Comparing Heroism In The Works Of Abraham Lincoln And Frederick Douglass

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“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” (Emerson quotationof.com). Not all heroes have super powers or special abilities. They just keep persevering when others give up. Heroism is the act of sacrificing yourself for others and doing good deeds without recognition.

Heroes do things to benefit others, even if they have to work for it or sacrifice themselves. Both Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass struggled to gain freedom for others. In the poem about Frederick Douglass, the author says, “This man, this Douglass, this former slave.” (Hayden 70). Moreover, the author is explaining how Douglass fights for slaves’ freedom because
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A hero isn’t someone who completes tasks for their own benefit. “But we come here tonight to be saved from that patience that makes us patient with anything less than freedom and justice." (King biography.com). Martin Luther King Jr. said this in his first speech while leading a boycott against democracy. The words “we” show that even if he was gaining something from the boycott, Martin Luther King Jr.’s main motive was to help others. Equally important, Oliver Stone reveals his definition of heroism when he wrote, “Most of what they (heroes) do goes unheralded, unappreciated.” (Stone 63-64). Heroes do things out of the kindness of their hearts, not expecting anything in return. Likewise, a hero isn’t defined by a person who has powers. Superman and The Hulk have super strength, Iron Man’s suit gives him electrical abilities, and Batman can fly. Indeed, these characters do help others and sacrifice themselves, but the real heroes are the people who make a difference using what they have. Powers might make a person have special abilities, but it is what the person chooses to do with their powers that separates the heroes from the villains. They might not have fancy suits or do things beneficial to themselves, but real heroes make a difference in the