Can I Get A Hero?!

 “Q: How do you find out the true nature and character of a hero? A: Ask his or her children” (Alexie, 138). A hero, in my opinion, is someone who rises above expectation and surpasses the social norm of what is happening. A child represents the innocent part of society. They are sponges absorbing actions around them. Kids often say the most off-the-wall things — first, simply because they feel like it, and second, the filter that society wants us to have isn’t there yet. Instead of interpreting actions in the context of what was happening they look at how the ‘you’ and how ‘you’ behaved. It would be so easy to label someone a hero after something marvelous happens. But not all things are marvelous. Superman doesn’t often land a plane safely after a meteor strike, from a planet outside our galaxy took off one of its wings, with only just one hand sometime around lunch. A hero is shown through actions, real actions. Superman does save people but that is his only motivation. He does it because he has the ability to. He felt an obligation to save the plane full of people because they could not save themselves. A few more heroes that represent society’s emphasis on self-sacrifice, helping others without gain and overcome adversity: Batman wears a disguise and moves with stealth and purpose only in the cover of darkness. Jackie Robinson was brave enough to be silent in the face of atrocity and let his ability/actions speak for themselves. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger only thought of his passengers when landing the plane he was flying in the Hudson (huffingtonpost). He responded to the media that he only was able to do as he did because of his years of experience and training. A hero from the reading who stood out in contrast to the heroes we hold in such high regard was Manfred. Act II, Scene II, showed an arrogant and cocky hero who once cared about a girl but is not with her now. He has the power to help those who need help or cannot otherwise help themselves, but he has no moral responsibility to do so. With all the expectation placed upon heroes, this portrayal has another take. It makes me question what would I do if I had powers? Would I go out of my way to save people? Would I interrupt my life or would I view myself above others?

Sources

Alexie, Sherman. “Estelle Walks Above.” Ten Little Indians: Stories. New York: Grove, 2003. N. pag. Print.

 Baram, Marcus. “CHESLEY B. SULLY SULLENBERGER, US AIRWAYS PILOT, HERO OF PLANE CRASH.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 15 Jan. 2009. Web. 04 Sept. 2013.