Heroism Essay
The author Barbara Kingsolver once said, “Heroes may be less than heroic, while the
common man saves the day.” Heroism is a concept that society hears about every day, but it
raises a question, what makes a hero? Heroes and villains are considered polar opposites, but
they may not be as different as commonly thought. Both heroes and villains fight for what they
think is right, for better or for worse, and they don’t ever give in. It is easy to forget that people
who seem ordinary can be heroes; Anne Frank was a hero because she persevered through pain
and doubt until the end, but on the flipside, she can be considered a villain depending on the
onlooker’s perspective.
Webster’s dictionary defines a hero as “a mythological or legendary figure of great
strength or ability.” Though this may be true in some cases, someone doesn’t always need
superhuman abilities to be a hero. To me, a hero is someone who stands up for what they believe
in and will always act to help people, no matter how severe the consequences may be. Heroes
are role models to the general population because they are brave, courageous, and the people that
we want to be like. This is my definition of a hero because, all of my life, I’ve been taught to
value fairness, equality, and to respect people’s beliefs. These values support my definition of a
hero because my definition states that a hero will stand up for what they believe in and always
help people, no matter what that person believes in, which shows respect of themselves and
everyone around them. According to the article Why Do We Make Athletes Role Models? heroes
model “heart, initiative, and the ability for all of us to improve our communities and tackle our
problems.” All of these things fit into my definition of a hero. I believe that heroes model heart
because they are empathetic and will always help others. Heroes show initiative because they
always act first and take the opportunity to help someone in need. Heroes have the ability to
improve communities by giving to others and solving problems. Really, heroes show us what we
need to do to be better people, and they lead by example. They will always help someone
without missing a beat. A hero is anyone who doesn’t give up and always sticks up for the
greater good.
Even an ordinary person can be a hero. Take Anne Frank, for instance. She lived
through a time where people were being killed just because of their beliefs. She was forced into
hiding for something that she wasn’t even in control of. Anne Frank is now considered the face
of the Holocaust by many. She was born in 1929 in Frankfurt, Germany. Just weeks before her
13th birthday, Anne and her family went into hiding in Holland to avoid being sent to
concentration camps. Anne Frank is a hero because she stayed positive through her 25 months in
hiding from the Nazis. She kept a diary of all of her thoughts during the time that she was in
hiding. Anne’s diary revealed the challenges of living long-term in close quarters with 7 other
people and how it felt to be hunted down just because of religion. Anne’s experiences can be
related to Robert Hayden’s poem Frederick Douglass. The poem states that Douglass, a hero in
many people’s eyes, envisioned “a world where none is lonely, none hunted, alien” for which
Anne Frank also longed. She wanted to be able to have her own beliefs without being judged,
just like Douglass. She always looked at the upside of things, no matter how bad it got which
helped her roommates stay positive as well. Anne also demonstrated heroism by sticking to her
beliefs even when they were challenged. She showed heart by empathizing with the other people
in her situation. Anne modeled initiative by keeping her diary up to date even in the harsh
circumstances. Anne is someone who is looked up to by nearly everyone because of her strength
and courage when life was tough. In her own words, “Those who have courage and faith shall
never perish in misery.” (The Diary of a Young Girl) This really says to me that she knew that
even if she did die, she would be content with her life so far because she stuck to what she
believed in and was a true hero.
Of course, where there are heroes, there are villains. Some people’s heroes can be
another group’s villains, it all depends on each group’s beliefs. A villain can be defined as
someone whose actions negatively impact a person or group of people. A villain is also someone
who is cowardly and runs away from danger or abandons someone in need. Anne Frank can be
considered a villain because didn’t believe the same things as the opposing side. She was Jewish
which made her different from the Nazis, and different is scary to some people. In the Nazis’
eyes, Anne was someone who ran away from them and didn’t want to share their beliefs. Anne
may be considered a villain because she went into hiding from the Nazis, which falls into the
category of running away. Also, Anne could be a villain because she went into hiding without
many of the people who she grew up with, ultimately causing them to be found and sent to
concentration camps to die earlier than she did. Some people may have felt that Anne was a
villain because she went into a safe place and didn’t consider them too, even if that wasn’t
actually the case. It can be argued that based on opinion, anyone’s hero can be another’s villain,
even an iconic hero like Anne Frank.
Anne Frank, an iconic Holocaust hero, is a perfect example of the idea that any hero can
also be a villain. She stood up for what she believed in, but that meant that she was a villain to
her enemies, who didn’t share her beliefs. Heroes and villains aren’t so different. It is just a
question of perspective. Any one group’s villain can be a hero to another group. Both heroes
and villains stand up for what they believe in, but have different ways of showing it. Heroes
show it through courage and empathy, and villains show it through cowardice and negative
actions. Anne Frank was a hero to all who supported her during the Holocaust and is a hero to
all of the people who her legacy effects today, but she can also be considered a villain because
she fought against her enemies and stuck to her beliefs, even though it wasn’t allowed. Her
situation proves that hero vs. villain is all a matter of perspective.