In class, we read an article where people reflected on the death of Nelson Mandela. There were student responses at the bottom of the page, and our assignment is to respond to those comments as if we could actually respond to them.
Adam Nossiter talks about three young men who stop an attack on a train headed to Paris. They stop a man with an AK-47 and bolt cutters. They tackled him to the ground when his gun jammed and beat him up until he stopped trying to fight back. What the men did was really brave and heroic and took a lot of guts to put themselves in harm’s way like that. It takes a lot of courage to do something like what the men did. They thought of the others on the train safety over their own, and that to me is a really amazing thing to do. A hero to me is someone who helps people because they want to not because they have too. Someone who would be a hero to me is my grandfather. He has always been around when I needed him and can always give me advice. Another hero to me would be my older sister. She has done so much for me over the years and is still doing a lot for me now. She has always been there for me whenever I need advice about anything or if I just need someone to talk to from time to time. I can always count on my heroes, and I think that that is one of the big things about them. Whenever my any of my family need them they are there and can help. I hope that my heroes can help me with and be here for me for years to come.
Response: I agree with you when you say that a hero is someone who helps people because they want to, not because they have to. This is a really great quality for someone to have even if they don’t realise they have it. I think a hero is definitely someone you should be able to count on if you are in a time of need. Heroes can be someone close to you like a grandfather or sister, or they can be just a random guy on the street who thought he should help out.
Adam Nossiter, the author of “Americans Resist Hero Label After Foiling Train Attack,” reports in his article three American men who stopped a terrorist attack on a train in Paris. In my eyes, a hero is a person with the courage or bravery to put his or her life in danger to save or help another person. The qualities I look for in a hero is someone who goes out of their way to help someone in need. I personally do not think that heroism requires physical strength because most heroes have to be mentally strong to accomplish their heroic deeds. Nothing extraordinary has to happen for someone to be a hero. There are people that help other people in everyday life that I would consider to be a hero. There has been times where I felt like I could have been labelled as a hero. For example a couple of nights ago I was driving home from Roanoke, and I saw this elderly man on the side of the interstate. I saw his car was in bad condition as if he had wrecked. Nobody stopped to see if he was alright, so I pulled off and checked it out. He said a deer had jumped in front of his car and he hit the guardrail. He had no phone and had been there for about twenty minutes. I was the first person to stop. I called 911, and they sent people to assist the man. I’m sure the three men on the train felt the same way, and that’s why they didn’t take credit for the heroic act that they performed.
Response: I too think that a quality of a hero is someone with the courage or bravery to put their life in danger to save or help another person. A hero should be someone who goes out of their way to help someone in need just because they want to, not to benefit themselves. You don’t need to be extraordinarily strong or smart to be a hero, anything can make someone a hero. What you did with stopping to help the man on the side of the road, I would consider an act of heroism because you didn’t have to stop and help him. You went out of your way to help someone you thought was in need and that is a quality of being a hero.