PASS ESSAY:
I agree quite strongly with Hemingway that age brings increasing difficulty in finding heroes, but that one still needs them. As skepticism increases, the number of people one can admire or hope to emulate decreases. An older person, having more experience and having acquired, one hopes, a more objective and realistic assessment of other people, tends to see more flaws than a younger person might. On the other hand, the older person is likely to recognize and value certain qualities such as careful reasoning, empathy, and kindness that a younger person might overlook or consider irrelevant. (Yet another problem is that a person's heroes tend to be older than herself and the number of possibilities dwindles, but that has to be accepted!)
Thus, I believe that men and women of all ages need heroes. As a woman, though I find that heroes-heroines, actually--are especially important because the role of a woman is constantly being redefined. Women today are frequently expected to not just to "have it all" but to do it all: maintain successful careers; develop and nurture the kind of relationships with others that they often value so higly; and, in many cases, contribute their financial and emotional resources to the raising of a family as well. Idolizing other women can be therapeutic, eye-opening and inspirational. One can see what remarkable women have done, how they've done i and what they have to say about it all.
For example, I have always admired Maya Angelou's ability to integrate her personal and her professional life. And Tomi Morrison, in works such as The Bluest Eye and Beloved, creates intelligent, honest fictional characters and provides a vast outpouring of thought-provoking and challenging ideas. The fact that both of these women are both female and black makes them the more admirable to me.
The older I get, the more important these "Hero' womean" become for me. Such people help one to keep on trying, both by exhortation and example. I like to think I can at least try to follow their lead; they are, indeed, "sort of necessary."
MARGINAL PASS ESSAY
I agree with Ernest Hemingway that having heroes is necessary. For the young heroes can show direction and provide examples for how life can be and the opportunities that are available for those who try. For the older person heroes can provide different options.
As one gets older illusions in life are replaced with hard realities. For example how can one cope with illness, the loss of close friends, and the many other problems that occur. Heroes for these people can give hope and courage.
A heroe does not have to be a famous personality like Sister Teresa, Michael Jordan or Madonna; a hero can be a coworker, a friend who has made the best of a sticky situation, or anyone who has survived an ordeal and can demonstrate the opportunities that can come out of crisis.
Beside support heroes can provide examples of options that are available. Often when there are trying times a person could think what would my hero do in this situation. How would they solve this problem. This can enable a person to make a tragedy into a victory by opening new options.
Heroes are very important whether you're young or old because they can give hope, inspiration and support in trying times and enable you to go on through life and turn your tragedies into triumphs.
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