Definition Essay: The Role Of Heroes In Our Society

Heroes come in different shapes, sizes, and looks. Maybe someone you saw on the street one day was heroic for saving someone’s life in a car accident. A hero to me is someone who can be brave in situations that aren’t so safe, and take a risk to make sure everyone is okay, no matter who

When people think of a hero, they do not understand you don't need to be just like superman, you don't need to be able to fly, or be immortal and never die. There is no need to wear a mask, save the world, or have special powers. To me, any regular person can become a hero in their own way. I believe a hero can be found in any piece of literature, most main characters are all heroes, but they are all heroes in a different way. To me, in order to be a hero, all you need to do is put someone else's life in front of your own, if you can change someone else's life you can then call yourself a hero. Aristotle once said that a tragic hero is "one who does not fall into misfortune though vice or depravity, but falls because of some mistake".

Another example of a hero are the people at the shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. They are heroes because they didn't have plan to save people and from out of nowhere, they had to think fast and do something for other people. They were jumping on top of each other to protect one another. Others were getting their cars and picking up people and driving away. They went from normal people going to a concert, to heroes that did something to save their community.

A hero can be viewed differently in many eyes. Author and lecturer Joseph Campbell, has correlated a hero as usually being a male, often of lowly birth, but with special powers or a higher birthright, the hero doesn’t know about. Also, the hero parents are often dead, absent, or uncaring, and the hero is judged by the actions he takes and the way he reacts and relates to people. In the opinions of others, a hero is also a person admired for bravery, great achievements, abilities or good qualities and is regarded as a role model. A hero is also, admired for having done something very courageous or having succeeded in something great. In literature, the hero is the main character of a story, play, or movie. In the textbook, The Norton Anthology

Heroes are those who have gone above what the average person would do to ensure the welfare of others. Natural disasters, terrorism, poverty, and war are some of the many things that destroy and end people’s lives. Throughout history, many people have made a difference. However, as history progresses, what we consider to be socially normal changes along with our definition of a hero. In Ancient Greece, Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus were considered heroes, but today only Theseus and Perseus would be considered heroes because Hercules would be shunned by society.

American writer, mythologist and lecturer Joseph Campbell’s definition of a hero is “someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself”. Growing up, children are most often taught that heroes are typically people who have superpowers and who save people as well as the world by fighting monsters and dragons. As children grow older, heroes transform towards modern heroes, such as Marvel figures like Superman, Batman or Spider-Man. Furthering even more from classics such as the well-known Marvel figures, a hero does not actually in fact have to have any superpower, be well-known, or even known at all. These heroes often times work in the background and are not given the luxury of being respected and admired.

A hero is something that society has formed an idea about the characteristic it should posses from history. Through the stories told from the past a hero is developed through their qualities and characteristics they value. When one views a hero from a different culture they can form an opinion on what matters to that culture. One will notice that through all these different heroes that they all share common features. In ancient Hebrew culture Moses represents a hero and for ancient Greek culture Odysseus represents heroic figures.

What it means to be a hero has changed profoundly over time, a hero to the Anglo-Saxons are fame driven, materialistic, arrogant people whose only goal is to be talked about for centuries. The modern hero is also all of those traits, but they tend to not express it as much and try to seem as “selfless” as possible. A modern hero is supposed to be a person who

Anyone who influences anyone else by saving or helping save his or her lives can be a hero. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. changed the lives of millions of people by bringing justice to minorities. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest heroes, led a nonviolent revolution to free his country. Even a parent can be a hero to his or her child by leading them in the right direction. All teachers are heroes when they make it their job to teach a child anything that will help them in life. You don’t have to go to great lengths by risking your life to make a difference in someone else’s life.

Everyone has their own opinion of what a hero is, and hopefully for good reasons. The hero that they’re thinking about was probably a very important leader in their generation. Example: Abraham Lincoln became president and freed all the slaves and ended slavery forever. Thomas Jefferson created the declaration of independence, therefore making the US a free place to live. However, all of these people

     Some wonder if or why it is important to be a hero. Others don’t think that heroes are important at all. Why would it be important to be a hero? A hero, in today’s society, is someone that simply saves another person’s life. The “hero” doesn’t have to have an enormous amount of strength or ability. When a situation occurs where a life needs to be saved, there isn’t always an enormous amount of danger involved. Heroes show the rest of the world how to help others. Heroes also display what can be done in an emergency situation. Heroes are important because they provide everyone with good examples of morals that are lacked in present day society. Each minute of everyday, the morality of our country is reduced. Heroes show us all that there are still good people

Heroes are not always people who lead marches or do things for their country. For example policemen, firefighters, nurses, lifeguards etc. are heroes everyday because they take the time to save lives. When they’re going through a challenge or trying to overcome a conflict they always have courage. These people risk their own life to save someone else’s. To be more specific Dr. Ginger Holt from Dallas had saved a little boy’s leg. She was confident and determined to finding out what went wrong in the boy’s leg and went through many procedures looking at the tests.

Different generations view what it means to be a hero differently because of what they need a hero to be. For example, Achilles was a hero for Greece against Troy. But today, in this time of technology,media and science he would be kind of underappreciated. Heroes only stand out because people around them don’t. If more people stood out, and went against the usual train of thought and “looked” outside the box then more heroes would appear.

A hero, as defined in Webster’s Online Dictionary, is a person who “a person admired for achievements or noble qualities” or “one who shows great courage.” However, a hero is not just a person with outstanding achievements. A hero is a person who is philanthropic, generous, and kind. Heros fight for those who cannot fight for themselves, and do not judge those who they are fighting for. They are charitable in ways other than donating money, they give their time and effort in order to make the lives of others more pleasant. Heros display bravery, as they are willing to go into a dangerous situation to help others that have been aggrieved. Social pressures and judgements do not affect a hero’s willingness to help others, and they are willing to push through what others say

Heroes in the modern era need to be excellent role models for kids nowadays. Since kids in this time period always know what is going on, they can see all the bad choices that their icon or favorite celebrity makes. Furthermore, if a role model makes a bad decision, the people that look up to them might start making bad decisions as well. Heros today needs to realize that if they set a good example like fire-fighters by saving lives, the younger generation will turn out to be good role models too. In fact, the many people that looked up to a good role model in their early stages of childhood, said it helped guide them through life during development. All in all, heroes are all