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Matthew Walsh

by Ashley from Pickerington

I. Definition

To me, a hero is not someone with a cape or super powers. A hero, in my opinion, is someone who saves a life; someone you can look up to; someone who you can trust to be there for you. This is a hero.

II. Opinion

I believe it is important to have a hero because you then have someone to look up to or someone who inspires you to be someone. This hero could simply teach you wrong from right, or teach you their way of accomplishing something.

III. A Character As A Hero

In the book, Rules of Survival, Murdoch shows heroic qualities in the beginning when he saves a child's life. Matt, being only 13, looks up to this man as a hero. "He wasn't afraid. I noticed that right away about him." Matt says this on page 5 when Murdoch saves the boy. Throughout the course of the book, however, Matt slowly turns into the hero. He is the one to protect his younger sisters--Callie and Emmy--from Nikki, their crazed, abusive mother, and he makes sure his sisters are not harmed, even if it means getting harmed himself. On page 199, he says, "I wasn't sure if this was the right thing for me to do, but if it would help Bobbie, I ought to do it, I thought." He risks his own safety and stays behind when both his sisters--whom he's trying to protect--move away from their abusive mother. This is a very heroic move in my opinion, because he could have easily left his aunt Bobbie and ran to be safe. The fact that he didn't makes him more of a hero. On the last page of the book, Matt says this: "I didn't write [this letter] for you. I wrote it for me. I wrote it to work my way through the story of what formed me. I wrote it to examine the past and figure out who Murdoch was, so that I could figure out who I was....I think I have made a beginning."

IV. Hall of Fame

Matt Walsh should be inducted into a Hero Hall of Fame because throughout the book, he stood up for and sometimes risked his life for his sisters. Even though Murdoch shows some heroic traits, it is Matt who risked himself to protect Callie and Emmy from Nikki's crazed "wrath". Being only 17 at the END of the novel, this is proved to be a very hard situation for Matt to live in. Especially hard, since Callie is two years younger and Emmy is eight years younger than him. (Emmy is only an infant in the beginning.) For dealing with this much at his young age, Matt would deserve to be in a Hero Hall of Fame.

V. Who's Your Hero's Hero? Interview Questions with Matt Walsh:

1. Q) Who is your personal hero and why?

A) I think my personal hero would have to be...based on who played a big role in my life during those stages, probably Murdoch McIlvane. He had me mesmerized since I saw him in the Farm when I was 13, because he saved that child and I thought he could save us.

2. Q) Based off these events, do you consider yourself a hero?

A) Maybe not to myself, but to Callie and Emmy, yeah, I feel like I saved them. I feel like a hero towards them, even though I wish I could have helped them sooner than I did.

3. Q) Was there ever a time you felt like the bad guy?

A) Not really, except maybe the time that I was driven to almost kill Nikki--my mother--at the port.

4. Q) Do you think a role model has to be famous to be a role model?

A) Absolutely not. Take Murdoch for an example. He was just an average man on an average evening, but to me, he was our savior.

5. Q) Since these events have ended, do you now consider Murdoch more of a hero or a role model?

A) Back then, I thought he was a hero AND a role model. Now he's less of both, but I still look to him for help.

6. Q) Did you ever stand up against Nikki and felt like she wasn't your mother?

A) She always felt--deep inside--like my mother. But yes, there was a time when I felt like she wasn't: when I 'fought' her at the port.

7. Q) Do you feel free now that Nikki is out of your life?

A) Surprisingly, no. Being 17, I know that it's not really over. Nikki will be back, someday. Callie and Emmy feel changed, but I know she's not finished.

8. Q) What do you feel about your father's role in your life?

A) My father, Ben, was never really there for us. He paid us child support, that's about it. Emmy wasn't even his child to begin with, so he only could really take custody of my and Callie, and that wasn't good enough for us.

9. Q) So your father--Ben--was never a hero to you?

A) Unfortunately no. He left us, and Murdoch was more protective of us.

10. Q) If you had to relive these events, would you do the same things?

A) Absolutely. I'm proud of what these events made me, surprisingly, and I would repeat them if it means keeping Callie and Emmy safe.

Page created on 4/11/2011 12:00:00 AM

Last edited 4/11/2011 12:00:00 AM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

Nancy Welin - Info on RULES OF SURVIVAL

Extra Info

I recommend this book to anyone who doesn't know about child abuse. This will open your eyes and maybe cause you to stand against this horror.
 

Author Info

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin