Question

Read the following quote from "Dry" Part 2.

"That's how you hold the line when you have the fate of millions of lives in your hands. Sometimes being the hero means going down with the ship."

Think about the everyday heroes we don't hear about.

Write a well-structured essay in which you take a clear position on how a hero should be defined in today’s world. In your response, develop your own definition of a hero and support your argument with:

At least one example from literature or history,

At least one contemporary example from credible research, and

Relevant evidence and reasoning that strengthen your claim.

and you have to have two evidences and warrents in the 2 paragraph's

Answer 1

Thesis: In today’s world a hero should be defined not by fame or spectacle but by consistent action that protects or improves others’ lives at real personal cost — whether that cost is danger, reputation, time, or mental health. True heroism is practical and moral: it combines courage, empathy, and a willingness to accept sacrifice for the common good, often without public recognition.

Paragraph 1 — contemporary evidence and warrant
Evidence: During the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline healthcare workers suffered unusually high rates of mental-health problems while continuing to care for patients. A systematic review and meta-analysis by Pappa et al. (Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 2020) reported pooled prevalence rates of anxiety (~23%), depression (~23%), and insomnia (~34%) among health-care workers worldwide during the early months of the pandemic.
Warrant: These measurable psychological costs show that many clinicians were repeatedly placing others’ needs above their own wellbeing under prolonged stress and risk. If we define heroism as action taken to protect others despite substantial personal cost, then the documented, sustained sacrifices of frontline health workers meet that definition. Their work was not performed for accolades but out of duty and care; the research evidence of harm borne by these workers explains why everyday caregiving in crisis is rightly understood as heroic.

Paragraph 2 — historical/literary evidence and warrant
Evidence: Historical records of Oskar Schindler show a comparable pattern of costly, life‑saving action. Schindler used his factory, influence, and considerable personal funds to protect about 1,200 Jews from the Holocaust — a decision that jeopardized his safety, finances, and social standing (U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and historical accounts such as Thomas Keneally’s Schindler’s Ark).
Warrant: Schindler’s choices illustrate that heroism often means using one’s position and resources to shield the vulnerable, even when doing so brings severe personal risk. His example supports the argument that a hero’s defining feature is not public adulation or guaranteed success but the moral courage to act on behalf of others when action mattered most. Like the pandemic clinicians, Schindler’s heroism was practical, costly, and grounded in responsibility to other people rather than in pursuit of glory.

Conclusion
Together, the contemporary research on frontline workers and the historical example of Oskar Schindler point to a modern definition of heroism: sustained, self‑sacrificing action taken to protect or improve others’ lives, motivated by duty or empathy rather than recognition. Recognizing this broad, action‑and‑cost‑based definition helps us honor everyday heroes — health workers, caregivers, teachers, social‑service workers, neighbors — whose quiet sacrifices keep communities alive and resilient.