Exploring the Theme of Heroism in Roger Rosenblatt's The Man in the Water

3 May 2013
Hero Essay We, as humans, know of heroes. We’ve seen them on the television and they’re essentially the basis of all stories. And most heroes, if not all, have those stereotypical traits of bravery, courage, and selflessness. These traits are what make a hero. But a man is not a hero if bravery and courage and selflessness are normal in that society. It is the heroes’ non-native and unique characteristics that make them a hero in their own culture. A hero in that society would need to have different, noble characteristics that the rest do not have, which would allow him to stand out among the rest of his people. In the short story “The Man in the Water” by Roger Rosenblatt, the anonymous hero had each of the three stereotypical characteristics of a hero, but he was different. He exaggerated these traits beyond the point of normality in that situation, which could be directly analogous to a hero in a society. A hero in a society is only a hero if his heroism requires certain characteristics that are not normal and often seen in the society he originates from. The man in the water’s extraordinary selflessness and courage are one of the few key aspects that compelled his heroic title. In the beginning of the story, Rosenblatt talks about other tragedies similar to the one in the story and inputs, “Still, there was nothing special in any of it, except death, which, while always special, does not necessarily bring millions to tears or to attention. Why, then, the shock here?” (Rosenblatt 978). Even though comparable events have occurred in the past, this tragedy is different, unique to its kind. The difference is the hero involved. This hero made a much greater impact on the society and was much more memorable because of his outstanding actions. During interviews of Eugene Windsor of a park police helicopter team who was on scene when the man answered the call of duty, he said that “In a mass casualty, you’ll find people like him. But I’ve never seen one with that commitment.” (979) Essentially, the man in the water was only a hero because of his unprecedented courage and selflessness. Apparently those traits are common in such a situation, but it was his uncompromising dedication to substantiate these traits that made him a hero above the rest. Even coming from a man who sees this kind of thing every day, the man’s courage was still impressive. Another impressive note to this story was the fact that he, “Like every other person on that flight, [he] was desperate to live, which makes his final act so stunning.” (979) So just like every other distressed passenger, he did not want to die. He had just as much aspiration to live as everyone else, but decided that everyone else’s survival was a higher priority. When a person’s own health is in extreme danger like the man’s was, it is expected by the people of our society that the person save themselves when necessary. It would even be acceptable for the person to save themself first in our society today, but our expectations were disregarded. So it is for this reason, for going beyond our expectations, that the man in the water is a hero. Simply stated, a hero and his valiance are subject to change depending on the culture he originates from. If bravery, courage, and/or selflessness are common characteristics in that society, then different traits of heroism are needed to be considered a hero. Just like “The Man in the Water,” the hero did have the stereotypical heroic traits of bravery, courage, and selflessness, which are generally rare in our society. Although somewhat common in that type of event, it was his extreme dedication to them that set him above all others. He was a hero because of his determination to stand by those traits, in the face of adversity, trumping the society’s expectations for normality.