Hero Essay, Research Paper

1/22/01

English Hahn

Hero

Hero, person admired for bravery, great deeds, or noble qualities. -Thorndike Barnhart Dictionary. These are just three qualities and characteristics of a hero of the many. James Fenimore Cooper s hero is from the wilderness and a hero from the past. It is insinuated in his stories Cooper s hero will be a hero no matter what. The character is forced into being a hero because of his environment and events that were occurring around him. If Cooper s hero had been born into a life of wealth and luxury, would he have made the same choice to become a hunter and kill all the Indians? In modern times like today, Cooper s vision of a hero from wilderness is no longer valid.

A hero must choose to be a hero. A man or woman who has grew up like any other person but chooses to be a hero. They are not born into the wilderness but born into society where they have a choice of what they will become. Everyone grows up with one thing in common which is choice. A hero will not choose a career for money but a career to help and protect. For example a police officer and a fireman, these people risk their lives everyday to save others in distress. They have a choice of quitting and getting another job that pays more money, yet they do not. Instead they want to help and protect others at their own will. A true hero is one that dedicates his life to being a hero.

A hero does not have to be one with nature. Times like today a man can live his whole life in the urban cities and never see a real forest or wilderness. Cooper s hero is described as who has lived with nature and in the wilderness.

A hero does not have to kill.