Heroes Today: Bravery Courage And Strength

Dulari Amin
English 122-1A
Professor Luck
2/3/15
Heroes Today Bravery, Courage and Strength are the things most people think about when it comes to heroes. But wearing a cape, doing daring tasks and having the name of a creature in part of a name doesn 't make up a hero; just being a doctor, fire fighter and police officer doesn’t make up a hero either. A hero is someone who helps make the community a better place. Not just the community but helps someone be a better person as well. There isn’t just one type or one level of a hero; someone who is always there for you can be a hero and someone who isn’t afraid to be themselves, who serves as a role model for others is a hero as well. Anyone that makes this roller coaster called life
A tale about a mother and her son who become victims of racism. While they boarded onto the white section of the train the conductor insisted they move to the “colored” coach. But they couldn 't do so while the train was moving so the mother argued that she couldn 't risk getting injured. So the conductor stopped the train and made them get off. This discrimination made the little boy cry and wonder what he had done so bad to deserve the rude behavior. But as he was crying, his mother explained that no matter what the world says he should not be upset or distressed because someone sought to demean him. These words remain in the his mind — clear and vivid — till present day as he tells the story through a flashback. His mother’s observations and wise words is what provided the “sound basis for his attitude (Franklin 223)” and guided him from that day on. Ever since that day he always remembered that he “should not waste his time or energy lamenting the inability of some members of society to take (Franklin 224)” him as he was, instead he should use his energy to make himself a better person. His mom is his hero because she gave him the strength to fight through any battle that life puts in front of him. He mentions how that one day and that one sentence his mom told him changed his life
The self-confidence and courage it takes to not be bothered by what others think of you is heroic as well. Such a theme is displayed by Alma Villanueva’s poem “Crazy Courage”. It is a poem about a guy named Michael B. who shows that nonconformist behavior takes immense courage. The narrator begins by saying how she always thinks about Michael because of his first impression. “He came to my fiction class as a man (dressed in men’s clothes); then he came to my poetry class as a woman (dressed in women’s clothes; but he was still a man under the clothes)…(Villanueva 207)”. Not only is it difficult for all the outside visitors to accept his distinctly different attire but also his oddity involving the rose. By now, his courage is clearly noticeable as to how he isn’t ashamed of what he is wearing and accepts the audience’s reaction very calmly. In the sixth stanza he seems to be offering his red rose to the audience which leave them awe-struck. As he holds the rose he is filled with pride. Not because he feels like he is better than all of them but because he wants to offer his way of living “to the blind, to the amused, to the impressed, to those who would kill him, and to those who would love him (Villanueva 207)” and to all of those who are unwilling to accept him as he is. As strange as this may be, he is stronger and braver than anyone who discriminates against him. He has the