Heroes in Literature

Who is your hero? It could be a firefighter, a police officer, even a celebrity; but what makes a hero? What is a hero? A hero is someone who would give up everything to save or protect people around him. After reading the myth “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog” I saw an actual hero come from, literally, the bottom of the pack. The character rose up from the bottom, to the top for himself and his people. In “The Orphan Boy and the Elk Dog”, the main character, Long Arrow was deaf. He had no family, except for his sister who was adopted by another Indian tribe. No one wanted Long Arrow since he was deaf and couldn’t speak. His tribe moved from place to place, always wanting to leave Long Arrow behind and one day they did leave him. Long Arrow ran after them as quick as he could and liquid came out of his ears bringing his hearing back. After he arrived at his tribe he was adopted by the chief. After a while, Long Arrow wanted to honor his adoptive grandfather by bringing the rare and unknown Elk Dogs. He went on a long journey to find them, returned back with a herd of them and redeemed his grandfather’s honor. Long Arrow didn’t do this for glory; he did this for the love of his grandfather. After he did this deed, everyone looked up to him as a hero. You see; you don’t have to have supernatural powers or a long cape to be a hero. This young man became a hero to save his family honor and show he was meant to be there in that tribe. Long Arrow was the tribe’s hero. My hero would be my mom. Yes everyone says their mom is their hero, but my mom has gone through a lot. She went through many obstacles in her life; a pregnancy at a young age, an abusive husband, and having to face her mother’s disagreements on her life. Through all of this she has kept her head high and survived the brutal years of her life. Her friends would be out partying while she stayed home and changed diapers. Her friends finished school; she was trying to pay for her