What is a Hero?
Briana H.
Introduction
Many people are not as fortunate as to having someone to look up too. I was very fortunate for having my mother to look up too.
What is a hero?
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines the word "Hero" as a person who is admired for great or brave acts or fine qualities. Although this is somewhat true, that isn't the total definition. A hero is someone who you can look up too. This person has sacrificed for others.
A hero is a soldier going into the army to represent the country. Imagine a young boy joining the army to make his country proud. Why would anyone go through a lot of training and hard work just to make his nation proud? In this boy's case, he is becoming a hero for his nation, family, and himself. This boy would be someone that would be looked up too and he also sacrificed for others, making him a hero.
A hero is a classmate standing up for another classmate. Annie always gets bullied at school. Val witnesses this every day. One day, Annie’s bully takes it too far. Val sees this and rushes over to help Annie. Val is considered a hero in this case because she helped someone get out of a situation and she became a role model for for other bystanders. This girl is a perfect example of a hero.
As one can see, both the soldier and classmate can be a hero. A hero is someone you can look up to, and this person has sacrificed for others. Some people are capable of demonstrating the dictionary’s definition of a hero, there are many other forms. Think about the last time you have seen someone do something that is heroic. Have you done something like that? The word “hero” has a different definition for everyone.A crowd at a concert
Who is your untouchable hero?
A hero is someone who sacrifices for others and this person is someone you can look up to. Lisa Kudrow is my untouchable hero. She graduated from Vassar College with a degree in biology. She later started to act in plays and eventually became a well-known actress. Lisa Kudrow fits the criteria of a hero through perseverance and hard work.
Lisa Kudrow is a hero because she is hardworking, doesn’t give up, and she is someone you can look up too. The article states,”She got small parts on several television series before being cast as an absent-minded, eccentrically silly waitress named Ursula Buffay in the series Mad About You. This led to a starring role in 1995 on the television series Friends as Phoebe Buffay... Kudrow's was one of several major characters, including one played by David *Schwimmer, in the most successful comedy series of that period. Kudrow, who won an Emmy award for best supporting actress in a comedy series in 1998, has had a number of serious film roles as well as comedic ones.”(Newsmakers). In this passage of the article, Lisa worked her way to the top with hard work and perseverance. Lisa never gave up during her long journey to success. , and in the end, she achieved her goals. Lisa Kudrow is someone you can look up too.
Like Lisa Kudrow, my mom is also a hero. Although Lisa is different from my mom in so many ways, they have something in common. For example, they are both people you could look up to. Lisa went through hard work and eventually she achieved her goal of becoming a famous and well known actress. My mother went through persistence to achieve her dreams as well. Lisa and my mom achieved their dreams in different ways, however, they are both very inspirational stories. Lisa Kudrow and my mom are both heros because they never give up.
From Lisa Kudrow, I have learned that you should never give up. I can apply this to my everyday life by never giving up, even when things get hard. Both my mom and Lisa Kudrow are very different. They both, however, fit the criteria of a true hero.
Lisa Kudrow at an event
Real life heroism
What do military families go through during the war? During World War II in Germany, many families went through horrible times. They went through bombings, losses, financial issues, and health issues. Families still experience the effects of war.
War made it almost impossible for German families to survive. In the article, “Life on the German Home Front during the First World War Examined for Contenary News: How did the German society adapt?”, the author said, “The loss of a husband or father meant a loss of income, and families struggled to survive on government hand-outs. According to Holger Herwig in his book The First World War, by 1918 there was a 'surplus' of 2 million women, mainly widows, who were trying to live on meagre government pensions.”(Herwig). Since the husbands/fathers weren’t there to take care of the family, the women and their children had to find a job and try to survive off of the money that they made there. Like today, the families had to figure out what to do when someone in their family died or is in the military. In conclusion, German families were tortured during the war. Children had the worst time during World War II.
Out of everyone that wasn’t fighting in the war, the children suffered the most. In the article, “Germany During World War II: a Child’s Experience”, “When it was safe to leave the bunker after a few days we left to go see what was left of our house. Of course, nothing was standing. The place was in rubbles. As we were walking throughout the streets my mom commented that she never knew that people had so many statues because there were dark brown statues laying all over the place. Only when we recognized a neighbor lady holding her baby did we realize that the "statues" were actually burned people. Since we lost our home and all that we had except the clothes on our backs…” After coming out, she saw that she had lost everything but her mom and her siblings. She was scared for life seeing all these "statues" that were actually real humans that had been fried by the fire.”(Hamilton). German military families and the people living through the war went through things beyond anyone's imagination. Children were not only scared, they were also shocked of the effects of war.
Some people could argue that the women got jobs that paid them. In the article, “World War II: German Families”, “German families like families all over Europe were affected by the War. One impact even before the War was the way the NAZI Party coopted German children beginning at age 10 with introduction into the Hitler Youth. Ironically compared to what came later in the War, German families were some of the European families least affected at the omset of the War. Casualties were light and early victories enabled the Germans to exploit the occupied countries to finance and support the war effort. France proved to be a marvelous source of consumer goods for German civilians. And the campaigns were short, meaning that the soldiers were not separated from their families for long periods. This changed after Barbarossa (June 1941) and the Red army offensive before Moscow (December 1941). The Whermacht had to deploy the bulk of its force on distant battlefields. Casualties skyrocketed and leave became almost impossible to obtain. Thus from 1942 until 1946-47, many German households were without male heads. And of course many families lost their fathers permanently because of battlefield casualties or disappearance in Soviet camps. Hitler declared war on America (December 1941). This led to around-the-clock bombing (January 1943), bringing the front line to German civilians. Rationing began steadily more severe. And families became increasingly separated. It was no longer just the brothers and fathers at the front. The children in the cities had to be evacuated. HJ boys staying in the cities were often away from home manning anti-aircraft batteries. And many young women were involved in war work or assisting in facilities like hospitals and other facilities often at distant locations. As the Allies liberated the occupied countries, the Germans were no longer able to supply the civilian population by exploiting occupied peoples. By the end of the War, German families were living in the ruins of demolished cities.” The German families were doing the best when Germany was winning the war, after that, the Germans had to pay for what Hitler did.
On the other hand, the women did not get payed enough to live off of what they got payed. The article states, “The loss of a husband or father meant a loss of income, and families struggled to survive on government hand-outs. According to Holger Herwig in his book The First World War, by 1918 there was a 'surplus' of 2 million women, mainly widows, who were trying to live on meagre government pensions.”(Herwig) There were so many women that had jobs that didn’t pay as well, making them live in poverty because their husbands/fathers were in war or they already died. Some families still experience the same difficulties today, due to the war.
Families feel the effects and after effects of war. The next time you think you have a horrible life, think about what families in war went through and then compare it to what you are going through.Three soldiers are preparing to shoot
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