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Recommended: Definiton of a hero
What defines a hero? Some may say it is a person who is strong, fast, and fresh from the fight. Others may say they have to be sure, soon, and larger than life. A real hero is someone who self-sacrifices themselves for the greater good. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, by Ken Kesey, two heroes are present in the novel, McMurphy and Bromden.
What do you think a hero looks like? In the novel, Freak The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick, it shows that heroes come in all shape and sizes. In the novel Max and Kevin are the main characters. Max’s father killed his mother so other kids gave Max a hard time and bullied him. Freak was also given a hard time in school because he was born with a health problem that causes the inside of his body to grow but not the outside of his body.
The way we face difficult situations defines who we are as a person, sometimes these situations provide opportunities for us to be heros. According to Grant Wiggins’s definition of a hero, by the end of the novel he becomes a hero himself. He states, “A hero is someone who does something for other people. He does something that other men don’t and can't do. He is different from other men.
A question often addressed in literature, media, and art, as well as by people themselves. The typical idea of “heroism” tends to bring to mind an image of a superhero or someone who saves many lives, but does being heroic always involve having superpowers or putting yourself in danger to save others? Exploring what makes someone a “hero” in others’ eyes could just mean looking at people who do things that no one else would think or care to. Evaluating what defines a hero in the most basic sense can help to show what being a hero actually
According to dictionary.com, a hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievement or noble qualities. A hero does not have to be someone who carries out a colossal heroic act or someone who wears bears a cape. A hero does not have to be someone who leaps into a burning building to save peoples lives, but in S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders, our heroes did. In S.E Hinton’s, The Outsiders, there are abounding visible and obscured heroic traits in the characters. Johnny Cade is profoundly mistreated and loathed by his family, however, he is possibly single-handedly the most heroic person in this book.
When asked to describe a hero, Mickey Mantle, famous baseball player for the New York Yankees, Said “Heroes are people who are all good with no bad in them” This quote shows that a hero is someone who always does the right thing and has good intentions. What a hero should look like now is someone who is loyal and brave. In Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey, Odysseus proves that he is a hero when he went to save his men on “Circe’s Island.” and defeated the cyclops in “The Cave of the Cyclops.”
There are many traits that heroes can demonstrate in stories. The two stories The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, and “The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell both have heros in them. Connell’s story portrays a hero named Rainsford, who crosses a mysterious island where humans are hunted for fun, and he himself has to run for his life. Twain’s book follows a young boy named Huck, who has run away from his father, and his older friend Jim, who is a runaway slave. Jim is more of a hero because he is more self-sacrificing, unafraid of negative consequences, and more determined.
A hero is someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities (OxfordLanguages). The brilliant novel, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, calls for a true hero in the middle of a catastrophe. In this play, the religious town of Salem becomes involved in mass hysteria. Abigail Williams is an eighteen-year-old girl and the leader of these acts. Along with Abby, many other girls in the town become obsessed with partaking in accusing those of being witches.
Heroes in our society are revered and respected as Joseph Campbell reminds us: “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” (Joseph Campbell). Heroes exist in all societies and throughout history. Maybe they are not always on the news or from the movies, but their words and their actions never fail to resonate across their feats. A hero gives of himself and dedicates himself to causes which better others and their society unlike individuals who are self serving, greedy, and cruel.
“A man cannot become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall.” This quote articulated by famous Greek philosopher Aristotle provided the basis for another category of heroes: tragic heroes. Throughout literature’s history there have been various tragic heroes from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jay Gatsby in the novel The Great Gatsby to Oedipus Rex in Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King. William Shakespeare created tragic heroes in his plays as well, one of the most famous being Macbeth in the title play Macbeth. In another of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet, Prince Hamlet cries out, “To be, or not to be: that is the question:/” which appears similar to the question some readers still ask, “Is or is not Macbeth a tragic hero?” (INTEXTDOCUMENTATION).
What is a hero? Is it a being or idea classified by tights and capes or is it something more? A hero can be anything their society makes them out to be, which is the case in Etheridge Knight’s short story, “Hard Rock Returns to Prison.” A hero can also be a reassuring mother of a frightened child, as shown beautifully in John Hope Franklin’s short story, “The Train from Hate.” In both stories, the theme heroism plays important roles in their respective plots.
Every past and modern culture over the course of history, has its hero’s. A hero is a person or figure that others look up to and use as forms of protection. Many cherish the hero’s, they make up who we are today. The Anglo-Saxon hero, Beowulf, and the postmodern hero/hero’s, the soldiers, both show the traits of bravery, selflessness, and loyalty. To have the trait of bravery you have to have lots of confidence in yourself and have courage.
The Revolution of Heroism In modern times, people toss around the word hero, but the idea of heroism through the centuries has never perished. What is exactly as a hero? A hero is not someone that can fly or has super strength. A hero maybe someone who is fighting for their people, to someone that crushes fear, or to an average person that sacrifices themselfs for people in need. Overtime, the evolution of a hero has changed drastically.
Heroes have always been a part of the human caricature. Although, these heroes have not always been categorized in a similar way. Ideas about heroism changed from the Anglo-Saxon period through the Middle English period by the hero becoming a man with characteristics other than being brave. First, as the reader can view in Beowulf, a hero is someone that is a well-spoken, stronger-than-life, and an invulnerable man.
1) Taken collectively, what do these tell us about society's expectations on men? In other words, according to us, society, what does it mean to be a man? Society has a very meticulous view of men and masculinity. It expects men to be assertive, powerful, aggressive, confident, and passionate.