As humans, we tend to idolize people from all over the world for their remarkable qualities, bravery, actions, skills, leadership or ways of life. These people are often referred to as heroes, whether it is a leader, Superman, or a local community hero, they all share something in common, and it’s not a cape. What makes each of these people heroes? Their extraordinary character traits set them apart from their less noteworthy peers. While there is a myriad of traits that heroes possess, the most significant ones are their bravery, their willingness to ask for help, and their strength to always do what is honorable.
A Superhero is not judged by the power he has,but only by the choices he makes. In the essay,”Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie, the author uses an extended metaphor to explain his relationship with the fictional character Superman. Alexie uses many things in his life to compare himself to Superman. Although Alexie may not be seen as a hero with actual superpowers, he demonstrates the qualities of a superhero in different ways. Alexie is seen as someone that almost resembles an alien in the eyes of his society.
In Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, Alexie’s father’s love for books grew to make his self-love books ending up in Alexie teaching himself how to read. Alexie describes the stereotypes and what is expected of Indian children and how Indian children were expected to basically have no knowledge Many lived up to those expectations inside the classroom but invalidated them on the outside. While other children were doing this, Alexie’s father was one of the few Indians on the reservation who went to Catholic School on purpose and was also an devoted reader. Alexie grew up around books. His father had a strong love for books as he bought them by the pound from pawn shops, goodwill and the salvation army.
Superman, Black Panther, Green Lantern, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Flash, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Wonder Woman. All of these characters are examples for children, or even adults, all around the world, and are considered perfect examples for the term “Hero”. In the odyssey we see the journey of Odysseus, and his perils, and his victories and losses. Odysseus fits the archetype of a hero, in many ways, so he will be compared to a stereotypical hero, Batman. Batman and Odysseus are both fit to be called a “hero” for many reasons, for example, they show strength, bravery, and confidence many times throughout their journeys, they both come up against supernatural foes, and they are both of Noble birth.
Sherman Alexie is a talented poet, short story writer, novelist, and performer that grew up on the Spokane Indian reservation. He has published twenty-four books and also written and co-produced a movie. In “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” Alexie conveys a story to the reader about how reading and writing significantly changed his life. Living on an Indian reservation in Washington in 1966, Indian children were projected to fail: “We were Indian children who were expected to be stupid. Most lived up to those expectations inside the classroom” (Alexie 364).
Every human being should have a hero. Many people view heroes as a fictional cartoon character. For younger kids, Spiderman is their hero. People don’t need super strength nor super speed to be a hero. A hero is someone who changes a person life for the better.
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” (George R.R. Martin). A reader can experience many new and different cultures by reading a variety of different books. The reader is also able to experience the lives of the all the contrasting characters and thus live a thousand lives unlike someone who never reads.
Life is full of doors, some are open and some are closed. There comes a time when sealed doors need to be broken open so everyone can reach their maximum potential and goals in life, just like Sherman Alexie did in “Superman and Me.” An example of Sherman Alexie breaking down doors is one of his quotes from “Superman and Me,” “this might be an interesting story all by itself. A little Indian boy teaches himself to read at an early age and advances quickly. He reads Grapes of Wrath in kindergarten when other children are struggling through Dick and Jane.
Therefore grief and sorrow are depicted over the fact that the world would never see another Superman, especially with all the good men going into hiding.
Superhero comics contain many conventions such as morals, a motive, extraordinary superpowers, a back story, and so on. Batman and Superman are a couple of superheroes from a wide variety of superhero comics. Both of them try to protect mankind from any hurt, harm, or danger that may come. A similarity between both of these superheroes is that they want justice in the world. With so much crime and torture going on in the world, mankind looks for a higher power to help stop it.
“Anything is possible when your man smells like Old Spice and not like a lady”. This is the slogan Old Spice strives to convey to their target audience. In today’s society, companies have become smarter with their advertisements. The marketing world has figured out how to make use of a multitude of rhetorical strategies and skills that effectively persuade their audience to purchase the product being advertised. Old Spice, a men’s beauty product, is notorious for producing commercial advertisements that are comedic in nature and that appeal to the emotions and desires of their audience.
Hero’s use their intelligence to help people and to do what is right unlike the
Jane Addams How would you imagine your hero? A hero to me would be someone who puts other’s needs before their own. For example, someone who gives a homeless person their jacket when it’s 25 degrees outside is a hero. Another example would be someone who has courage, meaning that they are brave enough to do what others won't, like Rosa Parks; she stood up for everyone who was treated unfairly even though she knew the possible consequences of her actions. My hero would also be someone who is caring and helpful in little ways like helping an older person carry their bags to their car or walking your neighbor's dog when they are too busy to do so.
But the most prominent example of them all, is the prototypical superhero, Superman. Superman could be described as an amalgam of every great and powerful warrior as one. His co-creator Jerry Siegel states that ‘’ in creating Superman, he wanted to conceive a character like Samson, Hercules, and all the strongmen I have ever heard of…’’. (Smith)(Chapter 15, Section 1 Jerry Siegel quoted 1934) Superman is often compared to a variety of mythological figures, most notably with his Messiah like characteristics, which resembles images of Christ.
Sometimes, we cannot all be Superman, but we were made for a purpose. If a person was born to do one thing and they give everything they can to accomplish that purpose, then they are a
