Analysis Of Scott Labarge's Heroism: Why Heroes Are Important

Scott LaBarge's article, "Heroism: Why Heroes are Important," LaBarge explains that the qualifications for one to define a hero are blurry, not everyone sees eye to eye. LaBarge helps clarify that the term “hero” is lost in translation, meaning that people have different definitions; is confused with idols, regular pop stars, and superheroes; and is not given to worthy beings, people think a “hero” is supposed to be perfect. These things are clarified by the use of definition, exemplification, ethos, and logos. Labarge completely changes the way one thinks about the word hero.

In particular, Labarge starts off with a bang in his article; he talks about the term, “hero”, and its definition. The term “hero” can get lost in translation between

languages and people. LaBarge states the definition of hero in the language it originated from, “The term “hero” comes from the ancient Greeks. For them, a hero was a mortal who had done something so far beyond the normal scope of human experience that he left an immortal memory behind him when he died, and thus received worship like that due the gods,” (1). Many people may not see the definition of a hero as such, however, this definition was its original meaning.
Because of the different meanings in different languages, a hero to one person may not be a hero to another. “A couple years ago the administrators of the Barron Prize for Young Heroes polled American teenagers… of the students who gave an answer, more than half named an athlete, a movie star, or a musician. One in ten named winners on American Idol as heroes,” (2) this quote from the article uses exemplification to clarifies the idea that people, no matter who they are, young or old, will have different heroes.
Furthermore, LaBarge knows that many people may not completely understand the meaning of the word “hero”, not because they do not know a personal hero, but because the people in which they confuse the word hero with.

Many people nowadays will say celebrities and singers are their heroes. They will say this not because they feel like their “hero” has, as LaBarge puts it, “done something beyond the normal scope of human experience,” (1) but because they idolize being them. Scott LaBarge uses logic and states, “Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality; we only call heroes those whom we admire and wish to emulate,” (1) this quote completely confirms the idea that people may not understand the meaning of “hero”.

Another reason LaBarge says people do not understand the meaning of the term “hero”, is because people want to believe a hero is perfect, that isn’t always the case. LaBarge shares one of his personal heroes, using ethos as a way to persuade his audience, and even admits to his hero not being perfect, “Thoreau had his share of blemishes. For instance, although he was supposed to be living totally independently out by Walden Pond, he went home to Mother on the weekends,” (3). Many people may be hesitant to pick a certain person as their hero because they think a hero should be

perfect.
Therefore, since there is so much confusion on the term “hero”, it is safe to say nobody knows how to correct the issue of the misuse of the term. LaBarge stated, “So what must we do? How should we address the problem? Part of the answer is personal… But part of the answer to our problem is broader,” (2). This exemplifies that the issue of people not understanding the meaning of “hero” isn’t easy. No one exactly knows how to correct the issue; it deals with personal and non-personal conflicts and ideals. The qualifications to be a personal hero to someone differs on the person. There is no one exact way for someone to be a hero; definitions change from language to language, not only because of the obvious language differences but because of the cultural differences too. People from different cultures and ethnicities, countries and cities, they are all going to have different heroes. No one can set the qualification for a hero, they are always going to be blurry.