HEROISM

Heroism

The First World War broke out in 1914, dawning a terrible episode in human history. It was the first total war: it involved both soldiers and civilians. Such a dramatic event has necessarily contributed to create heroes. Therefore we can question ourselves which aspects of heroism we can deduce of the documents we studied. First, we will present the moral qualities of the hero and his acts, his identity, and finally the importance of the memory.

A hero is someone ready to sacrifice his interests for his ideals. He presents a great fortitude that sometimes allows him to put his life in danger. During World War One, for example, a lot of women have been involved. Many of them had enough bravery to leave their safety to become nurses. Mary Borden is one of them. She was a daughter of a wealthy silver prospector, and she took care of a lot of soldiers during the Battle of the Somme, writing her testimony in her poems “Sonnets to a Soldier”.  She was memorable for her tenacity, especially because she picked up her work as a nurse at the beginning of the Second World War. However, people also become heroes by virtue of facing danger.

Indeed, as people consider World War One, the first word we think about is “soldiers”. They were likely the ones who lived the most terrible experiences, and saw the most atrocious acts.  For most people, soldiers became heroes by their actions: actually, in Britain, the army was considered as heroic only when soldiers go to the front – that’s explained in “Kipling and the war”, a radio program. That’s how they became emblems, like in “Gassed” (by John Sargent) or “Atonement” (by Ian McEwan). The scenes depicted by the painter and the writer evoke desolation and death. That was what the soldiers went through every day in order to perform their duty and save their country.

From the ideas we have just presented, about strength and bravery, we can deduce a third one: anyone can be a hero. Nowadays, the ones we call heroes were born with the same status as anyone. It is something we can see with the propaganda posters, such as “Your country needs YOU” or “Women of Britain say: GO”. Despite the fact that they use moral blackmail, it is obvious that they target anyone. The idea they convey is clear: the passerby who read the poster can become a hero like anyone. Since a lot of people have decided to enlist, so many anonymous soldiers are commemorate currently.

Finally, the question of the memory, as well, is fundamental. It is something we can notice in view of the commemoration of August 5, 2014, which was transcribed on standard.co.uk by Robin de Peyer. All over Europe, lights were switched off to celebrate their bravery. These people made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and we must not forget about it. Thanks to them our occidental societies are what they are today. Their acts are a part of our national identities.

As a conclusion, a hero is characterized by his fortitude, his acts, but also by the fact that he is universal. Today, we can’t any longer define a hero as we did in the Antiquity. There is no need to be a demigod. Everyone can become a hero. But we can’t omit that a hero doesn’t exist if we don’t remember him. For example, if his legend was forgotten, Ulysses would not really exist.

...