Myths and heroes

Myth and heroes:

The notion Myths and Heroes deals with the idea of how myths and heroes are related. A myth refers to a story about the legends of history or mythology told despite the fact that they may not be true. Actually, most of the time, they're not proven and they're about a nation and its creation and heroes. A hero is a person who's admired and respected for his bravery and is usually taken as a role model. There are different kinds of heroes: national one, fictional heroes or war heroes. Here, the point is to determine wheter or not the myth about soldiers can always been verified and if they always act as heroes.

That is why we may to wonder to what extent can soldiers be considered heroes.

We shall see at first that the soldiers through their acts of bravery can be considered as heroes. Then we shall analyse secondly that the soldiers can be also considered as antihero by their acts.

First and foremost, heroes aren’t all fictional; real persons embed them as well. Persons who are closer to us, to which anyone can identify. Soldiers are the first example, which come to my mind. They might be heroes if they realised a good and generous action, defend the others, powerless, just with their capacity and their heart. From my point of view the soldiers of the WWI are heroes because their living conditions in the trenches was dreadful. For example, New Zealand soldiers, known as the Diggers are portrayed as heroes were compelled to face corpses, itches caused by lices, dirtiness, but also diseases like trench foot which could lead to amputation, new deadly weapons such as poisoned gas or machine guns indeed. Furthermore they used to feed themselves with corned beef, stew dry biscuits topped with jam.

Besides several soldiers’ heroic stories were adapted to the cinema. It strengthens the positive image of these soldiers. It’s the case of the priest Francis Sampson. Actually during the landing during the Second World War, he looked after the wounded persons German and allies before being taken prisoner then saving just from the execution by a German officer. This story inspired the movie Saving Private Ryan.

However, sometimes the soldiers embody more antiheroes than heroes. For instance, US Marines urinating on Afghan corpses in Afghanistan during the war which took place in the late 00’s and the early 10’s. The video damaged the image of the US Marines regarding of the fact that the USA and its soldiers embody freedom. That’s why this action isn’t consistent with the values they claim to respect.

Furthermore in Iraq, in 2004, Us soldiers went to a jail and took demeaning pictures of the convicts.

Eventually Vietnam Veteran s can’t be considered heroes given they were baby killers, murderers, drug addicts, and rapists. What’s mot, they didn’t win that war unlike the WW2 soldiers.  Heroes aren’t meant to cry, to drink, to divorce, to complain. Besides going back from war veterans can’t put up with the noise of the helicopters, the smell of the diesel fuel stay in their heads. They can’t stand driving on highway and over bridges. They are still fearful indeed. In addition they are still having the nightmares. Veterans are always on the watch out on the street. In their opinion, waging the war in Vietnam was tough, unfair. Hey are said to pay the highest price injuries, suffering, buddies killed, shock, no job and no money.

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