A hero is someone who is able to suffer while someone else is happy. They are both spirited and courageous. In the novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, Lily is a young girl who shot her mother accidentally when she was only four. Her father abused her on a weekly basis as a result. With this Lily felt ashamed and unloved. She was able to accept her actions and grow from them. In the novel The Odyssey by Homer, Odysseus, King of Ithaca, was sent to go fight in the Trojan War after the war was over he had to return to his Kingdom. He had a ship and dozens of men and he was on these journey for numerous years. Lily compared to Odysseus, is a hero by having a strong mental capacity to deal with difficult situations and is able to achieve her goals while being abused by her father. Lily, as a young girl, picked up a handgun and pulled the trigger accidentally killing her mother. Throughout her life she wanted to find more …show more content…
He lies and risks other’s lives to let himself live. A hero should be valiant and willing to put others before himself. On his way back from the Trojan War Odysseus and his men had to fight the monster, Scylla, in order to go back to Ithaca. Odysseus wouldn't tell his men that eight of them are going to be eaten. It states in the novel “No mention of Scylla--how to fight that nightmare?--for fear the men would panic ”(pg 278). This demonstrates that Odysseus, would not tell his men that they have a chance of dying. He didn't want them to panic and be thinking about death instead of defeating the monster. He would rather they perform well and die then be scared. Odysseus wanted to be protected by his men, instead of him protecting his men as a hero would do. Odysseus knew how to survive. If he told his men what was going to happen, those eight men could've lived. If Odysseus was a real hero he would have been truthful to his