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What is a Hero

Beth

What is a Hero

The question that everyone assumes to have an answer to is, “What is a Hero?” When several people are allowed to answer this question, they will respond differently. But who gives the correct answer to this question? (White 81). Most children will say that a hero is anyone who puts on a costume and saves the world; I shared the same thoughts as a child. As we grow older and our perspective and conception broaden, we realize a hero does not have to wear a costume but must save the day or a situation. According to Professor Coan, a hero is defined based on a couple of concepts: their interaction in society, social and political, their inventiveness and creativity, their inner peace, and finally, the encounters that make them superior (KANE 883).

The first factor influencing a hero’s status is their social interaction. A hero is involved in both social and political aspects of their community. Social aspects involve their culture and interactions with family, friends, colleagues, and everyone else. Social interactions ensure friendly relations between the Hero and the members of the community. Political aspects of interaction can be direct or indirect. Direct interaction could involve the Hero being able to directly influence the decisions made concerning their society, such as being a house member. In contrast, indirect interaction involves the Hero using indirect means to influence the decisions concerning that community. Additionally, indirect methods might include protests.

The second factor influencing a hero’s status is inventiveness and creativity. Heroes can innovate new ideas at times of desperation. They improvise as they get their work done. Furthermore, a hero cannot be an individual who throws in the towel but an individual who comes up with alternative methods of solving problems when one plan fails. Moreover, they think outside the box when it comes to creativity.

The other factor or nature of a hero is their inner peace state. Heroes’ bodies should be in a state of harmony, where all their helpful and practical organs are aligned. Inner peace is typically associated with the Chinese in shows such as “Kungfu Panda.” Inner peace provides the tranquility and clarity needed to solve problems in society.

The other factor is the presence of encounters that make them superior. The experiences individuals go through influence their status as heroes. Furthermore, experiences can be traumatizing or even supernatural, altering the heroes’ view on lives within a particular community. Additionally, what they go through as individuals affects their ability to speak up and fight against evil and injustice. These factors are considered when identifying an individual as a hero. Accordingly, not all these factors that affect the nature of a hero apply to all heroes. The first factor that implies that all heroes must have social interactions might not apply to all heroes. Not all heroes are involved in politics; however, they might be involved in their society’s social aspects. A hero of a particular situation might not be involved in a society’s political aspects because maybe their act of heroism does not involve politics in any way.

The heroes’ ability to maintain inner peace may also not apply to all heroes. Actions of heroism do not require the development of inner peace. Furthermore, an individual may spontaneously be involved in a heroic act; therefore, there is no telling whether the individual has mastered the art of managing inner peace. Situations that call for immediate action do not give individuals the time to develop and maintain their inner peace.

Situations that require acts of heroism dictate the nature of the Hero. An individual can become a hero overnight without the slightest clue of what it takes to be a hero. It, therefore, makes sense that a situation is what makes a hero. Accordingly, an individual may save another individual from being run over by an automobile; this is a heroic act. The protected individual will look up to the one that saved them as a hero. Without prior preparation, the individual acted out of instinct.

Plenty of evidence of heroism in daily lives and stories exists. The story “Bodega Dream” has several heroes: Mrs. Boorstein, the Mathematics teacher, and all the Hispanic teachers. They are heroes because they put in the work needed to ensure their students were taught. In a school where the students did not follow the rules, these teachers strived to ensure the students respected themselves and studied and worked hard. The other teachers did not put in the effort and didn’t care about the students, but Mrs. Boorstein and the Hispanic teachers put in the extra effort. Considering the factors influencing heroes’ nature, apply in this example, all the teachers interacted with their immediate community, both students and teachers. Mrs. Boorstein was innovative because she found alternative methods of keeping her students in class, and the Hispanic teachers influenced their students due to prior experiences.

Another example is the story “A-Train from Hate.” In this story, the mother of the young boy is the Hero. She stood up for her children when the train conductor tried to make them walk on a moving train. She comforts her child when he cries and teaches them self-respect, confidence, and courage. The mother also conforms to the factors that influence a hero’s nature; her decision to refuse to walk on a train to the black section was a political action against the norms of her society. Her creativity is also shown as she comforts her children after they are thrown out of the train. Furthermore, her calm reaction towards the whole situation indicates inner peace, and her prior experience with racism helps her make the right choices. The final example is the Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. In the letter, he addresses the injustice African American individuals were facing. He calls out for justice, and that makes him a hero. He also conforms to the nature of heroes.

In conclusion, heroes do not have to wear masks; anyone can be a hero. A hero’s nature is inborn, and when a situation that calls for heroism presents itself, a hero will emerge. This conclusion is evident in the examples listed.

Work Cited

Franklin, John. “Franklin’s The Train From Hate”. Webcache.Googleusercontent.Com, http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:JigFPQ4dxCsJ:www2.southeastern.edu/Academics/Faculty/scraig/Franklin.htm&hl=en&gl=us&strip=1&vwsrc=0.

KANE, FRANCIS J. “Hero, Artist, Sage, Or Saint? A Survey Of Views On What Is Variously Called Mental Health, Normality, Maturity, Self-Actualization, And Human Fulfillment”. American Journal Of Psychiatry, vol 135, no. 7, 1978, pp. 883-883. American Psychiatric Association Publishing, doi:10.1176/ajp.135.7.883.

King, Martin. “Martin Luther King’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail” As Pauline Epistle.” 1963.

Quiñonez, Ernesto. “Excerpt From Bodega Dreams | Penguin Random House Canada”. Penguin Random House Canada, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/136934/bodega-dreams-by-ernesto-quinonez/9780375705892/excerpt.

White, Steven H. “What Is A Hero? An Exploratory Study Of Students’ Conceptions Of Heroes”. Journal Of Moral Education, vol 28, no. 1, 1999, pp. 81-95. Informa UK Limited, doi:10.1080/030572499103322.

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Question 

Module 3 Individuality and Community

Writing Assignment

Review the Strategy Questions for Organizing Your Argument Essay in the “Creating an Informal Outline” section of Chapter 5,and then write a 1000-word response to the following question: What is a hero?.

In order to write a 1000-word response to a 5-word question, you’ll need to include a variety of sources and perspectives. Incorporate the following into your paper:

What is a Hero

You are encouraged to complete a first draft of the assignment then revise your work. Submit the assignment to the Assignment box no later than Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT. (The Assignment box may be linked to Turnitin.)

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