What Defines a Hero?

Gerard Way once said, “Heroes are ordinary people who make themselves extraordinary.” What is a hero? Is it an ordinary person with a normal life, or Superman who has super strength and can fly? Some are like Superman, but they are only in cartoons; they aren't there to save you if you fall out of a building. They are just made up. No, what a hero to me is someone who does not have selfish ambition or ignorance; rather, they have perseverance through hardships and they show a brave spirit.

Without a shadow of a doubt, a hero has to persevere through times of sorrow, hardship, doubt, and any trial. For example,  Martin Luther King Jr. wasn’t about to give up when the blacks were being discriminated. Instead of staying in the inhumane living condition, forced as a burden upon him due to the color of his skin, he was a leader and stepped up to the plate.  This audacious decision changed the way all Americans thought about racism. Just like MLK, heroes aren't going to quit after one failure or three hundred fails -- they keep going. Second, if Michael Jordan had given up after he was cut from the high school basketball team, he would have not been a famous athlete. He said, “ I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed.” Failure is not failure unless you give up, that is failure. Third, Walt Disney said, “ Everyone falls down. Getting back up is how you learn to walk.” It’s so true because you never learn unless you try. Failure is like a rod beating you down until you run for the hills unless you can steal the rod and beat the challenge. These people were probably nervous or hesitant about their actions, but they did it and now are looked up to by many people. Michael Jordan is one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Martin Luther King Jr. is known for helping the blacks in America, and Walt Disney had ideas that even today are made into cartoons that many children watch. The one thing they had in common?  They all persevered through hard times to get where they are.

In the same way, a hero will carry the trait a brave character. “Being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble.” said Mufasa in The Lion King (one of Walt Disney’s ideas). This is accurate because it’s not brave just trying to look brave, that is just cowardly. A brave person will only fight when attacked or others are attacked. For instance, George Washington was the first president of The United States of America and led many soldiers to battle against the British army - the most powerful nation at the time. If George had been a coward and stayed behind, America might have still been under British rule. Also, Harriet Tubman - a former slave - was brave enough to put her life on the line for other slaves who needed freedom. She helped about 300 slaves to freedom in her lifetime and never lost one in the process. Finally, Mahatma Gandhi helped free the Indians from the British rule in a peaceful fight. Even though the Brits used weapons to fight (and killed many Indians in the process) he would not use force to fight back. It takes brave people to be heroes because if you are not bold how can you be a hero?

If someone carries the attributes of persisting through rough or painful trials and being brave hearted, that is a hero. If a person does not have these he or she cannot be a hero. People who were doubted, mocked, and rejected are the people many people hear about today. People who were brave also are well known today for their actions and bravery. J.K Rowling said, “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but just as much to stand up to your friends.” The word hero is a little word that takes not just anyone to accomplish.