Courage: A Well-Known Virtue That Hasnt Changed Since the Beginning of

Time
A hero is an image that we as humans have created to label the good guy
of our stories. But its the characteristics displayed that separates the rest of
the good guys from the actual hero. In the classical stories, such as Beowulf,
the hero has some type of supernatural aura about them; super strength,
supreme combat skills, incredibly intelligent, so on and so forth. In the article
What is a Hero? written by Michael Gonchar, he asks, Does heroism always
involve physical strength, or are there other qualities that define being a
hero? It wasnt so much about the powers these heroes possessed as much
as it was about the virtue of unwavering courage. The act of heroism can
take place at any place and time, it knows no boundaries, and it can happen
in any person. It can be argues the greatest heroes are the people who not
only show courage but a face of selflessness in the situation. In the article
Gonchar has a quote from one of the men who stopped a terrorist attack on
a train in Paris, he said about the terrorist and his fellow fighters, He
seemed like he was ready to fight to the end, and so were we. In the quote
we see this boldness to do what had to be done, a boldness that doesnt fear
death. The same trait is seen in the famous Anglo-Saxon poem about
Beowulf. Neither the young man from the train or Beowulf feared losing their
lives in the act of battle. Those men from the train are definitely heroes.
They wore no cape, had no special powers, but they did have an unyielding
amount of courage in the face of adversity. My heroes are the people out
front and behind the scenes; the mother who spends her last to feed her
children, the sibling who gets up every morning to help their younger siblings
get ready for the day, the police officers who leave their home every
morning never knowing if theyll come back. Those are my heroes.