Tuesday, 9 November 2010

Heroes: Who? How? What? (rw6)

As with every chapter, Hartmann and Blass open "Heroes in Literature" with an image and some discussion questions to get us thinking about the topic (2007, p. 193). Rather than discuss them in class, we will use them for a response writing activity.
The questions are:

  • Who were your heroes when you were a child? 
  • How have your ideas of heroism changed since then? (Note the noun.)
  • What qualities make someone a hero?
    What makes an act heroic? (And the adjective.) 
Think about these questions for 1 minute, then start writing your response in the comment box below, and continue writing for 10 minutes; do not stop, just write one sentence, then another sentence, then another for the next 10 minutes.
__________
References
Hartmann, P. & Blass, L. (2007). Quest 3 Reading and Writing, (2nd. ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

19 comments:

  1. Batman has was being shown for the first time on TV when I was in primary school, and I guess he was my first hero. Superman didn't excite me so much because he wasn't really human; more importantly, he didn't have all the neat gadgets and technology that Batman had in the Bat Cave, and Batman's antagonists were way more exciting than Superman's rather boring villians. I would get home from school around 4:00 PM, and my brothers and sisters and I would switch on the TV and wait for Batman at 4:30. I'm not sure that I didn't like some of the baddies even more than Batman and Robin - Catwoman, the Joker, Mr. Freeze, the Penguin, and so on. They were all brilliant, wacky and attractive, even in black and white on a small screen, and even if they did indulge in stealing, murder and the other grand crimes to take over Gotham City.

    I realised as I was writing about my earliest heroes that even then it mattered that they actually be human - Superman wasn't human, so he didn't count. I'm pretty sure I did not engage in that sort of reasoning at the time, but the fact that Batman was human and had to overcome the usual human weaknesses might have been an important factor in his appeal for my primary school self. He even had emotional moments, such as an apparent weakness for the alluring Eartha Kit in black leather as Catwoman. In fact, there was rather a lot of black leather and skin tight rubber in Batman. But I don't think that did any more harm than the violence and crime.

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  2. When I was a kid, my hero was Doraemon, the robot from the future with a hand full of wonderful equipments, sent to present days to help make one lazy kid grow up into a good man.
    As a teenager, my heroes were Albus Dumbledore and sirius Black, from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga. All magical and exciting, right?

    My idea of heroism changed as I grew up. Obviously, my heroes are no longer fictional characters. Heroism for me is not about saving the day, but it's all about doing the right thing, regardless of how hard it is or how much it costs you.
    An act would be qualified as heroic when it involves sacrifices for something bigger than oneself.

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  3. When i was a child, my hero was a my father. however, when i grown up the image about the hero in mind mine change. it not because my father change or he does not good to me but i got alot imfromation anf knowlegde wen i go to school so i know more that there are many people have done a great job. For me, the quality make some on a hero is, a person has a good heart, think for other, and satify themselve for another.

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  4. My father was my hero when I was young, and he is still my hero. My ideas of heroism haven't changed since then. Hero is a strong person and always right. Everyone respects him. He helps people and fights against wrong. These make an act heroic.

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  5. When I was a child, the hero in my mind is the superman. He is a incredibly strong and fights against bad guys. Although my hero is just from the movie, it influences my idea about heroes. When I grow up, my thought about hero has totally changed. Everyone can be a hero no matter they are strong or not. Most important things of heroes' qualities are their hearts and what they have done to the world.

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  6. My brother

    My hero was my old brother in my childhood. he is older than me 3years. I thought that he did do everything.He studied well then me and he did exercises well. so when he did something, I wanted do same as him.Even he ate something I followed eating same as him.
    after then I changed my mind. I'm getting old.
    Sometimes I frighted with him.
    Hero in my thinking. I image him who do everything.

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  7. When I was young, my hero is a princess who meet a prince and live happily together in the end from myth.

    On the other hand,when I'm mature, my attitude about heroism have changed. I turn to realistic world and interested in business field. Therefore, my now hero is a business man who can create brand and enhance millions of profits to his company including expanded business into other fields. Then, pay back to society.

    This also are the qualities of being a hero in my mind.

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  8. Who were heroes when you were a child?
    When I Was a child my ficcin heroes were the stars of the tv programs, like a Robbin Hood, Super Man, Spider Man, Bionic Woman and nuclear man. And taht stories always won the good person, but the violence was so different.
    How have your ideas of heroism changed since then?
    In this time the heroism was the pround of the people, and everybody risk their life for the other, but onow the people only take care by theirself.
    What qualities someone a hero?
    Values Human, like sensibility for the necesity of the other people.
    What makes an act heroic?
    When the people

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  9. When I was child, I have seen many cartoon movies. The most of them were made by Japanese and American;however,there is a difference between these heroism style. The Japanese heroes always fight with a devil or bad man in group- they have their hero's group that help each other for fighting while the most of American hero usually fight only one by their own- one man show style.But there are something the same in common every hero fight for right and peaceful which is an idea to decide who is a hero since human live in this world- the idea do not change because the hero should do good deeds.

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  10. Doraemon was a character that I liked when I was young. I used to wish I has him in my house like so I can do many strange things such as i can fly on the sky

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  11. I agree with Tarn. One of the qualities of hero is what he has done for the world.

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  12. My idea of hero is not the same as Peter's. Personally, I don't see why only human can be heroes. I guess I can buy it if we'll call a cat a hero, maybe that cat did something great.
    I heard about a dog in Japan that kept waiting for its dead owner. Now, that is loyalty, if somebody qualifies loyalty as heroism, then that dog is a hero in this aspect.

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  13. Ai and Akira talked about their fathers as heroes, and that reminded me of my own father. As a child, I just thought he was pretty ordinary, but as I grew older, I realised how hard he worked for his family, how much he gave up for us, and how accomplished he was in many different fields. Also, Roong wrote that heroism is "all about doing the right thing", and my father was always a great example of that, even if it cost him. One of my younger brothers was a bit wayward in his youth, and to help and protect him, my father would even put himself in situations that could be physically dangerous, but only as a last resort.

    Who are my heroes now? I think the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn put it well when wrote of people "who tell truths to power", meaning ordinary people who have the courage to do teh right thing and stand up to oppression or evil, especially when it has the political, and also social, power and support.

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  14. I agree with everyone that every hero has a big heart to do the good things that normal guy feel fear to do. There are many reasons which make us don't dare to do something good- sometime we lack big heart. I believe everyone can be the hero if we add big heart to do the things we should do.

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  15. For Roong comment, I completely agree with her in the idea of heroism changed as she grew up and our idea is relatively similar. This is because I think not only doing the right thing but the hero should also help others.

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  16. Roong your hero was Doraemon I liked it too. you said An act would be qualified as heroic when it involves sacrifices for something bigger than oneself. I agree with you.
    Ai now what's your hero?

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  17. Actually, I like Doraemon, too. Peter might argue that a hero should be human, but I don't agree with him. Any living things such as animal can be a hero. For example, a dog that help rescue a child should be considered a hero as well.

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  18. In my opinion almost everyone change our opinion about the heroes, we believe more in the reality taht the fiction heroism.
    Now Now we are interesting in the people did somethin different that the majority, like Mother Teresa, and Dalai Lama, In my opinion their are are real heores.
    Now is more difficult the people belive in heroes, and the people does not do anything fot the other

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  19. My Hero, when I was a child, was a Captain from a subway in a TV series. He looks so serious, responsible and good-loocking, he knows how to take decisions in the more difficult situations, he has good relations with all the team of the subway, included with his all boss, and the more important he always is successful in every situation, no matter how challenge is it. He was a perfect man. Now, I think, I prefer more human heros, with default, like Nelson Mandela. He fought again apartheid, not always in an “honest” way for the society, he had to say lies, to hide things and persons to the police, but at the same time he was really fair, he arrived to create a society with withes and blacks, despite they hate each others! He has the qualities of an hero, he has values, these values are high important to the societies, he can make the people understand them in a easily way and to agree with him and he fights with an extraordinary force to arrive to respect them making sacrifices. The funny thing is my heros are men and I am a women!

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