Exemplary
Hero Definition Essay
“True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at
whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” (Arthur Ashe). I agree with Mr. Ashe that
to be truly heroic, one must not be concerned with glory, but focused on self-sacrifice. It is striving,
without faltering, to reach your ultimate objective. I believe that heroism is realizing the needs of you or
someone else and trying your hardest to fulfill those needs, that it is showing dedication to your quest,
and that it is not giving up, even when it is believed the odds are against success.
Heroism is trying your hardest, no matter the obstacles, to fulfill the needs of yourself or others.
In the poem Moco Limping, by David Nava Monreal, a dog that has a dead leg doesn’t let that keep him
down. He, “*chases+ lethargic bees and butterflies . . . jumps at *his owner+ with his feeble paws . . . and
looks at [his owner+ with eyes that cry out with life” (Lines 19-27). The dog recognizes his limitations,
and instead of letting them bring him down, he lives his life the same, but reaches for goals within his
reach. This is heroic because he does not give up because of his obstacle. Also, a son writes about how
his mother, Ana, has an obstacle, but does all that she can to fight it, and does not complain. He says
that she fights cancer with a smile and, “hasn’t let it slow her down either” (SB 48). This shows that even
though she could complain and give up fighting the disease, she tries her hardest, which inspires her
loved ones. In addition, in A Man, the poet describes a soldier who loses his arm while fighting for his
country. In the beginning of her poem, she describes the soldier’s physical limitations from losing his
arm, yet the soldier speaks of compensating for his physical disability with enthusiasm, “He set himself
to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm. And where the arm had been torn away a wing grew”
(Line 15). The first part dwells on the thought he can only do half of everything, such as a harvest, either
tune or play an accompaniment on a piano, banging on a door, and holding his love. He also points out
that he will never be able to applaud. However, he decides, instead of giving up, to double his
enthusiasm to accomplish the same tasks.
Examples of heroism are when people, whether characters in movies or books or in real life,
dedicate themselves to their quests. For example, in the movie Mulan, the main character wants to help
her father by enlisting in the army instead of him, which is impossible according to Chinese law because
she is a girl. Though, instead of giving up at this, she decides to pretend to be a man and goes to
extremes to keep up her charade. This is heroic because her father, being the only male in his family,
had to enlist in the army, yet he was too sick to fight and would have undoubtedly died in the conflict.
Also, in the movie October Sky, the main character, Homer, realizes he wants to be a scientist and never
gives up in his quest despite all the setbacks, including very little support from loved ones. His heroism
inspires people who know him to go after their own dreams. As well as Homer, Fredrick Douglass is a
man who never gave up in what he believed in. Fredrick Douglass worked for the fair treatment of all
people. This shows heroism because even though he had setbacks, like being physically beaten, he will
always be remembered for working his hardest for the welfare of all people.
Heroism is not giving up after you have failed a few times. For example, in the book Odyssey,
the main character, Odysseus, is stuck with his men in a cave with a ferocious Cyclopes. Despite his fear
and the overwhelming odds against him, he does not give up and let him and his men be killed by the
monster. Instead, he uses his wit to come up with a plan to get out, “The rams were fat with thick
fleeces. . . The middle one was to carry one of my men, with the other two on either side to protect him”
(SB 37). This is a heroic plan. Because of his unrelenting efforts, he saved his men’s lives. In life, there
are many times in which people can give up or keep on trying. If people keep on trying, it can result in
opportunities they never imagined, like saving lives. For example, in the news a while ago, a plane broke
down and the pilot decided to land in the Hudson River. Instead of giving up, the pilot made this
extreme decision and saved everyone who was on the plane. Also, there is another hero who never
gives up. Ana, a cancer patient continually inspires her loved ones with her dedication and
determination to make them feel better and cope with her disease. Ana’s daughter writes about this;
“‘Keep going, keep going,’ she preached aloud, like a guardian angel above the roaring crowd” (Line 4).
Ana does not give up and bemoan over her hardship, instead, she gives her family hope by her
indomitable will to survive despite all odds against her survival.
Contrary to popular culture, heroism is not all about gaining glory as sometimes portrayed in the
media. Heroism can be as personal as fighting one’s own struggle to defeat cancer, trying one’s hardest
to fight the disease, never giving up in the hope of finding a cure, and showing dedication to pursuing
treatment despite setbacks . In studying all of these heroic acts, I realized that the performance of
heroic acts not only benefit the people for whom they were performed, but also the individual who
performed them. The “hero” will see life differently, not because of the fame, if any, gained from the act,
but knowing that they are capable of performing a service to either themselves or others that is
meaningful. This empowers them, making them recognize their strengths and ability to problem solve
when others have failed, or given up, before even trying. I hope that I have the courage to rise to the
level of heroism if ever I am called to do so as were the individuals in fiction and real life I analyzed.
Proficient
Hero Definition Essay
“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” When heroes
carry on and keep battling a challenge or problem, it makes them that much more heroic. Anyone could
just give up, but heroes keep going. Instead of stressing over satisfying everyone, heroes know that their
best is good enough, and focus on doing the right thing. Heroism is putting others before yourself and
directly facing challenges, but not always saving or satisfying everyone.
Putting others before yourself is a huge part of being a hero. For example, in the letters that
Ana’s family wrote about her being a hero, they said that Ana is always taking care of her family first,
despite her battle with cancer. “…Although I know she is afraid, she fights this lethal disease every
moment of everyday, and she does it with a smile” (SB 48). Also, in Mulan, Mulan is treated with
disrespect, but still tries to protect her fellow soldiers from danger. Finally, in the article “Love
Triumphs”, Deamonte Love is only six years old, but puts five other small children before himself when
they are separated from their parents in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. All of these people are true
heroes because of the protection they provide to the people around them.
Big challenges need to be faced instantly, and heroes aren’t afraid to do just that. For example,
firefighters have to put out dangerous fires everyday, sometimes more than once a day, but they go into
every fire knowing that they are protecting others. In addition, the man in the poem, “A Man”, lost his
arm in war and has to face even small everyday challenges with a steadfast attitude to overcome them.
“From that moment on, he set himself to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm” (SB 10). Lastly,
people with disabilities, such as those who are wheelchair-bound, deal with daily obstacles that others
take for granted. Big challenges are intimidating, so people are admired when they can face a problem
and are not afraid to just go solve it instead of standing back and watching.
Heroism is not always saving or satisfying everyone all the time. For example, in the poem
“Moco Limping,” Moco the dog is nothing the owner wants, and he can’t seem to satisfy him. ”But,
instead he’s this rickety canine that leaves trails in the dirt with his club foot” (SB 13).Still, Moco is his
owner’s hero because, although he can’t satisfy him with his physical appearance or strength, he still
loves him and that is why his owner loves him back. “I feel his warm fur and his imperfection is forgotten”
(SB 13). Also, doctors are depended on all the time, but they can’t always save everyone. However, they
keep whoever is in their care healthy as long as they can, which is what really counts in the end. Finally,
parents can’t always satisfy their children all the time, but they almost always end up being our heroes
in everything else they do. If heroes could do everything, save everyone and satisfy everyone, they
wouldn’t be human.
The best heroes out there are those that put others before themselves. How do we know when
someone is a hero? When they face challenges with pure determination, but don’t save or satisfy
everyone in the end. It blows us away every time a hero can fix sticky situations, but it is more important
to know that a hero is doing what they’re doing for the protection of everyone else. Making mistakes is
what makes everything else that they do even more spectacular.
Emerging
Hero Definition Essay
Heroism is putting other people’s needs first. It is overcoming your challenges, and it is not
losing faith in yourself.
Heroism is putting others first. For example, in the story “Mulan”, Mulan saved her people. And
over came her challenge. Her challenge was when it was her duties to be a wife and dress up and find
love. She really wasn’t that good at it. When she found out her dad was going to have to go to war she
decided to take his place and dress up like a man to save her fathers life. She didn’t expect to find
herself but she did. And that’s what makes her a hero as she over came her challenges and helped
others, and did not lose faith in herself.
In addition “October Sky”, Homer is also a hero as he tries to overcome his challenges with his
father. As Homer was trying to build a rocket his dad was always trying to stop him and convince him to
be a coal miner instead. His father never encouraged Homer. Even without his fathers support Homer
never lost faith. Once Homer won the aircraft science fair he asked his dad to be there for him and be
proud of him. His dad had to make a big decision knowing Homer was always there for his dad and
helping him threw life. So Homers dad went to the science fair and cheered him on. Homer was a hero
because he never lost faith in gaining his dads love and he over came his other challenges with the
science fair, and school.
Last in “Moco Limping”, the dog Moco really loves his owner. All Moco really wants is for his
owner to love him back the same way. The boy always talks about how he wants a hunting dog or a dog
that can do tricks and play games. But Moco can’t do that stuff because Moco has a bad leg. The little
boy still always will love his dog. He only says he wants a new dog but he knows Moco is always a good
companion.
Everyone faces challenges in there life the key is to never lose faith in yourself and always try to
be there for other people. This effects many people because everyone is or can be a hero in the own
way.
ELA Level 3, Unit 1
Embedded Assessment 1: Writing a Definition Essay
Exemplary: Hero Definition Essay
The writing in this definition essay exemplar shows a skillful understanding of the definition
strategies and essay organization. The thesis statement and topic sentences clearly use the three
definition strategies, and the details and examples to develop the topic sentences are multiple and
clearly indicated with commentary that explains the connection between the evidence and the
topic idea. Transitions within the paragraphs show an understanding of cohesive elements. The
thesis, though wordy, sets up the organization of the essay and makes a sophisticated connection
to the quote, aptly chosen for the focus of this definition of a hero. The body paragraphs show a
sophisticated attempt to use quotes and paraphrasing as evidence, as well using details from a
variety of works. Diction shows a sustained effort at academic voice. The essay development
shows control of essay organization, with especially well-developed body paragraphs and an
insightful conclusion. Concluding, transitional sentences for each paragraph would have
enhanced coherence. Errors in stylistic conventions are minimal and the paper show evidence of
the writing process.
Proficient: Heroism Definition Essay
This high proficient exemplar is distinguished by a writing that shows control over organization.
All aspects of a structured definition essay are present. All definition strategies are employed.
It is in the development of parts that this essay is proficient rather than exemplary. The
development by details and examples is adequate, with attempts at effective use of quoted
evidence, but minimal in terms of insightful commentary. The connection between the topic
sentence and the examples in body paragraphs two and three are limited and a bit strained. But
the writing consistently employs transitions and commentary on details and examples. The
introduction adequately engages the reader in the subject matter and the conclusion provides
closure to the topic addressed. The writing is smooth, relatively error free, and the voice is
consistently academic. Clear evidence that the stages of the writing process have been employed
is present.
Emerging: Hero Definition Essay
The ideas of this essay are minimally developed. The writing shows an emerging sense of the
organization of a definition essay. The introduction and conclusion, though present, do not move
beyond the most limited development. The body paragraphs, though not confusing, show a
limited understanding of the purpose of the developmental paragraphs to provide multiple
examples of the three definition strategies. The last body paragraph is especially undeveloped.
Without a topic sentence connecting it to the thesis, the paragraph quickly loses focus and impact
in the development of a definition of heroism. This essay would have benefitted from revision
with a specific focus on structure and adding text to develop ideas.