Michelle Staub
Mrs. Collier
English 11



“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
~Christopher Reeve


The Dictionary tells us that a hero is, “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has preformed a heroic act and is regarded as a model.” The Dictionary also tells us that a hero is, “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” But what is a does it mean to be a hero in America?

A hero does not have to be a man dressed up in spandex with a secret identity who‘s DNA has been altered to give him special abilities. A hero can be anyone. A teacher, one of your family members, a firefighter, a friend who stood up for you, or even a neighbor down the street. But what makes them a hero? Maybe it was something they did, or didn’t do? Maybe it was something small like being there for you in your time of need, or maybe it was something big such as saving a whole bunch of people’s lives.

If you ask a small child who their hero is, they will probably tell you the name of their favorite superhero. Ask an adult or a teenager, and they will probably tell you about a historical figure or a fireman, or someone they know that is enlisted in the army. As time goes on it appears to get harder and harder to have a hero. It seems that the idea of having a hero disappears with childhood innocence. As Ernest Hemingway says, “As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.” We all need someone to look up to, and model ourselves after.

The term ‘hero’ has become so commonly used that it has almost altogether lost it’s meaning. There may be someone who has done something special, and is called a hero, but in a few days time they will be completely forgotten. If this is the case, then who deserves to actually be called a hero? I believe that all the firemen, all the police officers, all the doctors and nurses and surgeons, all the people in the military, all the war veterans, and all the people who have put themselves in dangerous situations, simply to help others should deserve the title ‘hero’.

A recent example of a hero in America is Chesley B. Sullenberger III, who is a US Airways Pilot. On January 15th, he safely guided all of the 155 passages and the crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549 to an emergency water landing in Manhattan’s Hudson River. Making a water landing like that is very difficult, and the plane almost always falls apart on landing, but Sullenberger landed the plane perfectly. Sullenberger is also the first person to crash-landed an airplane in the water with no fatalities in 45 years. This task took an amazing amount of courage and he handled the situation well.

The people enlisted in the military are also examples of heroes. In emergencies or combat, ordinary people do extraordinary things, and make a difference when the moments come. They risk their lives to keep us safe from harm, and keep peace in nations around the world. Every time they leave for battle, the take the knowing risk of not returning home, and that takes great courage that not everyone has.

“A man can be a hero if he is a scientist, or a soldier, or a drug addict, or a disc jockey, or a crummy mediocre politician. A man can be a hero because he suffers and despairs; or because he thinks logically and analytically; or because he is "sensitive;" or because he is cruel. Wealth establishes a man as a hero, and so does poverty. Virtually any circumstance in a man's life will make him a hero to some group of people and has a mythic rendering in the culture -- in literature, art, theater, or the daily newspapers.”
Andrea Dworkin


Anyone can be a hero, but it takes someone with a great amount of courage and strength to step up to the plate when they are needed and follow through with their actions.