Heroes Today: Bravery Courage And Strength

Dulari Amin
English 122-1A
Professor Luck
2/3/15
Heroes Today Bravery, Courage and Strength are the things most people think about when it comes to heroes. But wearing a cape, doing daring tasks and having the name of a creature in part of a name doesn 't make up a hero; just being a doctor, fire fighter and police officer doesn’t make up a hero either. A hero is someone who helps make the community a better place. Not just the community but helps someone be a better person as well. There isn’t just one type or one level of a hero; someone who is always there for you can be a hero and someone who isn’t afraid to be themselves, who serves as a role model for others is a hero as well. Anyone that makes this roller coaster called life
easier is a hero. Actions speak louder than words is a famous quote by someone unknown. But they don’t always have to. Heroism isn’t just portrayed by doing acts of bravery, sometimes words speak louder than actions. Giving someone the strength to move on from something can prove to be heroic as well. The same kind of heroism is portrayed in the short story “From Bodega Dreams” by Ernesto Quiñónez. The story is about two middle school students - Julio and Sapo - who are constantly put down by their English teacher - Mr. Blessington. They start to believe what he says to them and stop doing work. So when Sapo doesn 't do his homework and Mr.Tapia - the science teacher — asks him the reason, Sapo says, “Because Mr. Blessington told me I was going to end up in jail, so why waste my time doing homework? (Quiñónez 179)”. Tapia gets furious and tries to encourage students to not listen to what Blessington has to say. “You guys are smart enough to know that its up to you to become what you want to be (Quiñónez 179)” Tapia says. This leads to Julio raising his voice against Blessington in class one day. As things start to become serious, Blessington gets irritated which results into a fight between him and Sapo. Blessington has Sapo in a headlock and then later Sapo shoves his teeth into Blessington’s neck. After the nasty fight, Tapia confronts Sapo in the bathroom and advises him to not tell the cops that Blessington had him in a headlock because they won’t believe him. That advice saved Sapo from going to Juvie. Ever since then, Sapo matured and learned to look out for himself. This portrays Tapia as the hero of the story because without him the kids wouldn 't have had the proper guidance that was needed. His words and caring nature made such an impact on the students that they learned to speak for themselves. They moved on from the things Blessington told them and realized that they can become whatever they want if they work hard. Just like Bodega Dreams, a similar aspect is portrayed in the short story “Train from Hate” by John Franklin.
A tale about a mother and her son who become victims of racism. While they boarded onto the white section of the train the conductor insisted they move to the “colored” coach. But they couldn 't do so while the train was moving so the mother argued that she couldn 't risk getting injured. So the conductor stopped the train and made them get off. This discrimination made the little boy cry and wonder what he had done so bad to deserve the rude behavior. But as he was crying, his mother explained that no matter what the world says he should not be upset or distressed because someone sought to demean him. These words remain in the his mind — clear and vivid — till present day as he tells the story through a flashback. His mother’s observations and wise words is what provided the “sound basis for his attitude (Franklin 223)” and guided him from that day on. Ever since that day he always remembered that he “should not waste his time or energy lamenting the inability of some members of society to take (Franklin 224)” him as he was, instead he should use his energy to make himself a better person. His mom is his hero because she gave him the strength to fight through any battle that life puts in front of him. He mentions how that one day and that one sentence his mom told him changed his life
forever. Standing up for what is right and not being ashamed of who you are is also considered heroic.
The self-confidence and courage it takes to not be bothered by what others think of you is heroic as well. Such a theme is displayed by Alma Villanueva’s poem “Crazy Courage”. It is a poem about a guy named Michael B. who shows that nonconformist behavior takes immense courage. The narrator begins by saying how she always thinks about Michael because of his first impression. “He came to my fiction class as a man (dressed in men’s clothes); then he came to my poetry class as a woman (dressed in women’s clothes; but he was still a man under the clothes)…(Villanueva 207)”. Not only is it difficult for all the outside visitors to accept his distinctly different attire but also his oddity involving the rose. By now, his courage is clearly noticeable as to how he isn’t ashamed of what he is wearing and accepts the audience’s reaction very calmly. In the sixth stanza he seems to be offering his red rose to the audience which leave them awe-struck. As he holds the rose he is filled with pride. Not because he feels like he is better than all of them but because he wants to offer his way of living “to the blind, to the amused, to the impressed, to those who would kill him, and to those who would love him (Villanueva 207)” and to all of those who are unwilling to accept him as he is. As strange as this may be, he is stronger and braver than anyone who discriminates against him. He has the
“crazy courage to be whole, as a rose is a whole, as a child is a whole (Villanueva 208)”. The nonconformity he cherishes takes immense courage and he is a hero for taking a stand for himself and not letting others influence him. Sometimes being your true self and doing what you love can make you realize what you want to do for the world. It may take a couple of years or it may not even take 10 minutes to help out other people in this world. But reaching out to those who needs their help the most is what makes someone a hero. Doc Hendley is one of those people. For someone who pours wine at a local restaurant in North Carolina, Hendley has done tremendous amount of work to make a difference in several parts of the world. His organization Wine to Water “provides clean water to people in developing countries through funds raised at wine tasting events (cnn.com)”. Since 2004, he has traveled through many countries like Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Cambodia and India intending to help the local communities build proper facilities for clean water. Doc Hendley had no intention of doing any of this when he took a break from college and started working as a bartender in hope of gaining some direction with what he wanted to do in life. After a while, the thirty year old “began seeing the figures [of] people that don’t have access to clean water — and it absolutely floored(cnn.com)” him. Considering the fact that at least “one in six people lack access to adequate amounts of safe water for drinking(cnn.com)” in this world, Hendley’s Wine to Water organization does a phenomenal job at providing people the proper hygiene for a safer life. This is the kind of hero the world needs, one that helps people he doesn’t even have any relation to. All out of the goodness of his heart, wanting to help people around the world live a disease free life is what makes Hendley a true hero and inspiration as well. Another inspiration I came across was Betty Makoni. Raped at the age of six and orphaned by the age of nine, she somehow managed to stay strong, survive and put herself through school by selling fruits and vegetables. In 1999, she came across a girl named Hope who was raped by her uncle. Not only did her uncle get her pregnant but he also infected her with HIV. Like many others in Zimbabwe, Hope had become a victim of the so-called virgin myth which stated that any man infected with HIV or AIDS can be cured upon having sex with a virgin. Witnessing this extreme injustice, Makoni opened the Girl Child Network (GCN) which helped rescue approximately thirty-five thousand girls from abuse, child labor, forced marriages, human trafficking and sexual assault. Not only did she find GCN and “spread it over thirty-five of Zimbabwe’s fifty-eight districts but also built clubs at schools that informs girls about abuse and encourages them to speak out and report it (cnn.com)”. She has also built three “empowerment villages” for abuse victims whom she feeds, provides with medical care and educates as well. She has fought against exploitation and abuse of girls at the highest levels of society, in the process becoming a target of state harassment and receiving many death threats as well. This kind of leadership takes immense courage and will power. It’s not an easy task to have helped others after everything that she had gone through, but she didn’t give up and thats one of the biggest qualities of a good hero. Her ability to keep going through life after being raped and witnessing her father murder her mother at such a young age is what makes her a true hero and an inspiration to many girls out there. Overall, a hero is someone who gives to the world but doesn’t ask for anything in return. Heroes are selfless, strong, and generous people. Becoming a hero is not for everyone because it requires crazy courage and will power. One has to do something that can dramatically impact change the lives of people around them to earn the title of a hero. Heroes are people who are there to make the community a better place and that what sets them apart from the rest of us. Works Cited
"Bartender Helps Turn Wine To Water In Developing World." CNN. Cable News Network, 1 May 2009. Web. 5 Feb. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/30/heroes.doc.hendley>.
"Child Rape Survivor Saves 'Virgin Myth ' Victims." CNN. Cable News Network, 1 Oct. 2009. Web. 5 Feb. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/06/04/cnnheroes.betty.makoni/index.html?eref=rss_world>.
Franklin, John Hope. “The Train From Hate” Reading Literature And Writing Augment, Ed Missy James and Alan P. Merickel. New York: Pearson, 2013. (223-224) Print.
Quiñónez, Ernesto. “From Bodega Dreams” Reading Literature And Writing Augment, Ed Missy James and Alan P. Merickel. New York: Pearson, 2013. (178-183) Print.
Villanueva, Alma Luz. “Crazy Courage” Reading Literature And Writing Augment, Ed Missy James and Alan P. Merickel. New York: Pearson, 2013. (207-208) Print.