Bac anglais Myths and Heroes

Oral Unit 2

The notion I am going to deal with is Myths and heroes. To begin with, I would like to give a definition of that notion. So a Myth can be defined as a story that may or may not be true, so it could be an imaginary, or a fictitious story. But also, a myth can be defined as an unproved or false popular belief whereas a hero is a person who is admired for his or her special achievements or abilities. A hero is generally courageous, and has a noble character. I think there 3 types of heroes: first of all, a superhero which is someone imaginary. Then a hero could be a role model like Malala, or nelson Mandela, and finally it could be an icon like a president or a king/queen.

For this notion we will focus on heroism in wartime. We will speak about first world war around Europe and especially the conditions of the soldiers. I have chosen two different documents so the notion can be illustrated. So we may wonder to what extent why can soldiers can be considered as heroes?

The first document I have chosen is an article about Trench Life during First world war. Thanks to this document we learn all the details of the soldier's life during their time there. The second one is an online article, written by Robin De Peyer in 2014, so 100 years after the beginning of the Great War. This article describes a remembrance ceremony in London.

The author of the first document seems to be pretty realistic on his description. We learn that the soldiers had awful conditions of life there. They were living in a 1,8 meters wide hole for weeks. This hole was filled with water because of the rain sometimes. This water made them develop gangrene which is serious illness, plus there were some kind of insect in there. They also couldn't eat as much as they wanted, even if they were doing incredible efforts everyday, both physical and mental efforts. They couldn't wash there body, so there was a disturbing scent in there. So to make the link between this document and the notion, we can say that, to honor, protect, and defend their country, these soldiers sacrificed their youth and sometimes their life. Even if they didn't die during the Great War, the simple fact to have stayed in these trenches, to have survived in these Trenches, seeing death, illness everyday makes them heroes.

The second document is, as a said previously, the description of a remembrance day ceremony in London. It underlines the fact that millions of people from all over England cross the country to assist to this ceremony, to honor all of the young men and women that died for them less than 100 years ago. Thats is also why soldiers but not only soldiers but every person who participated in war, even if not directly, are heroes; because they sacrifice are recognized by millions and millions of people around Britain, but in general all around the world.

To conclude, I think soldiers are considered as heroes thanks to their devotion. Indeed, they gave their life to save their country, or at least to try saving it. They sacrifice needs to be remembered, thanks to all of these ceremonies that ring together millions of people.

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