Recently in class we were asked to write an essay on how we would define a hero. We related it back to the movie we had just watched in class " O Brother Where Art Thou?"
The True Definition of a Hero
Real heroes are selfless. They expect no appreciation or fame for their actions. Real heroes work to make the future better for generations to come.
The soldiers and leaders in the military who fight for our country everyday do it not to impress anyone or seem courageous and brave; they do it because they have a real want to help people, they want us to be able to go to school and they want us to be able to eat good food and drink clean water without having to worry. The military fights for our rights as a free nation. These people risk their lives everyday, they risk being scarred by the mental and physical hardships of surviving a war, but they do it anyway because they want to protect us.
In O’ Brother Where Art Thou when Everett, Delmar, and Pete put their lives on the line to save Tommy Johnson from the KKK meeting they are showing selfless heroism. They risked getting found out and going back to jail but they did it anyway because they knew he didn't do anything wrong. Everett, Pete, and Delmar knew that Tommy Johnson’s life was just as important as theirs.
When many people think of heroes they think of a billowing cape and super powers. They think of Superman and Batman, they think of the people in movies and TV shows with super strength or a super ability. They don’t think of the average citizen helping someone even though that’s the true definition of a hero. An example of this is shown when Pete’s cousin’s son drives through the burning barn to save Everett, Delmar, and Pete from the fire and getting arrested by the police. He steals his father’s car and gives it to the trio. This shows selflessness
because he didn’t have to help them, it was his father that turned them in. He didn’t stand by and watch these men get a terrible fate, instead he helped them escape and gave them a chance. He didn’t gain anything from doing this in fact he probably suffered negative consequences because of it.
In the Odyssey Athena shows selflessness in many occasions, she's always there helping Odysseus. An example of this is when Athena convinces the gods and goddesses that Odysseus should be released from Calypso’s island. This doesn’t benefit Athena in any way, she has no alternative motive, instead she just wants to help Odysseus. She is the true definition of a hero, someone who does something to help someone else for the sole purpose of making the other person’s life better.
Another characteristic of heroes is they work to create a better future for the generations to come. Martin Luther King Jr. preached his ideas to create a better future for the whole African American community. He risked and dedicated his life to helping his kids and future kids everywhere so wouldn’t feel the same oppression he did.
Some heroes don't change the world but for a select few they do change the world. For example there is a boy in Bangladesh, he is 13 and works at a fish market, he works at the fish market for hours and hours and makes very little money. He gave up school at 11, when his father died and went to get a job. This boy’s job now is to provide for his mother and sister and make sure they don’t starve. This boy has given up his hope of ever getting educated and making something of himself. This boy could have left his family or refused to give up his education and schooling and continued with it and made a future for himself. This boy is a silent hero, he is working without ever wanting appreciation for his sacrifice. This boy is never going to get a comic book made about him, he’s never going to get a movie or tv series featuring him. But to his small family in Bangladesh he is a hero, he’s better than Batman, Spiderman, Hulk, Thor, or anyone else. Because for his family he puts a roof above their head, he puts food on their table, and he gives them a chance to survive.
During World War II, Witold Pilecki, a 39 year old veteran of the Polish-Soviet War heard of the horrific concentration camps set up by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and the horrors that occurred daily within the camps and he volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz to secretly collect information and gain knowledge to help fuel the resistance. During his time in the camp Pilecki organized numerous riots and helped the people of Auschwitz stay hopeful and stay mad at the oppressive racists that put them there. He was eventually found as a spy and executed not long after. Witold Pilecki was not Jewish, he was not an enemy of Hitler, he had no reason to be in that camp. However, he used his life to squash the oppression. Many people in the world during that time just turned a blind eye and thought as long as Hitler’s not after me why should I involve myself? Witold, however said goodbye to his family and friends and his perfectly happy life to live in a death camp, almost starved to death, rid of all possessions, beaten and oppressed just so no one else would have to experience this. He chose to be emphatic and insanely compassionate when the rest of the world wasn’t. He never asked for thanks, he never wanted praise, he just wanted the world to be better.
Heroes are too often wrongly portrayed. Real heroes are average selfless people with no alternative motive. Real heroes act with no hope of getting recognition for their heroic deed. Real heroes work to create a better future because they don’t want others to experience their struggles.
Real heroes are selfless. They expect no appreciation or fame for their actions. Real heroes work to make the future better for generations to come.
The soldiers and leaders in the military who fight for our country everyday do it not to impress anyone or seem courageous and brave; they do it because they have a real want to help people, they want us to be able to go to school and they want us to be able to eat good food and drink clean water without having to worry. The military fights for our rights as a free nation. These people risk their lives everyday, they risk being scarred by the mental and physical hardships of surviving a war, but they do it anyway because they want to protect us.
In O’ Brother Where Art Thou when Everett, Delmar, and Pete put their lives on the line to save Tommy Johnson from the KKK meeting they are showing selfless heroism. They risked getting found out and going back to jail but they did it anyway because they knew he didn't do anything wrong. Everett, Pete, and Delmar knew that Tommy Johnson’s life was just as important as theirs.
When many people think of heroes they think of a billowing cape and super powers. They think of Superman and Batman, they think of the people in movies and TV shows with super strength or a super ability. They don’t think of the average citizen helping someone even though that’s the true definition of a hero. An example of this is shown when Pete’s cousin’s son drives through the burning barn to save Everett, Delmar, and Pete from the fire and getting arrested by the police. He steals his father’s car and gives it to the trio. This shows selflessness
because he didn’t have to help them, it was his father that turned them in. He didn’t stand by and watch these men get a terrible fate, instead he helped them escape and gave them a chance. He didn’t gain anything from doing this in fact he probably suffered negative consequences because of it.
In the Odyssey Athena shows selflessness in many occasions, she's always there helping Odysseus. An example of this is when Athena convinces the gods and goddesses that Odysseus should be released from Calypso’s island. This doesn’t benefit Athena in any way, she has no alternative motive, instead she just wants to help Odysseus. She is the true definition of a hero, someone who does something to help someone else for the sole purpose of making the other person’s life better.
Another characteristic of heroes is they work to create a better future for the generations to come. Martin Luther King Jr. preached his ideas to create a better future for the whole African American community. He risked and dedicated his life to helping his kids and future kids everywhere so wouldn’t feel the same oppression he did.
Some heroes don't change the world but for a select few they do change the world. For example there is a boy in Bangladesh, he is 13 and works at a fish market, he works at the fish market for hours and hours and makes very little money. He gave up school at 11, when his father died and went to get a job. This boy’s job now is to provide for his mother and sister and make sure they don’t starve. This boy has given up his hope of ever getting educated and making something of himself. This boy could have left his family or refused to give up his education and schooling and continued with it and made a future for himself. This boy is a silent hero, he is working without ever wanting appreciation for his sacrifice. This boy is never going to get a comic book made about him, he’s never going to get a movie or tv series featuring him. But to his small family in Bangladesh he is a hero, he’s better than Batman, Spiderman, Hulk, Thor, or anyone else. Because for his family he puts a roof above their head, he puts food on their table, and he gives them a chance to survive.
During World War II, Witold Pilecki, a 39 year old veteran of the Polish-Soviet War heard of the horrific concentration camps set up by Adolf Hitler and the Nazis and the horrors that occurred daily within the camps and he volunteered to be imprisoned at Auschwitz to secretly collect information and gain knowledge to help fuel the resistance. During his time in the camp Pilecki organized numerous riots and helped the people of Auschwitz stay hopeful and stay mad at the oppressive racists that put them there. He was eventually found as a spy and executed not long after. Witold Pilecki was not Jewish, he was not an enemy of Hitler, he had no reason to be in that camp. However, he used his life to squash the oppression. Many people in the world during that time just turned a blind eye and thought as long as Hitler’s not after me why should I involve myself? Witold, however said goodbye to his family and friends and his perfectly happy life to live in a death camp, almost starved to death, rid of all possessions, beaten and oppressed just so no one else would have to experience this. He chose to be emphatic and insanely compassionate when the rest of the world wasn’t. He never asked for thanks, he never wanted praise, he just wanted the world to be better.
Heroes are too often wrongly portrayed. Real heroes are average selfless people with no alternative motive. Real heroes act with no hope of getting recognition for their heroic deed. Real heroes work to create a better future because they don’t want others to experience their struggles.