Notion de Mythes et Héros en anglais

I am going to talk about the notion myths and heroes. First of all I would like to give a definition of this notion: a myth is a popular story. It is generaly a narative which evokes the human condition in a general way. That is why a myth is universal. Heroes are idolized for their extraordinary achievements. They are admired for their courage, pertinent acts or noble qualities. They can be defined in the past but of course in the present. In order to illustrate this notion, I have chosen to talk about a famous American myth, the American dream and about a few American heroes.

The American dream is a myth that basically means that anyone who works really hard can succeed, become rich and have a great life, no matter where they come from. We can mention the statue of Liberty, situated at the entry of the port of New York, is a symbole of the American dream. It symbolises freedom and hard work. All the immigrants that came to New York by boat have dreamt about it and it is the first thing they see. Many succeeded but nevertheless others did not realized their American dream and are disapoited. Moreover we can add the notion of self-made man and specifically the idea of do it yourself. A myth can also be a person, like for instance Mickael Jakson with his famous moonwalk.

To demonstrate this notion, we can talk about Steve Jobs who has never been graduated but who is one of the founders of Apple. Futhermore we can speak about Martin Luther King and his famous speech «I have a dream» in 1963, in Washington. He became a hero in the sixties, as the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement. King fought all his life for equality among races, and his tragic death in 1968 turned him into a legend. Fifty years after his death, he is still seen as one of the most prominent hero of the 20th century. The two men are considered as heroes besause they both embodies determination. Even if he had no diploma, Steve Jobs suceeds in life and Martin Luther King contributed to a change in rights for black people in the USA, we changed minds.

However, they are not the only ones. We can think of Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon but also of fictional characters like Captain America or Superman.

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