The Boatlift Heroism

Heroism

On the way to their prom, there was a horrific car crash. 20 teens exited their white stretch limo to help the people that were hurt. They worked together as a team to evacuate the cars and bring people to safety. Once everyone was taken care of and everyone was safe, the teens continued on to their prom to enjoy their night. All of the teens that helped save the victims of the car crash are heroes. What is a hero? There are many different types of heroes. Whether it is a teacher that helps a child realize what they wanted to be in life or a firefighter that saved someone from a burning building. A hero is someone that would risk everything to save only one person. A role-model that everyone should aspire to be. Not someone that manipulates

For example, people that helped contribute to the boatlift during 9/11 are a wonderful examples of heroism. In Transcript of The Boatlift, Gillian Nanton writes about Vincent Ardolino’s struggles and to show how he was a hero. “Even if I save one person or I rescue one person, that’s one person less that will suffer and die” (Nanton 2). This supports the strategy of function because this humble man was willing to risk anything and everything to save at least one person. When Ardolino first suggest bring in his boat, “Amberjack,” to the boatlift, his wife calls him a maniac and asks, “‘But what if they’re attacked again?’ he then responds ‘Well, then that’s something I have to live with’” (Nanton 2). Even though his wife was concerned about his safety Ardolino could not just sit around and do nothing to help the

In the short story, The Man in the Well, the author, Ira Sher writes about how the children toyed with a man’s emotions. When they first met the man in the well they reassured him that someone was coming to help him when no one was actually coming. They were presented with a chance to save the man but for some reason decided not to. “...we turned around and actually began to walk toward the nearest house, which was Arthur's. But along the way, we slowed down, and then we stopped. And after waiting what seemed like a good while, we quietly came back to the well” (Sher 1). The children did not even attempt to assist the man but instead went back quietly so he would not know that they were there. The next day, the children all brought the man food and water, as a kind gesture, but still no escape. It seemed as though the children seemed unsure if the man in the well was worthy of their help and after a few days they stopped going to the well completely. Finally, the children had an opportunity to become better than what they were, but instead they decided to not be selfless nor did they decide to be