Whether it be sports, education, career, or even the general concept of survival, every individual wants to succeed at something. To achieve, they surrender some notion of liberty. Sacrifice is more important than achievement because without first sacrificing something, one cannot attain success. There have been many accounts of courageous actions throughout history, representing what they have done to achieve. In each of these stories, the reader learns what they have to give up to gain something. If the hero does not make the effort to create a change, they will not succeed. Heroes embody many traits, some of which include self-sacrifice, conviction, courage, passive, selflessness, determination and loyalty.
Beowulf's tale portrays self-sacrifice. He is a prince who, for complete foreigners, risked his life on many occasions. He sacrifices his life to save the Danes from the loathsome Grendel, a monster that kills the Danish soldiers and eats them. Grendel has been snacking on the Danes for a while now during this stage in moment, and nothing has occurred to alter that. This is a harmful circumstance. If anyone tried to stop the beast, they'd have the chance to be eaten. Beowulf, however, is prepared to risk it. Beowulf assumes the monster and even kills it, protecting the Danes from its twisted claws. The Danes would not have remained if Beowulf had never sacrificed his life to save these people. Sacrifice is the center element leading to achievement. When it comes to warriors and charity, there is also a great impact on self-sacrifice. There is a poem written by Richard Lovelace ‘To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars’. This poem is about a man who leaves his lover, Lucasta, and goes to the battlefield with the enemy. Lucasta considers it as an exercise of selfishness, the narrator states: “I could not love thee, Dear, so much, Loved I not honor more”. His sacrifice, however, could contribute to long-term salvation of her existence. What if the army discovered the route home to Lucasta's home country and killed her? When it comes to sacrifice, there is always that chance of success or failure, but one has to make a sacrifice either way. The idea is the hero attempts to make a change.
How would they go about it if someone wished to create a shift? First, they have something to sacrifice. Whether they risk their life, like Beowulf earlier guided, or give up their lovers, some characteristics must be given up first. If the need for change is strong enough, the individual won't even turn a blind eye to murder. Even though the attempt to change is going down in flames, what counts is the fact that the attempt was made. Having a firm conviction leaves room for the hero to keep up with the task at hand, fight without distraction for what they believe in, and do what they think is right to succeed. Without conviction, there's no luck. In ‘To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars’, the soldiers also portray loyalty: “True, a new mistress now I chase, the first foe in the field”. The soldier leaves his lover and shows loyalty to the ongoing war.
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In ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’, the soldiers show determination: “Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die”. The soldiers never gave up. They kept fighting in the war, no matter what the circumstances. They are charging, fighting, and dying. This allows the reader to admire how courageous these men are. These men have none of the fundamental freedoms we expect in our daily lives. They just have to go when someone says they should go to be slaughtered. Another example of courageous is Gandhi. He challenged the world's largest colonial power. He fought the United Kingdom, not with guns or violence, but with peace, to free India from its shackles. He came from a background of privilege, yet devoted himself to the poor, helpless, and defenseless, to free them from imperial bondage: “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won”. Gandhi proved that even the strongest nations could not win against a united people determined by non-violence to plan and control their destiny. More than a dozen times he was arrested and spent a total of seven years in jail. He's been branded a criminal. Even so, he carried on in the face of beatings, mistreatment, and threats of death. He became one of history's most cited leaders. His words flew into the hearts and minds of billions of people from one generation to another. Gandhi's courageous example of fighting peacefully without fear would set the world on fire, as other apostles of good will fought for liberty and freedom not with the sword, but with the word and with the unity of love.
Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most prominent black leaders our nation has ever known. Advocating non-violence and passive resistance, he took major steps towards creating a nation where all men and women are created equal. In 1953, King developed a great deal of concern for the welfare of all people, branching into a concern for the lack of civil rights for African Americans. In 1955, King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which lasted 385 days and later ended the racial segregation on all Montgomery public buses. King organized and led marches for blacks' right to vote, desegregation in schools, restaurants, movie theaters, and stores, labor rights, and other basic civil rights. Most of these rights were successfully enacted into the law of the United States with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. No matter how many times King was put into jail or beaten, he still remained passive and non-violent and won more and more followers who agreed and identified with his ideas. This is heroism, because he sacrificed his own life for that of others. Not only did he take the beatings for his beliefs, portraying selflessness, but he never acted out violently in return. He also fought for what he believed and sacrificed his own life for his beliefs, staying true to his own morals.
The ability to work well with others and form bonds determines a person's level of loyalty. In the military, the soldier often develops a deep sense of selflessness when a group trains, works, and fights for a common goal. That quality will lead a person to act not for himself, but for the sake of others, to protect, fight and serve the common goal, and to do what is necessary, rather than what can be desired personally. A sense of engagement and cohesion towards one's group becomes even more important than ideology with loyalty. For their comrades, the sense of belonging and acting becomes paramount to whatever they fight for. In this case, the last thing the soldier wants is to let his comrades down. History has had times when this phenomenon has proved to be dangerous. The Nazi movement and violent gangs are examples. However, if for all the right reasons and ideas this degree of loyalty exists, cohesive units can accomplish great things.
A heroic act is a question of perspective. It is certain deeds and qualities that make heroes. Other people who go high and beyond their abilities to achieve an accomplishment are also heroes, though we overlook the negative unintended results of their achievements. Heroism is a matter of perspective and is a label attached to those who possess certain qualities.
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