What I Knew About Heroes

This year in English, we have focused on the concept of the hero. In the beginning of the year, we studied the Hero’s Journey. In this journey, a hero is called to action, though he might refuse at first. Then, he goes on the journey and faces many obstacles. Heroes possess qualities that help them along their journey, though they have flaws, like most people. In class, we studied several examples of heroes. In The Odyssey, the main character, Odysseus goes on a journey and faces many tasks for which he has to use his craftiness, bravery, and his strength. However, his flaw of hubris, or overweening pride, gets in the way. Other heroes we looked in class included Brutus from Julius Caesar and Biblical heroes. Today, society values different types of heroes. As children, people idolize heroes, such as superheroes or sports heroes. However, heroes can also be found in one’s immediate surroundings, such as a helpful teacher or father figure. As adults, people find new heroes to admire, and most people still strive to live up to their heroes’ examples. For example, one of my personal heroes has always been former president Ronald Reagan. I admire him because of all that he did to keep America safe from the dangers of the Cold War. The quality I admire most in Ronald Reagan is his ability to compromise and to negotiate without violence. Through compromise, he came to an agreement with the President of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev. Qualities like Reagan’s willingness to compromise and Odysseus’s bravery define a hero.