Myths and Heroes

The notion I am going to deal with is Myths and Heroes. To begin with I would like to give a definition
of the notion: a myth is derived from the Greek word mythos which simply means story but the term
has taken on several meanings ranging from a traditional story dealing with history to an natural or
social phenomenon that’s why we consider a myth to be a story about god or heroes but it can also be
a popular belief, a tradition, a false notion or an illusion. Myths originally aimed at explaining the
origins of humanity and narrating the foundations of a given community. Each nation deals with,
reinvents and updates its myths with a view to forging a collective identity. A hero in mythology and
folklore is a person with superhuman traits who is admired for his or her bravery or extraordinary feats.
It can be a superhero but also a role model or an icon who has performed a heroic act who we look up
to. In relation to the notion, I will talk about two heroes who have made history thanks to their
achievements, namely J.K Rowling and Steve Jobs. So, we might wonder how these two ordinary
people have become heroes.

In 1982, J.K Rowling took the entrance exams for Oxford University and was not accepted. In
1990,while she was on a train trip from Manchester to London, the idea for a story of a young boy
attending school of wizardry came in to her mind. She began to write immediately but life was not
smiling to her. In December her mother died from a deadly disease which made her stop writing Harry
Potter. After that she moved to Porto to teach English. She was married to Portuguese journalist.
However, she was a victim of a domestic abuse. She gave birth to a girl with whom she moved to
Scotland. 7 years after graduating from university, she saw herself as a failure. Her marriage failed and
she was jobless with a child to feed and educate. Rowling was at that time diagnosed with clinic
depression and she tried to commit suicide. Then she realized that her passion was writing and she
continued to write her book. At first she couldn’t get it published but after a while it was published and
became one of the bestselling books. Harry Potter movie made billions of dollars. In relation to her
story we watched a video of her speech at Havard University where she explained that failure and
imagination motivated her to achieve success. Therefore J-K Rowling can be considered an icon and
role model given her courage and determination to beat all odds and become what she is now.

Another hero that is recognized worldwide is Steve Jobs. He is the founder of Apple.
He was an orphan and he was adopted by a lower middle class family. He dropped out of school and
didn’t graduate from university. He managed to climb the social ladder to become one of the best CEOs
of his time according to some economists. In this regard, we studied a cartoon by Lewis with Steve
Jobs’s face in the foreground wearing apple-like glasses and with the phrase “Apple’s Visionary Steve
Jobs” in the background. This is cartoon shows that Steve Jobs’s success can in large measure be
attributed to his vision as well as his hard work and dedication. He was able to revolutionize the world
of computers with Apple. Indeed, he perfectly embodied the American dream that is about hard work,
vision and persistence. With his success, he made a huge influence on the world. Today, Steve Jobs is
considered a role model and an example of success for a lot of people who started from scratch and
rose to stardom.

To conclude, it goes without saying that JK. Rowling and Steve Jobs, among others, are icons and role
models who have worked hard to achieve success and benefit humanity. They were ordinary people
who believed in their dreams and never gave up when faced with challenges and adversity. They are
heroes that everybody looks up to and take as role models in personal as well as professional life.