Heroes Essay:
DUE:____________________________________
First of all, notice that the plural of “hero” is HEROES, with an “es”.
You may use the following characters from these articles: You must use at least FIVE of the characters from the reading.
Beowulf and/or Wiglaf
From Beowulf, pp. 18-26 Green Lit. Book (Be sure to either underline or put the titles in quotations)
Achilles and/or Hector
From The Iliad, pp. 56-67 Green Lit. Book (A title that is underlined is also correct being italicized)
Heinrich Schliemann
From “Trojan Gold,” pp67-68 Green Lit. Book
King Arthur
From “The Day of Destiny,” pp. 194-199 Green Lit. Book
Unknown Man
From “The Man In the Water,” pp. 61-66 Purple Lit. Book
Elie Wiesel and/or his father From Night pp. 585-590 Purple Lit. Book
Your Choice:
Someone who is a personal hero…a real person in your life
Your Choice:
Superheroes from comics, movies, modern-day literature
Your Choice:
Famous people who have been influential
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Paragraphs 2,3,and 4 must focus on THREE of the following characteristics of a hero: l. Tragic Flaw 2. Actions Are Courageous
3. Strength beyond his/her own (superhuman) 4. Good example of values of their society 5. Supernatural forces are sometimes
involved 6. Has a high social position or is of noble birth
Sample Paragraph: The following shows you how to develop paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 in your essay. Notice that it starts with a topic
sentence which states the focus of the paragraph. You must have THREE examples of characters or real people for the body of the
paragraph. Notice that the writer explains where this character is from and explains to the reader how he/she ties in with the focus.
The last sentence concludes the paragraph, restating the focus.
Sometimes heroes have a tragic flaw. This means that they have many wonderful qualities, but also have a weakness which
leads to their demise, or downfall. In The Iliad, ACHILLES is usually a triumphant victor in all of his battles. But when he kills Hector,
he drags his body, even though it is against his beliefs to treat a body disrespectfully. He cares more for revenge than being a good
example and leader. This shows that he as a weakness, which overpowers his honor. Another way to express this idea is that “his
anger got the best of him.” Another character who (remember relative pronouns) shows vulnerability is HERCULES, another favorite
character in mythology. He descends to the underworld to do penance for the crime of killing his own children in a fit of madness.
Even though he is the son of a god, his weakness influences his destiny. BABE RUTH is an example of a contemporary (modern-day)
hero who had a tragic flaw. Considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, his weakness was that he mismanaged his
money and was irresponsible in life. His greatest dream was becoming the manager of a team, but the commissioners didn’t trust
him. He was an amazing player, but he didn’t have the self discipline to manage his life, let alone an entire baseball team.
Characters in literature and life show that heroes do extraordinary feats, but also have weaknesses.
Checklist:
l. Entire Paper: Typed, double-spaced, size 12 font.
2. Title Page: Center the title one-third of the way down the page; center author information two-thirds of the way down. Author
information is (each on separate lines) your first and last name, Mrs. Hartvigsen, English 12, Date (14 June 2012).
3. First Page: MLA format: Last Name and 1 on upper right hand side of paper, and then in left margin, write the following, first and
last name, Mrs. Hartvigsen, English 12, and date follows this format: day/month spelled out/year (but don’t use the slashes.)
4. Clever, Creative Title: capitalized and centered
5. Introductory Paragraph: Indented, general introduction about the topic heroes, maybe use a quote about heroes, needs to be at
least 5 sentences. Your thesis statement is the last sentence of your introductory paragraph….This is a sentence something like…The
focus of this essay will be the characteristics of a hero shown by examples in literature and life. (You may use this exact one…)
6. Paragraphs 2 ,3 and 4: Refer to the paragraph above for required elements.
7. Conclusion: Restate your thesis and what you want your readers to learn from heroes. Remember, don’t write with “you”.