play ? ‘A view from the bridge’, an intriguing play written by a graduated journalist named Arthur Miller. Miller was born in New York, 1915. He started to write plays while he was at University of Michigan, and even carried on after graduating. Miller grew up in Brooklyn; this was where the play was set. As Miller was trying to make a name for himself, he worked at a shipyard for two years. He heard stories form his Italian friends he works alongside about how some men coming over to work illegally and being betrayed. This is where ‘A View from the Bridge’ was first inspired. Tragedy: it is a dramatic event where the main character is tested in certain circumstances in which the characters real form becomes unmasked. Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher and writer, who defined the word tragedy. He said it should represent ‘terrible and piteous’ and lead the audience to experience ‘catharsis’ or feel sorrow. Miller used this technique to create a modern equivalent of a Greek tragedy. In addition, Aristotle also said that every tragedy must have a tragic hero; the protagonist of the play. Aristotle also talks about how a “Tragic Hero” This essay will be exploring how Eddie could be the “Tragic Hero” of the play – “A View from the Bridge”. Aristotle’s definition of a “Tragic Hero” should be good at the beginning but not entirely as this unrealistic. The character should be “appropriate” – meaning men should be manly...
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...real people and not figments of literature, capable of making the same changes we see them make? The answer can simply be a yes. If that is all it takes to sate your curiosity you can stop reading now. If you want to learn how heroism is part of our nature, then I suggest you continue on. I'll be attempting to determine what are the true makings of a hero. By the end you might even discover that we can all be heroes as well. So how might we define a hero? Well, if we were to google the definition of the word, we'll find that a hero is a term for a submarine sandwich. As delicious as that might be, it doesn't help much. The next one tells us that a hero is “the principal character of a play or story”. A little warmer, but a little too broad for our terms here. Dictionary.com gives us our answer. They define a hero as “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.“ Now that we know what a hero is considered etymologically, how does this apply to ourselves or the people we meet every day? Mark Twain provides an option for heroes in his 1901 essay The United States of Lyncherdom. “Why does it lift no hand or voice in protest? Only because it would be unpopular to do it, I think; each man is afraid of his neighbor's disapproval – a thing which, to the general run of the race, is more dreaded than wounds and death.” This would seem to suggest that one might be considered heroic by showing he has...
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...Crime Fiction: The Hard-boiled Detective In Raymond Chandler’s essay ”The Simple Art of Murder” (1944) he introduces the world to his personal definition of a true hero in a new branch of crime-fiction. The essay circulates around a new type of crime story, having the real world as its steppingstone. Contrary to the typical British so-called Golden Age Detective Fiction, this sort of crime story reflects itself in the real world, a decentred world. A world that undermines basic predicates, such as order, stability, causality and resolution. Writers who occupy themselves writing these stories strive against describing a centerless world, in order to capture reality and put it straight to paper. He describes it as, “…not a very fragrant world… but continues”…it is the world you live in.” (p. 197) Chandler singles out Dashiell Hammet as the one person who actually rescued crime fiction by bringing it back to the people, in a renewed version, that embodies life in the hard-boiled world. According to Chandler, the hero, solving crimes in a ruthless city containing only people with a perverse satisfaction of being corrupt, must be a man of certain character: “He must be a complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man.” (p. 197), saying that the detective, if necessary has to have the ability to identify himself with anyone, and simultaneously also be able to elevate himself from the general population, in order to create distance from the violence-torn local society. With...
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...term "heroism" has been applied to those who have braved physical danger to defend a cause or protect others. Byt one of the most feared dangers people face is that of disapproval by their family, peers, or community. Sometimes acting courageously requires someone to speak out at the risk of such rejection. We should consider those who do so true heroes. Should heroes be defined as people who say what they think when we ourselves lack the courage to say it? Plan and write an essay blah blah blah, etc. A hero can be anyone- someone who fights crime, one who stands up for another, and maybe even one who silently defends. In my opinion, and Im sure many would agree, a hero is one who defends, protects, and stands up for what he/she believes in. Whether they have braved physical danger or not, heroes come in all different types, include those who protect with words over actions. Therefore, a hero should also be defined as one who says what he/she thinks when others lack the courage. One of the finest examples of this is the ever famous black woman Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus in the times of racial segregation. Parks did what many other blacks were unable to do and stood up for her beliefs , that a black woman is no different than a white woman. She was spurned by the entire community of whites, yet she stuck to her beliefs and brought about change. To this day, she is hailed as a hero, even though she did not brave physical...
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...Beowulf Essay The ideal hero, thats funny to think about, because they seem to always let you down in the end. The true meaning of a hero is someone that you can follow, not a ‘“don’t do what I do but do as I say” kind of man. A hero/heroine refers to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice that is, heroism for some greater good of all humanity. This definition originally referred to martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence. Roma Chatterji has suggested that the hero or more generally protagonist is first and foremost a symbolic representation of the person who is experiencing the story while reading, listening or watching, thus the relevance of the hero to the individual relies a great deal on how much similarity there is between the two. One reason for the hero-as-self interpretation of stories and myths is the human inability to view the world from any perspective but a personal one. The word hero/heroine is sometimes used simply to describe the protagonist of a story, or the love interest, a usage which can conflict with the superhuman expectations of heroism. The larger-than-life hero is a more common feature of fantasy (particularly sword, wizards and epic fantasy) than more realist works. Christianity traditionally has emphasized humility as its main form of heroics. To illustrate that no virtue can possibly be perfectly acquired or continue...
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...Drama Essay “Othello, the Moor of Venice” Jami Bruno Liberty University In the drama “Othello, the Moor of Venice”, written by Shakespeare around 1604, we find Othello in a downfall that was fed by a villain named Iago. Othello soon becomes the tragic hero of this story. Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero is “someone who is a noble soul, from high estates, and has a downfall in the result of his hamartia or tragic flaw” (Kennedy, & Gioia, 2007). Othello is easily persuaded with bad advice, that his wife is being unfaithful and is in love with another man. Othello being insecure, is crushed when he is fooled into believing that his wife Desdemona has been unfaithful. With anger and jealousy in his heart he finds himself causing a downfall in the result of his own tragic flaw. Desdemona continues to stay faithful to her husband even as her husband accuses her of being in love with another man. She is a sweet, kind and intelligent woman who is truly devoted to loving Othello. Heartbroken to find her husband has turned against her and plans to kill her, she tries to defend herself with the truth. She is unable to dismiss the lies told to her husband by the villainous Iago. Iago’s hate for the Moor stems from several different directions. He plays the main reason Othello has a tragic flaw. Fueled by his own jealousy, Iago has started a rumor about Othello’s wife and Cassio, Othello’s honorable lieutenant. Emilia is the wife of Iago and Desdemona’s maid. She is submissive...
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