The Hero of A&P

What is a Hero?

“A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

When someone thinks of a hero they usually think of comic books or action figures. A person can picture Superman or Spiderman rushing in to save the day when they think of the word “hero”. These characters display all kinds of heroic traits like bravery, strength, fearlessness, compassion. These characters are the epitome of what a hero should be, but the problem is these heroes are fictional. The ironic thing is that these traits of fictional characters come from human emotions. These “Heroes” are based off heroes that are part of our everyday lives. There are millions of heroes created everyday from the teacher that helps a child read to a fireman that goes into a burning building.

The superhero aspect of heroism is just what the name implies, they are superhuman. They have superpowers and they are expected to be a hero. The public counts on them to save the day at a moment’s notice. These fictional characters are created by people to try and generalize what a hero should be. Many try to generalize them as some person with amazing powers and the ability to defy physics. These powers make them do amazing things like saving the world from certain destruction. The authors may try to stereotype heroes into a certain mold, but the real heroes break the mold every day.

In the real world a person does not need superpowers to be a hero. Heroes come from ordinary people that have the courage to do extraordinary things. These extraordinary things can be a variety of things, but they all serve their purpose. Everyday heroes are not trying to become heroes, they are just doing their jobs. An example of this is the heroism portrayed by firefighters and police officers during the 9/11 attacks. They were just doing their jobs under extraordinary circumstances. They did not ask to become heroes on that day, it just happened. They were not looking for recognition or gratitude but only to save the lives of people trapped inside the buildings. Everyday heroes are not born heroes, they become them.

The question that is asked is whether or not Sammy was a hero in the story. At the beginning of the story Sammy is just an ordinary employ working his ordinary job when three girls walk into the store. Sammy, like the other male employees watch the girls as they walk around the isles. Sammy suddenly quits his job because his manager embarrassed three girls for coming into the grocery in swim suits. I think Sammy was a hero because he did what he thought was right. He could not stand to work for someone that could break down a person for something so simple. Sammy looked for some type of gratitude at the end, but he is only human. He did not come into the store looking to be a hero that day and quit his job. Sammy was under extraordinary circumstances and became a hero.