Heroism Case

Due to the complicated nature of heroism, it difficult to determine what classifies a true hero. Each individual hero has their own strains, needs and code of behaviour. A hero is someone who helps others and sacrifices their own well being for others, they can fail, be lost or not enjoy the process but it does not exclude them from being a hero whether they realise it or not. They establish their heroic attributes in various ways. It is adequate to say heroes are within everyone and can be discovered in different circumstances for different people, however, many individuals find their inner hero through exploitation from others, fighting their enemies and their personal struggles. Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and Wilfred Owen's poem Dulce et Decorum est. are two texts in which explores heroism and the conditions that makes an individual a hero.

Empathic manipulation from people of higher power can control an individual's emotions and use individuals for the intent that it will be for the greater good of humanity and thus resulting in creating heroes. When individuals are convinced they are of considerable purposes for operations that attempt to save humanity, they find a need to be involved in such operations. This can be seen in Ender's Game, as the authority says, "It had to be a trick or you couldn't have done it." (ch.14) Demonstrating how the authorities had to manipulate Ender into having special set of skills in order to defend the human race. Card effectively uses foreshadowing throughout the novel. The point is to hint how much Ender's life is manipulated. However, Ender understands that he has been manipulated as he states, "I've spent my life as someone's pawn" (ch15) and he also understands the necessity of it. In Dulce et Decorum est. Owen uses serious irony in his title, it is a reference to Roman philosopher Horace's odes and directly translates to 'sweet and proper' implying that the poem is delicate and amiable where in actual fact it is a condemnation of war and ''the old lie: dulce et decorum est pro patria mori (sweet and proper it is to die for your country)'' (line 27) that was told to soldiers since they were kids. It is certainly not sweet to be "bent double" (line 1), "knock-kneed" (line 2) and "blood-shod" (line 6). The reality of WWI contrasts harshly with the idealistic views that young people held because of the manipulation. People of higher power can justify their manipulation by hinting it can provide positive outcomes and creates war heroes.

There is an undeniable consequence of warfare that is present in the making of heroes. In Owen's poem, the negativity of war can be shown through the sombre tone of the whole poem. Negative connotation like "sludge", " guttering, choking, downing." (line 16) gives the audience a feeling of distress. The parallel conjunction of the lines "All went lame; all blind;" (line 6) emphasises the hardships soldiers faced, the mental happiness they sacrificed and the physical pain they endured but could not escape from. It reveals the sorrowful effect of war and the speaker no longer sees participating in war as glory. In Ender's Game there is a motif of 'game'. Ender says, "I have to win this now, and for all time, or I'll fight it every day and it will get worse and worse" (ch.1) and although this is early in the story where Ender sends