Scott Labarge's Heroism: Why Heroes Are Important

An Analysis on Heroism

Who is your hero? Many of us can clearly picture our idea of our personal hero in our head, but is the person you consider to be a hero really a hero by definition? In Heroism: Why Heroes are Important, Scott LaBarge, a Classics and Philosophy Professor at Santa Clara University, awakens your thoughts on the word heroism and how it has changed since its origins in ancient Greece. Throughout his essay, he goes in depth into the term ‘hero’ and compares it to society’s take on heroes today. Although LaBarge uses examples to back up his stance that “Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality (LaBarge. 1),” his essay contains flaws and he contradicts his own words. On the beginning page of LaBarge’s essay, it is easy to get caught up in his words and the underlying emotion his writing puts off. He builds his argument by comparing historically significant figures to societal celebrities that are well known for bad choices; he fails to provide view on the opposing position standpoint. He uses bad examples for the opposing side in order to further his argument and make it more appealing to the reader. The

His self-bias opinion clouds the essay and doesn’t give way for a true discussion on heroism and the different forms of heroes. He puts up a weak front, such as his comparison between Martin Luther King Jr. and 50 Cent, to make his argument seem stronger. In the end, although LaBarge uses examples to back up his stance that “Today, it is much harder to detach the concept of heroism from morality (LaBarge. 1),” his essay contains flaws and he contradicts his own words. He says it is hard to separate, in our minds, heroism from morality, but in the end he forgets that heroes are mortals who do extraordinary