Heroes today differ a lot from heroes of legend. In myths and stories heroes follow a formula where the same steps of a journey almost always happen. Now , in the modern world the only consistencies with the formula are the call to adventure, the first threshold, and the ordeal itself. "Eddie Hamilton didn't hesitate when he found out a nearby neighbor's house was on fire and three children were trapped inside." In Georgia a man saves three kids from a fire ; He is a hero but the steps that he took are not as clearly defined, or documented as that of tall tales. When Hamilton saw that fire he knew what had to be done, this was his call to adventure.
The crossing of the threshold and the ordeal are key to being a hero. Crossing the threshold involves making the choice of doing the heroic act and the heroic act of itself is the ordeal. Hamilton talks about going from looking onto a fire to a heroic act, "They were at the window screaming when I knocked it out. I just told them to back up. I knocked it out and got them out." The quote depicts the exact moment when Hamilton crossed the threshold of being a normal person to being the hero that saves lives. Every hero crosses the threshold of leaving personal duties behind to do something for a cause greater than oneself. Hamilton goes on to describe details of the ordeal itself "I jumped in the window and crawled across the floor until I found him and drug him to the window." The quote shows the ordeal of the burning house and the act of saving kids from said house. The ordeal is what the journey leads up to, the purpose of the hero.
A hero is plainly someone who does something for the good of something bigger than oneself. The steps leading of a hero can differ despite there being a near foolproof "Heroes Journey" for legends involving heroes. Most all heroes will have to have a calling to the adventure or cause, make the decision to heed the call(crossing the threshold), and have the ordeal or confrontation of making an impact helping the cause. Heroes are timeless, people who dedicate themselves to helping something bigger than themselves will always be heroes.
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