Hero’s Heart Essay

â€Å"Not the glittering weapon fights the fight, but rather the hero’s heart. † (Proverbs Quotes) I agree with Proverbs, that the hero’s heart fights the fight because I believe that a hero can be a hero without having to use a weapon. I believe that a hero is someone that is mentally strong and has the ability to lead, that it is showing dedication to a quest, and that is not giving up even when the world around you seems like it has given up on you. Heroism is being capable of being mentally strong and has the ability to be a leader. In the poem A Man by Nina Cassian a man has lost an arm in while fighting for his country. The man knows that he â€Å"shall only be able to do things by halves. † (Line 3) Even though â€Å"the man† has lost an arm he realized that he had to â€Å"set himself to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm. † The man recognizes his limitations but still has the will in his mind to push forward and never stop living life just because of one little set back. Also, a daughter writes about her mother, Ana, who is struggling through cancer. Ana’s daughter says that even though she is going through cancer again â€Å"she gets up with a smile and still has the strength to be a mother to me. † This shows that Ana is mentally strong because she is able to care for her loved ones as for someone else they would most likely give up and not want to deal with the pain any longer, especially if they have already gone through cancer and it has come back. In addition, in the movie Mulan, the main character has to be strong and take her father’s place in the army to save his life. She has to be mentally strong to deal with all of the things that she may face when she goes to war. Examples of heroism are when people, whether they are real people in movies or characters out of books dedicate their lives to a quest. In the Odyssey, Odysseus goes on the quest of killing the Cyclops. He has to go on this quest so that he can protect the people in his village. He is a hero because he gave the Cyclops wine â€Å"so that he could taste the sort of drink he carried on his ship. † This shows he is a hero that goes on a quest because he had to give the Cyclops wine in order to kill him once he became drunk. Another example of heroism is Mulan the movie. In the movie Mulan, Mulan goes on a quest with the Chinese army to take the place of her father because he was too sick to fight; therefor Mulan chose to dress up as man to save her father’s life. In the passages written by Ana’s family members, they all feel that she is â€Å"strong† and that she has the â€Å"strength to carry on each an everyday. † Ana’s quest makes her a hero because even though she going through a rough patch she never gives up. Heroism is not giving up when the world around you seems as if they have given up on you. For in the poem A Man, he does not give up living his life even though he has lost an arm. He has turned this accident into a positive. He believes that â€Å"where the arm had been torn away a wing grew. † (Lines 17-18) I believe that this shows the man not giving up because he could have easily let his arm that was lost be the thing that he focuses on most every day but instead makes it a good thing. The man â€Å"set himself to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm. † Also, Ana, a cancer patient has to stay strong for her family. The only thing keeping Ana from giving up is her loving family. Ana’s daughter states that her mother says â€Å"keep going; keep going, like a giant guardian angel above the roaring crowd. † (Piece 3- lines 5-6) Lastly in Moco Limping, a dog named Moco had a dead leg. Moco wants his owner to love him as much as he loves him. â€Å"I feel his warm fur and his imperfection is forgotten. † In present day life the pop culture makes everything seem like if you don’t get fame for it then it is not important. Heroism isn’t about the fame and fortune, it’s about doing something for someone else or just for yourself; meaning that a hero is someone that is brave and has noble qualities. Being a hero can be as simple as saving one’s cat from a tree, pulling a dog out of a whole, or even fighting a deathly disease like cancer. When you have the will power and the courage to do something to help someone else or protect them you could be considered that person’s hero. You never know if you are a hero until you do something heroic. Throughout the process of analyzing these heroic qualities I have realized that a hero can be an everyday person in everyday life. If I am ever given the task to rise up and become a hero like the people and things I analyzed I hope I will have the courage like my characters did.