A Hero: The Definition Of A Hero

As the years have advanced from classical to modern times, the definition of a hero has changed. However, some parts of the classical hero still applies to the modern definition. In today’s day in age, we may think of a hero as a daring prince who slays the dragon to save the princess. We think of a character who goes on a journey to slay some sort of creature then gets a prize in return. Those are examples of a classical hero. Glancing back on the incident of 9/11, we can think of the brave men and women that put other people’s lives before their own to save others. The prince may be an example of a classical hero, where the 9/11 volunteers are an example of a modern hero. There is no doubt that the definition of a hero has changed from classical times to modern times. What exactly is the definition of a modern hero? The modern hero is an ordinary person who has the instinct to get up and do something in an emergency. This person may be a regular man and woman or may be a firefighter. For example, the shooting at Edward L.Pine Middle School in Reno, Nevada. Jencie Fagan, who was physical education teacher, put her body between the shooter and other children to save the lives of the children in the school. In the book “Choosing Courage” the author, Peter Collier, writes about Jencie’s actions during the time, “Jencie walked up to him and began talking to him in a soft voice...”(Collier 208) she had no previous knowledge that any of this was going to happen. She