As a class we discussed what Aurora Leigh defines heroism as through her descriptive language and her constant example of past epic heroes. Through epic art she personifies Mount Athos as being actually carved into a statue of Alexander the Great, as mythology would tell us an architect of his time proposed. She also brings to light Homer, King Arthur, Agamemnon, other heroes and epic writers to emphasize that we live in a time of the past--that those great men were men as well as heroes, as we today are just men and women as they were then. "All actual heroes are essential men, / And all men possible heroes: every age." We live in a time where hindsight 20/20 is a fact of life, and we cannot obtain truth until we have lived it or learned it from history. She uses the heroes of ancient times and mythologies to show what models stand for us to learn from. But these models do caste shadows on us, for they were men, and we are men, and therefore have the same abilities or opportunities as they.
I believe whole heartedly that heroes exist among us today. Firefighters save people from a burning peril everyday; my father flies high in a helicopter to rescue a crashed victim; the mother that goes to all ends to ensure safety of her child. Heroism is relative. A hero to me is due to my perspective, while a hero to others is subjected to theirs. To think largely, Obama is a major hero of our time, for he obtains the potential to fulfill our hopes and to improve our economy. If he fails, he is a hero for trying, for heroism is not defined by the number of battles Achilles won, but rather his determination to push forth in territories not yet strayed upon. Action and accomplishment does not define heroism as well--poets and writers save me when I loose sight of life; they help me see and learn of the world, the heart, and the intellectual mind. Some of the greatest heroes are the ones who put pen to paper--at least to me they are.
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