Heroic Acts

A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure
in spite of overwhelming obstacles,(Christopher Reeve). Its easy to identify who heroes
are based on the great courage and determination they have while facing overwhelming
obstacles. Heroes put the needs of themselves before others and have great bravery
while overcoming great obstacles.
In todays time, most heroes that save lives are recognized for this deed and earn
a reward or prize in the situation but most decline, stating that the deed made them the
hero and the prize was just a complementary to their unbribed doing. This attribution or
characteristic that these heros carry is the act of being modest. For instance, Jesus was a
humble man in the bible. Throughout the bible, he does many noble deeds. He
ultimately self sacrifices himself, the intention of it being to save us from our sins,
knowing that theres no reward at the end, he still continues to sacrifice himself for the
benefit of society. Jesus is a great example of self sacrifice for the people and not the
complementary award that comes with the deed. A hero can also be one that guides
someone whos going through a tough time. In many cases, a person who helps a friend
in need in a tough and difficult situation can be considered a hero to that person. They
can also be considered the mentor in that situation. A great example of a person whos
helped someone in a tough situation is Otonashi Yuzuru from the popular anime
Angel
Beats!
.
In the anime, Otonashi helps guide Ayato Naoi, who is in a tough bind with his
past and the death of his twin brother. With Otonashis guidance Naoi is able to fully

understand and accept the death of his brother and his past, having then the ability to
move on. Throughout the rest of the anime, Naoi considers Otonashi as his mentor and
counselor.
Many heroes are well known for persevering while facing an overwhelming
obstacle and having great courage along with that perseverance. They can range from
using their gained power for good to saving lives of sorts. An example of this type of
hero is Malala Yousafzai
.
Yousafzai was emotionally and mentally abused online and in
life for standing up for her basic rights to an education and many other crisis, leading
her to then be the target of a planned assassination. She was struck in the head with one
single bullet, leading it to end up in her shoulder. Luckily she survived the assassination,
allowing her to escape and arrive into the hands of freedom, even while having slim
chances of survival. In the end of her epic journey, Malala fully recovered from the bullet
and began to fight for basic female and human rights, like receiving an education,
among many other things. Yousafzai
is a great example of a hero who

uses their given

power for good in society. Heroes are courageous and persevere during overwhelming
obstacles and are categorized differently from normal people for this attribute to their
personality. Many of these heroes are well known throughout history, from ancient
times to modern times. An example of a hero known in todays time for these specific
personality traits is
Christian Gunter. Gunter is known for saving veterans in a
storm-specifically a tornado. Gunter risked his very own life to save the lives of 10
disabled veterans. Throughout this noble act of heroism, Gunter was able to escape the
storm with the ex-soldiers and arrive to safety at a nearby church. Many people would

flee at the idea of saving someone or something valuable in a tornado or severe storm,
but not Gunter. Gunter was able to act
competent in the situation that he was put in,
making him a great example of heroes that have great courage and perseverance while
facing an overwhelming obstacle.
Heroes can range from male to female. They can also range from kindhearted to
malevolent
.
Heroes that are evil or despicable in their actions or doings are labeled anti
heroes or in some cases the antagonist. These type of heroes lack courage, idealism, and
morality. These specific attributions allow people to easily recognize a hero from an
antihero. A great example of a antagonist is Gollum from the LOTR series aka Lord Of
The Rings series. In the book series, Gollum is portrayed as a swamp-like creature who
is filled with great greed to own and utilize the ring for his own desires and fantasies.
This path road that Gollum has chosen leads him to do evil and despicable acts
throughout the series, leading to his own miserable death. Gollum is a great example of
what an antihero is, which is one who either lacks idealism, morality, or courage in
certain situations.
Heroism ranges from many things like finding the strength to persevere and
endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles or doing heroic deeds for the good of the soul
and not for the status, fame, or money but in the end of it all, its how I perceive and
conduct heroism that gives me my definition of it.

Unit1EmbeddedAssessment2Rubric

Scoring
Exemplary
Criteria Theessay...
Ideas

/40
pts

Structur
e

/40
pts

Proficient
Theessay...

Emerging
Theessay...

Incomplete
Theessay...

...developsallthree
strategiesofdefinition
effectivelytodefineahero.
(15pts)

...maintainsapreciseand
originalthesis.(15pts)

...integratesrelevant
supportingdetailand
evidence(quotesand
paraphrases)withcitations
andcommentary.(10pts)

...usesstrategiesof
definition(function,
example,negation)to
defineahero.(13pts)

...maintainsaclear
thesis.(13pts)

...includesadequate
supportingdetailand
evidence(quotesand
paraphrases)with
citationsand
commentary.(8pts)

...usesatleastone
strategyofdefinitionto
defineahero.(10pts)

...hasanunclearor
unfocusedthesis.
(10pts)

...includesinadequate
supportingdetailand
evidencemayhave
inconsistentcitations
and/orweak
commentary.(5pts)

...doesnotdefinea
herousing
strategiesof
definition.(7pts)

...introducesthemainidea
withanengaginghook,
bridge,andthesis.(10pts)

...organizesideasinto
focusedsupportthat
strengthensthethesis.
(10pts)

...createscoherencewith
thepurposefuluseofa
varietyoftransitionsand
topicsentences.(10pts)

...providesaninsightful
conclusion.(10pts)

...introducesthetopic
witharelevanthook,
bridge,andthesis.
(8pts)

...organizesideasinto
supportparagraphs
thatprogresslogically.
(8pts)

...createscoherence
withtheuseof
transitionsandtopic
sentences.(8pts)

...providesa
conclusionthatfollows
fromtheideas
presented.(8pts)

includesan
ineffectiveorpartial
introduction.(5pts)

....hasunrelated,
undeveloped,or
formulaicsupport
paragraphs.(5pts)

usestransitionsand
topicsentences
ineffectivelyor
inconsistently.(5pts)

providesaweak,
illogical,orrepetitive
conclusion.(5pts)

...lacksan
introduction.(2pts)

...hasnodiscernible
thesis.(7pts)
...lackssupporting
detail,citations,
and/orcommentary.
(2pts)

...hasminimal,
absent,orflawed
supportparagraphs.
(2pts)
...usesfeworno
transitionsandtopic
sentences.(2pts)
...lacksa
conclusion.(2pts)

Useof
Langua
ge

/20
pts

...usesconsistentdiction
andstyleappropriatefor
anacademicaudience.
(10pts)

...demonstratescommand
oftheconventionsof
standardEnglish
capitalization,punctuation,
spelling,grammar,and
usage(includingcomplex
sentences).(10pts)

Total:/100pts

AdditionalComments:

...usesdictionand
stylethatisgenerally
appropriateforan
academicaudience.
(8pts)

...demonstrates
adequatecommandof
theconventionsof
standardEnglish
capitalization,
punctuation,spelling,
grammar,andusage
(includingcomplex
sentences).(8pts)

...usesdictionora
stylethatisbasicor
inappropriatetoan
academicaudience.
(5pts)

...demonstratespartial
orinconsistent
commandofthe
conventionsof
standardEnglish
capitalization,
punctuation,spelling,
grammar,andusage.
(5pts)

...usesflawed
diction.(2pts)
...lackscommandof
theconventionsof
standardEnglish
capitalization,
punctuation,
spelling,grammar,
andusagefrequent
errorsobscure
meaning.(2pts)