Every year, CNN wants to recognize the “everyday heroes” of the world. They ask people to nominate someone they believe deserves to be recognized. Obviously, CNN asks that no one submits themselves as a nominee. But they don’t have to personally know the person to nominate them. Someone can nominate someone they personally know, or simply someone they’ve hard of. From those nominations CNN chooses ten to go on to the next round. They then share these individuals stories and let people vote on who they think deserves the award. CNN’s website is the only place to view their stories and vote. The winner receives $250,000, while the other nominees receive $50,000. Nominations for 2016 will begin in October. On October 8th, the nominees will be
Who would imagine, George C. Wallace an American hero. Strong, courageous, noble and thoughtful are a few words used to describe a hero. Merriam-Webster (2014) dictionary defines a hero as a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities. Among several historical and controversial leaders, George Wallace and Gilgamesh are considered great heroes. However through their individual journeys they both learned how to humble themselves for the greater good of their society.
What is a hero? To our understanding, a hero is a person who is admired for great or brave acts. Joseph Campbell, an American mythologist, and writer wrote The Odyssey. In this novel he talks about The Heroes Journey which are twelve different stages of adventure known as the Ordinary World, the Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting the Mentor, Crossing the Threshold, Test/Allies/Enemies, Approach to the Inmost Cave, Ordeal, Reward, the Road Back, Resurrection, and the Return With The Elixir. The Odyssey is about a legendary hero named Odysseus, who fought among the Greeks in the battle of Troy and went through the stages of The Heroes Journey. Odysseus lived in Ithaca, Northwest of Greece, with his wife Penelope and son Telemachus.
Loewen defines heroification as “a degenerative process (much like calcification) that makes people over into heroes” (Loewen 11). During this process, negative or controversial facts are often ignored or altered in regards to these heroes, which create “perfect creatures without conflicts, pain, credibility, or human interest (Loewen 11). When one changes or omits facts concerning figures in history for this type of glorification, we are left with an invented story of the event or person; in other words, history has become a myth. History textbooks are filled with these types of glorifications, especially older texts. The purpose of heroification is to present events or people in a favorable light and to give ideal role models in which to follow. In my own words, I call Loewen’s heroification an effective form of brainwashing. For example, I was always taught that the Civil War was fought to free slaves, but later learned this war was about states succeeding from the Union. Many people still believe the Emancipation Proclamation’s purpose was to free the slaves; however, it was actually the last resort Lincoln used to win the Civil War. Of course, this is not how these events were portrayed to most of us in History class. Heroification alters the purpose of these events so that we, as citizens, can feel proud that America did away with slavery because our forefathers felt it was morally wrong. Loewen also points out how heroification can lead to role models in the case of Helen Keller, “the blind and deaf girl who overcame her physical handicaps, as an inspiration to generations of schoolchildren” (Loewen 12). The problem with Keller being used as an exemplary model for American schoolchildren is that only her early life is portr...
"Oprah Honors American Heroes - Oprah.com." Oprah Winfrey's Official Website - Live Your Best Life - Oprah.com. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. .
A person that has earned the title of veteran is an American Hero, simple as that. The top three qualities that stand out to me when reflecting on veterans are selflessness, courage, and commitment. I come from a long line of military veterans on all sides of my family. Writing this essay is very easy when I think about those family members. However, the most important point of this essay is to address how ALL Americans should recognize our veterans as being our real life super heroes. What they do for us as civilians is, in my opinion, the definition of heroism. Veterans don’t stop giving of themselves when their service is done. The AMVETS and other veteran organizations continue to give back by volunteering, helping those in need, and of course, providing scholarship opportunities like this one.
The first of the five most important criteria is being able to act out in caring, and that is why I chose Jerry Foster. Jerry didn’t have to save a man stranded in the desert who was dehydrated, but he did, he flew down in his helicopter, picked him up, and then flew him to safety and saves him from dehydration. After that crazy event another on happened later that year and Jerry went on to save another man who was lost in a forest and helped him find his way. Therefore, Jerry Foster should receive the Giraffe Award.
In order for one to be a hero they must go through the hero’s journey. The Hero’s Journey is a way that heroic stories paths have followed throughout many years. The journey has many parts but go into two main parts, the ordinary world and the extraordinary world. As the hero goes through the story, they are able to go though the journey many times. The earliest story we have using the Hero’s Journey is Beowulf. In Beowulf, Beowulf goes through the Hero’s Journey three different times. the Hero's Journey we will look at is the battle with Grendel's mother.
Heroism. Heroism is “heroic conduct” or “courageous action”(“Heroism”). People throughout America’s history, and the world’s history, for more than hundreds of years, have satisfied the standards of heroism, rising above and doing what is right. Heroism doesn’t have to mean saving somebody’s life. To be a hero, one does not need a cape or a villain to fight. Exhibiting acts of heroism can be as small helping retrieve a cat from a tree or as large as helping put out the fire of a burning building. Whether one’s acts of heroism are miniscule or major, they occur every day by ordinary people, proving their extraordinary abilities. After World War II ended, many acts of heroism were displayed that are still remembered today, specifically involving Operation Little Vittles. Over two million citizens living in West Berlin were doomed, cut off from the outside world by the Russians, praying for a miracle. Their wish came true when a handful of pilots agreed to drop thousands of tons of food and fuel from the air in Berlin. One of these esteemed pilots goes by the name of Gail Halvorsen, who changed the situation of the Russian blockade for the better. Halvorsen made the daring decision to drop thousands of individual packages of candy to all of the sweet deprived citizens of West Berlin. Pilot Gail Halvorsen contributed a daring effort by flying day in and day out dropping candy all with the hopes of trying to improve the awful conditions for those involved in the blockade, putting smiles on people’s faces and living up to the standards of heroism.
At the 2018 Golden Globes Awards, Oprah Winfrey, a former talk show host, actor, and businesswoman, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award. After being introduced by Reese Witherspoon, she acknowledged the significance of becoming the first black woman--and the 15th woman overall--to receive the award ever since it was first handed out in 1952. She delivered an invigorating, powerful, and impassioned commemorative speech that began as a personal reflection and ended as a call to arms against sexual harassment. Skillfully blending and employing appeals to pathos, parallel structure, and an encouraging, candid, and hopeful tone, Oprah Winfrey successfully inspires women to speak up against men and to resist oppression.
When you think why veterans are our heros the typical thought is they’re brave, courageous, amazing, etc. A hero isn’t just some famous person on social media that someone worships just because of their publicity. A real hero are those men and women out their serving and protecting our country. The real reasons in my opinion, is way more than just that. I mean think about it, if you had just won the lottery or you were having the time of your life and you don’t even worry about the wellbeing of your country would you really put at risk your life for your country?
Whether accidental or intentional, aspects of our lives have shown us that there is a hero inside every one of us, but the choice lies inside the beholder to act on these skills or let them remain hidden. A hero isn’t necessarily someone running around in tights with a cape, what it means to be a hero has been revolutionized by many aspects of our new society. A hero in our new society can widely be defined as someone who decides to abandon their own needs and wants in order to attempt to help others in any possible way even the tiniest. There is a great evil that has an arisen in this great country that deserves an equal opponent to help stop this evil and this is where my future lies. The evil that has engulfed our world
When things are at their best prepare for the worst. That’s something I always told myself since I was young boy. Joseph Campbell was no stranger to this concept which he described as the hero’s journey. This journey had three stages: leaving the everyday world, overcoming trials and tribulations, and finally going back to the everyday world with newfound knowledge that you can share with people. I traveled through all three of these stages myself. This is my hero’s journey.
Over the course of history the definition of what makes a hero has made many changes. Beowulf, Superman, and firefighters are all examples of heroes, but they are very different when broken down. Today’s society defines a hero by his values, his strength, and his journey.
Are heroes important? This is the question that Scott LaBarge, a philosophy professor at Santa Clara University, tackles in his article “Heroism: Why Heroes are Important.” He encourages teachers, parents, and students to realize that heroes are tremendously significant in society by using references to factual and historical details, personal association, and various examples of different types of heroes. LaBarge effectively uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and kairos to convince his audience that heroes are important.
Che was a hero. Many people debate whether or not Che was a hero or villain, but it seems to come down to more people viewing him as a hero. Yes, before Che left to Cuba, he had a very rough background of jail time and criminal charges. Yet he did many outstanding acts, making him appear to be a caring-respectful hero. Che became a doctor at an early age and already was on the track of being a hero by saving and taking care of many people’s lives. Being a doctor is a hard job because you have someone’s life in your own hands and if you mess up or don’t take plenty of care of them, you will be the reason they died, so Che was already stepping out of many peoples comfort zones and risking himself already early on. When Che was still in Argentina he visited people in hospitals who had leprosy, “Their appreciation stemmed from the fact that we didn’t wear overalls or gloves, that we shook hands with them as we would with the next man, sat with them chatting about this and that, and played football with them.” (Che, 131-132) this shows how much respect Che...