The American Hero
For many years the American Hero has filled the silver screen and wide screened television sets, along with shelves of countless bookstores. Audiences love to see the protagonist overcome great odds, defeat the forces of evil, and save the beautiful girl at the last second. The character of the American Hero however, is not a new idea. James Cooper, in the 1800’s, created the archetype of the American Hero. Natty Bumpo, also called Deerslayer, embodied many qualities of the great American Hero. Modern day heroes are simply following the example set by Cooper’s creation.
Two qualities that many heroes possess are bravery and honesty. In the excerpt “Deerslayer Escapes”, Natty Bumpo exhibits these two traits when he returns to accept his punishment for killing a great Huron warrior. His punishment for killing is death. Knowing this and still returning to the tribe shows tremendous bravery. After Deerslayer returns, Cooper writes the reaction of the tribe. The leader, Rivenoak, describes Natty of being brave and honest, by saying, “ Paleface, you are honest. We shall treat you as a brave.” Natty Bumpo speaks of his own honesty when he refuses to take their compromise for death. The solution is against what Deerslayer believes in so he doesn’t go along with the plan.
Heroes are also expected to stick to their beliefs, regardless of consequences. After killing the Huron’s best warrior, the Hurons offer Natty a solution. He must marry the widow of the fallen warrior. The reason is because there is no one to hunt or provide for the family. Deerslayer doesn’t mind providing for the family, but refuses to marry the widow, who is old enough to be his mother. He responds with this “As for feeding the children, I would do that cheerfully, could it be done without discredit.”
The stereotypical hero is usually skilled with a weapon. Natty is in pioneer times, so there isn’t much choice in weaponry. Besides his gun that he kills deer with, there isn’t much that Deerslayer can do. When facing the tribe, waiting on his sentence, Le Panther, the Huron leader, throws a tomahawk at Natty. With his quick thinking he grabs the tomahawk before it even gets to him. He throws it back at Panther.
In “The Thematic Paradigm,” University of Florida professor of film studies, Robert Ray, defines two types of heroes pervading American films, the outlaw hero and the official hero. Often the two types are merged in a reconciliatory pattern, he argues. In fact, this
A brave hero often risks his/her lives to save someone else. In Zeitoun, Dave Eggers tells us a story of Abdulrahman Zeitoun, the hard working Syrian American owner of a contracting company in New Orleans. Zeitoun and his wife Kathy ran the company together. They have three children named Nademah, Safiyah, Aisha. Kathy has a child from her first marriage. Zeitoun is very closed with his family and he takes his family like nobody else. When hurricane Katrina landed in 2005, endless number of people were affected. Mayor Nagin ordered a first time ever mandatory evacuation. Kathy moved with the children to her sister’s house in Baton Rouge. Zeitoun refused to leave with his family because he didn’t want lose his properties, but at the same time, his customers trusted him and gave him their house keys to check on their houses, which caused his separation with his family. This illustrates that Zeitoun is a responsible, powerful, trustworthy, and unselfish person. During the hurricane, Zeitoun was using a canoe rescuing people. Due to the lack of rescue work, many people didn’t get enough supports at that time. Zeitoun had the courage to sacrifice his family, safety, and selfish needs for saving the people.
In Grant Wiggin’s speech about heroes, Jefferson displays many of the qualities that, according to Grant, a hero must possess. Grant himself, for all the good he does Jefferson, is not a hero, following his own formula. However, we cannot simply say that one is a hero and the other is not. In comics and fairy tales, the divisions between heroes and average people might be clear, but in real life, the lines are blurred.
Natty, a role model, does what is necessary for the good of others. In The Last of the Mohicans, Duncan was set on fire for the Huron tribe. Natty shot him, which killed him instantly to stop Duncan from suffering. Natty is showing concern for others, even when Duncan wanted him killed, Natty thought about him. Natty wouldn’t do anything against his morals even if his life were at stake. “As feeding the young of your dead warrior, I would do that cheerfully, could it be done without discredit; but it cannot, seeing that I can never live in a Huron village.” (Deerslayer; pg.150) What Natty wouldn’t do in peaceable times he would definitely not do in times of war because he is morally sound. His character is exhibiting virtue in regards to that he would never go against his tribe and beliefs.
What defines a hero? Is it the amount of courage and individual has that makes them a hero? Could a person become known as a hero simply from their achievement? Are noble qualities required of a person that is considered to be hero? The definition of a hero lies in the eye of the beholder. In my eyes, Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams displayed amazing courage, accomplished outstanding achievements, and had noble qualities, and that is why I believe that Hershel “Woody” Williams was a true hero.
A Hero’s Call What is a hero? There are many versions of a hero/ comic book, myths, movie or maybe just in everyday life. The most outstanding thing is that they all have perseverance when going through a conflict. In the book “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie depicts a story of a poor boy named Arnold Junior living on his Spokane reservation.
Smith goes to Washington suggests that their creators ideas of the ideal hero is built on bravery, morality and selflessness which amongst others are traits of a true
Heroism demands self-sacrifice, self-discipline, self-confidence and self-respect. Ulysses S. Grant had these qualities in their most complete form. He set out from humble beginnings, and failed. At the age of 38 was a conspicuous failure. Then, like few of us, he succeeded beyond belief. Had he not had tremendous greatness within him, he could never have accomplished what he did. How did such a simple, honest and humble man raise himself in the eyes of his people and the world to the highest position a man or woman can reach - that of a national hero?
One characteristic of an American Hero that Nathaniel relates to is that he is a loner. He does not belong to any particular group of people or society. Nathaniel seeks justice above all things and always puts the mass of people first to save them. Nathaniel also possesses traits of a hero by having a damsel in distress, in Last of the Mohicans Nathaniel’s damsel in distress is Cora Munro. He does anything to make sure she is safe and protects her at all costs. As most heroes do, Nathaniel has a sidekick, Major Duncan Heyward. Heyward assists Nathaniel in obtaining justice and protecting Cora. For example , in the end of the movie the Hurons want to kill Cora as revenge for the death of Magua’s children and Nathaniel proposes that they take him rather than Cora but Heyward offers up himself , sacrificing himself to protect Cora by giving her a better chance of surviving with Nathaniel. As Heyward is being burned alive , Nathaniel uses his super power, which is to make accurate shots using a rifle, to save Heyward by shooting and killing him to put him out of his misery. Nathaniel defeats the Hurons and saves his damsel in distress all in the name of justice, as any American
Heroes are found everywhere in the world. They are seen in movies, on television, in books, and in reality. A hero can be anyone, from a friend to a fictional character. To be considered a hero, one must make selfless sacrifices, develop and learn, overcome challenges and temptations, and ultimately present their known world with a gift of any kind. Homer’s
scenes which gives you the need to be one of the characters from the flick.
Because of the outlaw hero’s definitive elements, society more so identifies with this myth. Ray said, “…the scarcity of mature heroes in American...
Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., et al. A Brief History of Heroes. 2004. Glencoe Literature. New York: Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2009. 69-72. Print.
- The two ethical justifications for the economic model are the utilitarian and individual rights or private property defenses. The most significant challenges facing the utilitarian justifications are: those that focus on the adequacy of free markets as a means to the ends of maximally satisfying consumer demand, and those that focus on the appropriateness of these ends as legitimate ethical goals. Of these, market failure is a popular challenge that is raised when considering situations in which the pursuit of profit will not result in a net increase in consumer satisfaction. The two significant challenges to the private property defense are: recognizing that property rights are not absolute, and understanding that historically, corporate property rights differ from personal property, questioning the understanding of stockholders implied by this defense.
The superhero genre has been around for a long time, and has gotten widely popular since. Critic Tim Dirks said, “Although superheroes had already taken over TV, it took until 1978 for the first big-budget feature film to feature a superhero” (Dirks). Starting with the classic hero, Superman, who was introduced by DC comics in 1936, to more modern heroes like Gwenpool, introduce by Marvel comics in 2016. As stated by critic Caitlin Foster, “in the past decade the filmic superhero has increasingly grown in presence, to the point of becoming synonymous with the Hollywood summer blockbuster” (Foster). To clarify, superhero films have gotten so popular they mean the same as Hollywood summer movies. Originally, superheroes were aimed more towards children, it gave them a sense of creativity and allowed their imaginations to flow. The abilities of being able to fly, have super speed, or super strength is what every kid dreamed of. Later, these superheroes started having a mature feel, attracting more adult audiences. The stories were now