Definition Essay On Heroism

1000 Words4 Pages

When it comes to heroism many people would imagine similar scenes. A firefighter rescuing a small child from a burning building, a soldier saving his platoon from a roadside bomb, an EMS worker performing CPR and saving one's life, or even a rescue working pulling a climber from a dangerous ledge. These are all examples of what the common hero looks like; however, people perform heroic events in everyday life and are rarely recognized. Heroes embody courage, selflessness, honesty, bravery, compassion, and humility. A hero is someone who shows extreme amounts of bravery or performs a task for the betterment of others because they are exceptional people who live out heroic characteristics each and every day.
The main qualification of a hero is …show more content…

When the two planes hit the Twin Towers everyone went into a state of shock. No one knew what to do except for the firefighters and first responders that were already on the scene. These heroes ran into a burning skyscraper to rescue civilians, unaware of what was to come. The firefighters disregarded their own lives and put people that they had never even met before in front of them. This was a true act of selflessness considering that there was a very high chance that many of them would die in that building. They still showed extreme amounts of courage, selflessness, honesty, bravery, caring, and humility given their circumstance. Unlike the first example where being heroic was a part of there job, Zaevion Dobson a popular football player at a Knoxville high school was just 15 when he jumped on top of three girls to shield them from bullets. Dobson died that night but saved the lives of those three young girls. This shows how anyone can be a hero by living a life of selflessness and …show more content…

Risking one’s life is not the only qualification to be a hero. There are many other ways to become a hero without putting oneself in a dangerous situation. The biggest is by being a positive role model, especially to the younger generation. For example, everyday MHS students go to Hawthorne Elementary School and help elementary classes. They build strong relationships with these children and are expected to be there everyday. Some kids see these high schoolers as heroes because of the way that they are treated. They look up to these students because they have had a positive impact on the kids, which makes them want to be like the older students. Martin Luther King is also a hero because of the change that he brought to the American Society. Although he did risk his life by standing up for what he believed in, he did not spend his days running into burning buildings. He simply spoke out about a topic that many people were too scared to talk about. Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and there are many ways to help better the