The Exemplary Heroes in Thanks Ma'am and The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

To start off, one of many traits heros have is being selfless. An example of a selfless hero is Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones. In 'Thanks Ma'am' Mrs.Jones states 'Now, here, take this ten dollars and buy yourself some blue suede shoes. And next time do not make the mistake of latching onto my pocket book nor nobody else's...' (Hughes 3) Mrs. Jones is selfless because she did not have to give the boy anything especially after he tried to steal her pocket book. This is an amazing act of selflessness that not many people would have done. Mrs. Jones is a great example of a hero. A different example of a selfless hero is Thomas from 'Maze Runner' by Dashner Thomas argues 'I didn't do anything wrong. All I know is I saw two people struggling to get inside these walls and they couldn't make it.To ignore that because of some stupid rule seemed selfish, cowardly, and well... stupid' (Dasher 166) Thomas saved two people from dying in the dangerous maze. Thomas was not thinking about what could happen to him but what could happen to others. He knows they could die so he heroically runs in the maze. This is a very selfless act. Therefore, heroes should be and are selfless.

Secondly, a different trait to be a hero is braveness A great example of a brave hero is Joby from 'The Drummer Boy of Shiloh'. Joby ran away from home to be in the Army, he was a drummer boy with no weapon about to go to war. He is very brave to go through with going to war with no weapon. 'Then, at last, very slowly and firmly, he turned the drum so that it faced towards the sun.' (Bradbury 21) Joby was paincing about going into to war since he knew there was a great chance of him getting hurt. Yet, he picks his drum and gets ready to do it so he can help out the Army and more importantly to save the country. Another hero full of braveness is Lake Stevens from 'Soldier Comes Home Without A Leg' A real life hero, that is a veteran. 'The rehabilitation was rigorous and I pushed it, building back my muscles and learning to use the prosthetic leg.' (Fiege 16) He is very tough for not giving up when lost his leg. A lot of people would have given up but he kept fighting to make his prosthetic leg not define who he is. Joby and Lake Stevens are very two different people yet, they have something in common their braveness and never giving up. AS a result, heros need to be brave and tough.

Lastly, the most important trait of a hero is to be kind hearted. In 'How To Be A Gentleman' it talks about how to be an overall good person. 'As gentlemen and women, we strive to make others feel, taken care of.' ( Price 1) To be a hero you just have to be kind to others and help them want to achieve their goals. Not only do you need to comfort them, you need them to feel safe which is a key point in “How To Be A Gentlemen”. In 'Thanks Ma'am' Mrs. Jones almost got her pocket book stolen by a young boy struggling with money. 'She heated some lima beans and ham she had in the icebox, made the cocoa and set the table.' (Hughes 3) Mrs. Jones let the boy who tried to steal from her in her house but, also made him food to eat. She made him feel comfortable and made a huge impact on his life. Particularly, all heroes need to be kindhearted.