<p>Hello, this is one of my D's SAT essays. It was from the Blue Book (test 10) with the following prompt:
"Should heroes be defined as people who say what they think when we ourselves lack the courage to say it? Plan and write an essay in which..."</p>
<p>Essay took up the full space. She said she did improvise on some of the story plots.</p>
<p>Essay:</p>
<p>When I say "hero", you probably envision some masculine vigilante with a bodysuit and a cape that swoops down and plucks criminals from the streets. Although whoever this character is is term's most famous example, a hero can actually appear in many forms. A hero can be the older brother who sticks up for his younger sister before his abusive parents, or lifeguard who saves a child from drowning, or even a person that speaks what everyone else is afraid to say. The latter definition of hero, though not as common as a flying man in a cape, can be found in our society and our society's literature. Take, for instance, the novel The Kite Runner. In this story, a young man is murdered for sticking for his people against the Taliban. Furthermore, in The Brief Wondrous Life Oscar Wao, a man who courageously stands up for his family embodies the definition of a hero.</p>
<p>In Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, a young man named Hassan decides to defend his family and townspeople against the ruthless Taliban. But by doing this he is shot by the Taliban and is made a martyr and a hero for defending his people. Even though he was killed, Hassan was a hero because he stood up against the Taliban, something none of his neighbors could ever do. Hassan's courage made up for his people's lack thereof, making him a textbook hero. He was aware of the great possibility of death if he stood up against the Taliban, but he did it anyway, making himself a martyr and therefore a hero.</p>
<p>Another instance of this uncommon type of heroism can be found in Junot Diaz's The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The hero in this story is Abelard, a father who did not want his beautiful daughter to be ravaged by the notorious dictator Trujillo. Everyone in the country feared Trujillo, including Abelard, but his love for his daughter overpowered that fear and he stood up for his family against Trujillo, telling him the truth that no one in the country ever could. Like Hassan, Abelard was also unfortunately murdered for his actions by the all-powerful Trujillo. Yet, Abelard's death also made him a martyr and a hero because he said what no one in the Dominican Republic ever dared to.</p>
<p>So, as you can see, heroes aren't always masked vigilantes from comic books. Sometimes heroes can be people that stood up for their beliefs in the face of danger. Heroes are people that say what everyone else is too afraid to say. And sometimes, heroes are martyrs because their courageous acts result in their deaths--like Hassan and Abelard. The fact of the matter is, heroes come in all different forms, not all the same, and not all are superheroes. Sometimes, it is the ordinary heroes that we should all look up to the most.</p>