Heroes in “I am a Soldier, Too”
A couple working hard so that, one day, their children can have a good life. A nurse going out of her way to make sure a patient is cared for properly. A king abdicating his throne so that his country can become a democracy. Heroism comes in many different forms and acts. Some heroes are well known, some will forever only be known to a few. But what makes someone a hero? When looking at the characteristics of a hero, many heroes have a few characteristics in common, bravery, strength (physical or fortitude), and most importantly, they never give up. In the novel, “I Am a Soldier Too: The Jessica Lynch Story”, by Rick Bragg, Bragg portrays the last characteristic, never giving up,as a theme through the story of a prisoner of war, Jessica Lynch, a hero. Jessica Lynch, a war
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Throughout the novel, Lynch presented the theme, never give up, through her actions, mainly while captured and injured in Iraq. After missing a turn during a transport mission, her group and she came under attack by Iraqi soldiers. Many of her peers, including her best friend, Lori Ann Piestewa, died in the ambush. Lynch, fortunately, did not, but she didn’t escape without injuries. Her right arm had shattered, her right hand had a compound fracture, her spine fractured in two places, her right foot was crushed, her left leg was broken, and the flesh along her hairline was torn. A combination of injuries that would leave anyone wishing for an end, except her. Instead of ending her life, she pushed forward and didn’t give up on herself and the doctors helping her. Though stuck in a hospital bed paralyzed, she still managed to fight the pain and pray for her own survival, “She had prayed that she would live through the fight” (80), “‘I never gave up faith I would be rescued, she said”’(114). She did not give up and try to take her own