The Uncommon Hero (Example essay)

The Uncommon Hero

What is a hero? A hero may be defined as a strong person who commits courageous acts or a person with tremendous spiritual belief and guidance. A personality trait may label one as heroic. In modern-day society, a hero may be a brave man who is admired for his acts of valor. In literature, a hero is a description much more complex. King David of ancient Hebrew times, Forrest Gump of Greenbow, Alabama, and Erik Weihenmayer of Colorado all qualify as heroes. A hero is not defined by physical strength and agility but by the characteristics of his personality.

In Biblical literature, a hero is depicted differently than one of modern times. David was a poor shepherd’s scrawny son. He did not posses any obvious heroic qualities externally. Heroism in the Bible had a direct connection with the covenant between God and the people. David was very loyal to God and faced great danger, making him heroic although his appearance may lead you to assume otherwise. The Old Testament was written through the anti-hero era in literature. During this period of time, heroes’ physical qualities were remarkably plain, but their belief in God proved to overcome all doubt of their heroics. With God on his side, David destroyed Goliath with one hit of a pebble to the giant’s head.

Some heroes are characterized as such due to the effects they make on people’s lives. Forrest Gump was a mentally challenged boy from Greenbow, Alabama. In spite of his difficulties, he served as an inspiration to fictional and living people alike. He possessed many heroic qualities such as integrity and compassion. Gump showed reliability and honor though almost every aspect of his life. His running to get out of complicated situations would maintain his honor because he would not have to confront situations in which his reputation would be questioned. Forrest promised his friend Bubba that he would help him start his own fishing business. Although Bubba died in Vietnam, Forrest still kept his promise and started the business. When he became wealthy, he split his earnings in half and gave one of the two halves to Bubba’s family. Such integrity is very hard to find in a human being, and therefore is a qualifying characteristic of heroism. Compassion is yet another defining trait. Whether he wanted to or not, Gump was always a caring person from his early childhood on. Despite the fact that Lieutenant Dan hated Forrest, he still managed to rescue him in Vietnam. Dan would hold a grudge for this act of courage for many years to come. In spite of that, Forrest always looked up to Dan and respected him immensely.

Although Forrest Gump is a fictional character, his struggles through life are not fictional and not unique. The early life of Erik Weihenmayer, a now-world famous adventurer, was not trouble-free and was in many ways similar to that of Gump’s. Erik was born with the knowledge that he was one day going to be completely blind. He tried to rebel and deny it, but by the age of fifteen, he was sightless. Erik denied any kind of help and spiraled into a depression. However, when he accepted his situation, he became very successful. He started rock climbing and found that he loved the feeling of the thrill and the sound of the wind. He went to college to become a teacher, and there he met his wife. Weihenmayer fought through adversities and challenges, such as being a blind teacher. In May of 2001, Erik successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest, a feat no blind person had ever attempted and no person would ever imagine it a possibility. Today, he is a middle school teacher and world-class adventurer. He truly serves as an inspiration to both sighted and blind people. Erik proved to the whole world that both the sayings “The sky is the limit” and “If you believe in yourself, you can make your dreams come true” are reality and very much possible. In addition to teaching teenaged school kids, Erik travels all over the world and teaches blind kids how to rock-climb. In Tibet, he took a group to the mountains. They reached 21,500 feet, which is the highest altitude that a group of blind people reached in history. Erik had a very difficult life, but he turned his challenges into advantages.

Heroes come in all shapes and forms. Sometimes, a person may be a hero for uncommon and unique reasons. The things that characterize a hero should not be generalized because there are far too many to put under just one category. King David, a Biblical hero; Forrest Gump, a symbolic hero; and Erik Weihenmayer, a modern hero, all possess heroic qualities that are, in some way, tied to one another, but are, however, unique to each individual. Everyone should strive to be heroic in their own sense and to learn from those who are heroes to them.