Jeanne D'Arc

My Hero, Joan of Arc (1412-1431)

There are many different kinds of heroes. I think a hero is someone who has qualities like mental strength, courage and love of adventure. A hero is someone who stands up for what he or she believes in and is not afraid of what people think. A hero is someone who is a leader and helps his or her country. To me, if you have these qualities, you can be a hero. My hero, Joan of Arc, had these qualities and more. She accomplished things like leading the French Army against England and getting the rightful king crowned.

Joan of Arc (www.newgenevacenter.org)

First, Joan of Arc showed that she was a hero through her mental strength. When she was young, she heard voices telling her to get the rightful king of France crowned. Even though her family didn’t want her to go through with it, she asked the local commander if she could have an escort to take her to the Dauphin’s house. The commander laughed at her and sent her home. But Joan didn’t care what he thought, so she kept coming back to his house and finally he agreed. This showed mental strength because she knew he and her family were against the idea of letting her go to the Dauphin’s house. Mental strength is only one the great qualities that Joan of Arc had that made her my hero.

Joan of Arc being burned at the stake (www.google.com.images)

Joan of Arc not only had mental strength, but she also was adventurous. Joan of Arc was adventurous when she was captured. She was adventurous because she was walking in the middle of France looking for help to get the rightful king crowned even though she could be attacked at any moment. Many people from England wanted her captured because of the war she was leading against them. She knew it was dangerous, but she needed to help her country. An English scouting party that was looking for her captured her and put her in the dungeon.

Joan of Arc and the angels (http://www.stjoan-center.com/Reviews/randomhs.html)

Her last quality was courage. I think you have to have courage to be a hero. Courage means you are not afraid to help your country and not afraid of dying. Joan of Arc had lots of courage because she led the army against England to try to stop the war. England fought very fiercely. Joan of Arc knew her troops did not stand a chance, so she had to surrender. Her troops listened to her and she saved many lives. This showed she was brave because she was a girl who led the French army against England! Most people who knew her circumstances thought she would not be able to accomplish anything. I can’t imagine trying to lead an army! That is probably a lot of pressure. Also, an arrow hit her and she couldn’t move, but she kept fighting for her country. To me, that is very brave. She was also very brave because she was taken into England and she was put on trial. They asked her if she had changed her mind about hearing voices, but she said she still believed that she heard voices even though she knew she would be put to death.

Joan of Arc is a real hero. She fought until she was captured, and she accomplished a lot. I bet if Joan of Arc wasn’t there, the Dauphin might have never gotten crowned. France might have been too scared to fight for him, but Joan of Arc changed that. France loved Joan in a lot of different ways. France didn’t like Joan just for fighting in the war, but as a girl who had three great qualities: mental strength, adventurousness and courage. When I think about France, I think about my hero, Joan of Arc.