What Is A Hero?

“A hero is someone who has given his or her life for something bigger than oneself” (Campbell). A hero should be someone that has given all they got for someone else, but not every time do they have to have given their life. Today the term hero is used very often, but not always accurate to the true definition of a hero, for if you're talking about someone that’s your personal hero that’s more of a role model and it’s a completely different thing. However, for example, if you’re calling a 9/11 firefighter who put their life on the line for others, that would be using the word to its full potential. The actual definition of a hero is “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of a character” (“Hero”). Normal people can still be heroes,
For nowhere in the definition did it say personal hero, for that would be a role model. Today hero is used too often for someone who is a role model, while the person can be both they’re two completely different things. A role model would be someone you look up to or someone who has influenced you while a hero is someone that gives everything to help someone else. While the two are closely related calling someone your hero is actually just a role model unless that person had actually saved your life, or had done something significant for
Many wouldn’t know the story of Saint Maximilian even though he is a true hero. Kolbe was a “superior of the City of Mary Immaculate and director of Poland’s chief Catholic publishing complex” (“Saint Maksymilian Maria Kolbe”). Which is basically just saying that he was a writer for for the church. Kolbe was living in Poland during WWII where he was eventually captured by the Gestapo for hiding Jews and other victims and was sent to Auschwitz (“St. Maximilian Kolbe”). While in Auschwitz, he was especially picked on by a work party overseer. Once he was nearly beaten to death, but never held a grudge and remained selfless for others. While some would argue that itself is a heroic act, but with the events later on that wouldn’t be necessary. One day three prisoners had escaped and to set an example the Deputy Commander ordered ten men to be starved to death, and when someone picked by the name of Franciszek Gajowniczek cried out “My wife! My children!” Saint Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take his place. After two weeks of starvation and praying everyone had died except Kolbe; even one of the SS guards said “this priest is really a great man. We have never seen anyone like him”. While failing to starve him to death, they eventually had to kill him using lethal injection (Pettinger). What Saint Maximilian Kolbe did matches the exact definition of a hero. Not only did his heroic