We have come so far down the trail of thinking that an individual would go to war to lead the battalion, as if the brutality of war was his sole meaning of life, that we scarcely understand the true definition on heroes nowadays. In contrast to this remarkable view, I think that heroes are ones who stand up for another, ones who support and encourage their counterparts , and ones who will persevere till the very end; and I think that in this competitive world, heroes are needed in our society.
Not that I disagree with the apparent image that heroes equals to war fighters. I think that, in addition, heroes in wars are very important, as they engage the soldiers in war actively, are more instructive, and are more responsible people. However all these personalities do not sufficiently accrue to the definition of a hero.
A hero, in modern day society, requires not only guts and bravery, but to have a persevering mind, and a persistent attitude. A hero may be brave, but if he gives up easily, what is the point? He has to be flourishingly persevering, that even the fiercest and most ferocious thunderstorms would fail in daunting him. When nothing or no one is able to abate the courage of this individual, will I call him a true hero. For example, when one is feeling down, stressed, and haplessly moody, a normal individual would either cower and try to sleep it off. A hero will, in such a time, persist through such a situation, and when he gets to the other side, look back stay satisfied with an accomplishment. Like anyone, he does has the urge to run away from the problem; but with his perseverance, he manages to brave through difficult situations- and similarly, in society, difficult situations may arise, and a hero would be the first to face up to the problem, and lead the way.
A hero, in modern day society, would be one who stands up for his friends, and truly cares about their well-being. With the courage to stand up for his acquaintances, people will look up to him as a good friend, one with a good soul and heart, one who deserves limitless respect. Rarely do we find one such person, as in modern society today, the competitiveness of the world completely demolishes the true facets of us humans. We are all too competitive to help each other, one refusing to teach another, and one rejecting another's plea for help. The world has gradually immersed itself in the competitiveness of the world, which unfortunately spoils the birth of heroes. For example, there are so many students out there, who only care about their studies, and care not about friends. They are individually faced, and selfish in a way. They rather stay at home and study , and care not about the feelings of their acquaintances they mix around in class so often. One might show his good outer self, but deep inside, only cares about himself, and only himself. As such, many people nowadays live like " a wolf in a sheep's skin", and only base their concerns on themselves. A true hero would be one who cares for his friends, and takes his friends' interests at heart, with a concern heart. This is what the world lacks.
Lastly, a hero supports his counterparts and encourages him in times of need. This is admittedly one almost utopian aspiration for a hero, as the current society have self-centred and self-enhanced individuals who care not for others, and only for themselves. There lies the failure for one to support a friend in need. Very often do we feel depressed, and helpless, and we all need some pillar of support during that point of time. And, this fast-paced competitive world brainwashes most people to strive for their own benefits and ignore the rest. Even families ignore one another- but in extreme cases. For example, someone feels very stressed as it is exam period, and he cannot absorb much from the teacher's lessons. Helplessly, he has no one to depend on, to rely, and give his all to. You could be his pillar of support, and try your best to tell him to snap out of this mood, encourage him to work harder on the different aspects of education, and gradually, make him feel much better. I think that the thing that this society lacks is such a person, who will really care for someone, and give his all to someone, or a friend. The world really lacks such a person.
In conclusion, it is a definite yes that we need heroes in this world. The declining number of heroes has a snowball effect, and will continuously drop. Therefore, an abrupt stop in the decline is required to at least pacify the competitive world. And how would this stop origin? From the birth of new heroes, will we be able to free the world from the bondages of competitiveness, and allow the true shells of love and kind and care of humans profusely expound towards the masses. Therefore, our world needs heroes, and not just heroes for war, but heroes in our society as well.
Benedict (:
Hello Benedict,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your essay, I find that it is pretty well done. I agree with your point that the word "hero" often lead people to think of war, which is not exactly the whole meaning of the word. Your essay is extremely well-written. I enjoyed it very much. 1 thing that I liked about your essay is your conclusion. The last line "Therefore, our world needs heroes, and not just heroes for war, but heroes in our society as well." from it, links back very well to your introduction. Adding on, I find that your links in everyone paragraph is short and sweet. For example, in the 4th paragraph, you made a very short link back to the thesis, "This is what the world lacks."
Cheers,
Darryl Hwang(10)
Hello Benedict (:
ReplyDeleteFirstly, we are to write five paragraphs, not six. Vocabulary is very well used here but your essay should be more organised. In your thesis, you points what that heroes are ones who stand up for another, ones who support and encourage their counterparts , and ones who will persevere till the very end. However, later on, you elaborated on that a true hero would be one who cares for his friends. Thus it somehow mismatches. Also, it would be better if you actually pointed out a real life incident or a example from To Kill a Mockingbird. Overall, it is a pretty well done piece but can be further improved and I like the vocabulary used in your essay.
Regards,
Eddie (:
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBenedict,
ReplyDeleteYou start quite strong, although your introduction is not the typical one taught in class; your thesis actually comes last, but there is a logical progression to it from your opening statement and revelation of your three points.
The second paragraph is unnecessary; it is in there to balance out your statement, but you do this later with your body paragraphs. All it does in this instance is dilute your thesis, which you don't want.
Your body paragraphs are strongly written, with clear elaboration, but suffer from what I talked about in class: lack of specific examples. Your evidence is given in very vague terms that generalize your argument, and hence weaken it. Instead, make sure to give very specific evidence and incidents that you can use as examples to support your points.
Your conclusion is a bit muddled here, and I'm not sure how it relates to your original thesis. You talk about the decline of heroes, but nowhere else is this really discussed in detail, nor proven through evidence. Your conclusion should sum up your paper but still must be related to it.
On the whole, this is nicely written, but you will need to address what I've commented on to do well for the test.