Humans have been fascinated by the tales of bravery, heroism fortitude

from ancient time. It is something which makes us admire the idiotic , urges us to stand up and
take notice of something which looks crazy with the very first look but on further inspection
throws up a story of courage and will power. The word hero comes from the Greek (heroes),
“hero”(literally “protector” or “defender”), particularly one such as Heracles with divine ancestry
or later given divine honors. ROMAINE ROLLAND said:
“A hero is a man who does what he can”
According to the Greek Mythology A “Hero” is a Demigod. Contribution of god and human
power. We have been captivated by hero but the definition of hero has been definitely changed
over the time . Heroes were the first human beings in literature. These are the man of will power ,
determination, and undaunted spirits. Ralph Waldo Emerson said:
“The heroic soul does not sell its justice and its nobleness.”
When we put a glance on history, we came to know that many of the
worriers with their selfless and sincere efforts moulded the fate of his nation. Then we can see the
period of Anglo-Saxons the example of most famous character BEOWULF is there as a hero in
the poem . He is the man of charismatic personality stimulates the energy , courage and zeal of the
people . Beowulf is personified as a perfect hero who fought for his nation and defeated evil with
his dauntless power.
The man whose name was known for courage,
The Great leader, resolute in his helmet,
Answered in return: ‘we are retainers
From Hygelac’s band. Beowulf is my name’
A hero in literature is generally illustrated as a man of action rather than consideration. When we
see further we get another example of the story Grendal by John Gardner . Grendal’s
understanding of humanity’s cruelty widens the definition of heroism in both modern and ancient
culture. Too often society describes heroes as the one who possess remarkable super powers or
those who act as martyrs. Moreover a man named Grendal plays the role of a monster in the story,
he is more important to the realm than any other hero because he comes up with the reality that
death is inexorable. A brave worrier speaks of state and heroism in Grendal:
“Except in the life of a hero, the whole Wolds meaningless”.(89)
Over the time this word brings many different meanings with it.
People of different eras glimpse it uniquely with their different sets of mind. Some of them take
them as their defender they accept them as an idol but most of them believe that it is not necessary
to make someone idol or hero to do good things for society, they must have strong sense of justice
and goodness to act upon the issues of their people .Although history also gives many different
examples on heroism in many of the unsimilar periods of life like in the poem “Wanderer” and
also the Christin’s poem “Dream of the rood” is a very powerful picture of a hero and savior.
Both of them set the standard for the heroes that time. In the poem Christ:
“climbed on the high gallows, bold in the sight of many, when he would free mankind”
These actions distinguish the young hero as proud , strong ,and very brave.
Heroes of the past are not necessarily heroes of present time and vice versa.
But there are some personalities who have made their mark on history like Abraham Lincoln ,
George Washington , Rosa parks, Harriet Tubman and many others they set their levels of
bravery on people till now, also when we see the history of Pakistan so many names are pooping
in our mind that has the magical personalities and they set their everlasting impact for their nations
like our founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah ,NawabZada Liaquat Ali Khan
widely known as Quaid-e-Millat ,and Allama Muhammad Iqbal our national poet and also
from our current period the most highlighted name Abdul Sattar Edhi also known as the
“Richest poor man” and I also want to pop out the role of FIRE AND RESCUE
AUTHORITIES, we can also call the heroes because they risk their own life for saving peoples
not only peoples but also many other creatures. There are many more names who mark their
journey as an idol for their nation. Boorstin said :
“A good man never dies”
Napoleon said:
“Greatness be nothing unless it be lasting”
When we see the contemporary period, we can see that the meaning and
definition of Hero has been changed. It has extensive meaning according to the present period.
There are many people out there who are doing their best for better days, for example Doctors
without borders are definitely heroes. Mahatma Gandhi said:
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
When we analyze the current situation of our society we may notice that doctors play an
important role in controlling the death rates in very dangerous situation of CORONA . They are
always there for us and for controlling any serious situation, they worked day and night for their
people even most of them are also affected by the virus and died during their working hours. We
can also titled them a heroes because at the time of war or at the time of peace there are an
inspirational humanitarians who will be remembered forever. But according to me they are more
than heroes at this stage because they risked their lives for valiant causes and created the moments
of glory that live one longer after they left.
Erich Segal said beautiful words for doctors:
“Deep down I'm still afraid, but at least I can deal with it”.
REFERANCES:
1. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/816383-doctors
2. https://www.allgreatquotes.com/authors/beowulf-courage/
3. http://www.apocalyptic-theories.com/literature/dor/medora1.html
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heroes_of_History#:~:text=Gandhi%2C
%20Akhenaton%2C%20Jewish%20prophets%2C,Sir%20Francis%20Bacon%2C
%20among%20others.
5. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/heroes
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero