All heroes in stories and literature from ancient times to present have been inspired by one thing, humanity. It is within this strange idea of humanity that we find the original hero, the real heroes of everyday.
We are inspired by heroes before us and around us to become the heroes that will succeed us. This cycle of human heroism is what keeps society together and functioning. As much as we can appreciate the great heroes of literature and legend, they cannot inspire us in the ways that the heroes in our community should.
There is a particular beauty in the human response to adverse situations, especially catastrophic events that leave entire populations at risk, that unifies us is ways like never before.
Some perfect examples of this are the human response to the 911 attacks, where firefighters, like in the picture above, and regular people, risked their lives to get people to safety. Like stated in the quote above, the memories of those who did lose their lives that day, especially in heroic efforts, can never be forgotten and will live on forever as an example of the beauty of humanity.
A more recent and hard-hitting example of humanity in motion is the response of front-line workers during this pandemic. As a child of a pharmacist that has worked nearly every day since the proclamation of this virus as a pandemic, I have witnessed first hand the struggles and stresses that these heroes must go through every day. People like my mother are going into work every day, putting themselves at risk, so that society as a whole can continue in a semi-stable way.
The beauty of these human heroes gives me an even greater appreciation for the heroes in literature, as I can read in between the lines and appreciate the messages and inspirations that relate to reality. My selected theme of the development of the literary hero and its importance to the real world is not present as strongly as it is when thinking about its relation to the real heroes of our world.
The real heroes of this world give such an incredible image of humanity at its best, that literature can only attempt to comprehend. With that being said, the understanding of how heroes have developed to fit the human emotional needs of the periods in which their writers lived in, is a skill that is vital to understanding any kind of message that lay between the layers upon layers of words or images. This very skill is what is being taught through this English course and is a skill that I can not understate or justly explain.
Thank you for reading my blogs and going on this intellectual journey with me.
"Hard time don't create heroes. It is during the hard times when the 'hero' within us is revealed." - Bob Riley.
コメント