As Christopher Reeve once said, “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles” (Reeve). Similarly, a hero is anyone who doesn’t give up no matter how much the odds are against them. A hero is someone who does not back down despite how hard the challenges are. A person who would go the extra mile to help someone out is a true role model. Someone who takes shortcuts, or someone who runs away from difficult tasks, does not show traits of heroism. Although it would be easier to give up, a hero is someone who perseveres, is courageous, and is determined through tough times. During the 1800’s when slavery was alive and well, Frederick Douglass escaped slavery and traveled to New…show more content… For example, Army PFC. Tristan Eugene Segers had everything below his left knee blown off in an explosion of a homemade bomb. But he is not ashamed of his prosthetic leg. In an article written about Segers, it states, “Segers wears shorts in the warm summer weather, not even pretending to hide his prosthetic leg. He has run a marathon. A specially designed gas pedal is on the left side of his slate-gray Toyota Tacoma truck. Nothing is stopping him”(Stevens). Segers is extremely determined. He is not letting his disability stop him at all. In the poem, “A Man”, the subject went through a similar challenge as Tristan Segers. The subject lost an arm while fighting for his country. He felt defeated at first at all the things he wouldn't be able to do, or do as well as he did before. He has a sudden realization. To illustrate, in the poem it states, “From that moment on, he set himself to do everything with twice as much enthusiasm./And where the arm had been torn away/ a wing grew”(Cassian). Similar to Segers, the subject in “A Man” has an epiphany. He doesn’t have to feel sorry for himself and all the things that he can’t do now that he has a disability. They stay determined through the difficult everyday tasks that they wouldn't be able to do. A hero is someone who recognizes a problem and all the things that might be difficult for them, but they don’t give…show more content… Nelson Mandela was an active member of the anti-apartheid movement. He was peaceful and non-violent in his campaign against the racism in the South African government. He was sentenced to life in prison for political offences. He went through a lot but his determination kept him focused on his goal to end apartheid. Because Nelson Mandela possessed the trait of courageousness, he never gave up on his aim to end racism in South Africa. He was passionate, and that allowed him to have the drive to achieve his end goal of ending the inequality. If he wasn’t as courageous as he was, as soon as challenges came his way, he would give up hope. Additionally, in Nelson Mandela’s autobiography he states, “I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” (Long Walk to Freedom). In the quote, Nelson Mandela explains that by having courage means that you are not bound by your challenges, and that you are successful after you face difficulty. Besides the fact of success, a true courageous person is someone who has fear, but doesn’t let that fear stop them from going after their goals. Nelson Mandela is a courageous hero and because of that, he didn’t allow his challenges to stop him from achieving his