Essay 9

Humble Heroes:
An Essay on “Quiet” Heroes
An Essay by Alexander Hawley
8th Grade English
Pine Point School
January 5th, 2011

            When most heroes do a good deed, they brag about it for a long while, but their are some heroes, quiet heroes, that are very modest about it. Atticus is a hero and not only does he not brag about what he did, he doesn’t brag at all. My hardworking mother is modest even with all the stress of her multiple duties on her shoulders. You don’t have to be a bragger to be a hero, as there are quiet heroes all around

d you just have to see more than their words.    

          (TS) Atticus, one of my favorite characters in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, is most definitely a quiet hero as he fits the criteria of both quiet and hero. (SD) First of all he is an extremely quiet man. (CM) From his children to even people who don’t like him, everyone says he is quiet. (CM) He also does things silently in the sense that you don’t notice them; he does them very discreetly. For example, during the court case he was, “quietly building up before the jury a picture.” (SD) On his more courageous side, Atticus always attempts to accomplish what he thinks is right. (CM) For example, he never gave up on the court case with Tom Robinson. (CM) This is made even more heroic by the fact that he knew he was going to lose, and after Tom died he still said, “[They] had such a good chance,” which they never actually did. (SD) Most of all, he is a hero because he is a fantastic father for Scout and Jem. (CM) This definitely is the most heroic thing he does because it gives his kids a good start to life. (CM) In addition, since his wife is no longer alive, he has to be very strong to both work and raise the family. (CM) One of the main things that parents have to be is good at explaining things, and Atticus clearly is since Scout says, “it was beyond my ability to explain things as well as Atticus.” (CS) Quiet heroes are quiet, heroic, and sometimes do deeds discreetly, which makes Atticus, a silent but helpful man, a quiet hero.
       (TS) My mom is definitely a quiet hero in my life. (SD) First of all, she works all day long on a job that is very demanding. (CM) She has an amazing job, which she worked very hard to get. (CM) Sometimes, on days when she has lots of other things to do, she has to stay up until very late; it can even be until three or four into the morning. (CM) Her working really helps our family and she never says anything about how hard she works thus making her a humble hero. (SD) Furthermore, she always makes us a delicious dinner, does our laundry, and makes our lunches. (CM) For most mothers this is a full time job, but she does this on top of her full time job, and she does it well. (CM) Our dinners and are amazing and she always does my laundry so I’m never short on clothes. (SD) Since she does all these other things, you would think she would have no time for us, my sister and I, but she does. (CM) She spends time with us at least once a night. (CM) Sometimes she plays a game with us, sometimes she has a fire with us, her favorite activity because she is always cold, and sometimes she just talks to us or helps us with our homework, but she always does something. (CM) By spending time with us, she influences us to be upstanding citizens just like her. (CS) When I was younger I didn’t realize how much of a hero she is because she is so modest about how much she does for the family.

            Sometimes on first sight people might not be heroic to you, but look closely and some people will do many heroic things. For example, Atticus is very heroic even though he would not say so. Also, my mom works hard for the family, comes home works some more, and she doesn’t say anything about how hard she works. Although when you think of heroes you think of someone in a cape showing off their bicep, most of the heroes, and perhaps the most heroic heroes, are all very quiet and discreet about their actions.

1. A problem in writing I am working on is making sure none of my sentences were awkward.
2. I think I did well with using FAST words and alliteration.
3. I might have made a few small errors but I can’t find any.
4. I think I would give myself an A- because I think I did very well with using big words and I really tried to use alliteration.