Correction de la synthèse "Myths and Heroes" - Anglais, Terminale

Sujet du devoir

Bonjour !

Je viens de finir ma synthèse de la notion "Myths and Heroes" et j'aimerais avoir une petite correction. Si vous avez des conseils ou commentaire sur la forme ou la rédaction, n'hésitez pas ! Et merci d'avance :)

Où j'en suis dans mon devoir

MYTHES ET HEROS

I am going to talk about the notion of Myths and Heroes. First of all I would like to give a definition of this notion : A myth can be defined as a story about gods or heroes, it can be a popular belief or a tradition or a false notion. A hero can be a mythological figure, a person who is admired for his or her achievements, a superhero or maybe a role model or an icon.

Why does a society create myths and heroes? How can myths and heroes change our lives? How can myths and heroes change the direction of the course of History?

I – The real heroes of life in society and history
Since the beginning of mankind, some people or groups of people have distinguished themselves by their actions, their words or their qualities and are considered heroes in society and in people's minds.
First, there is a hero recognized by society because of his abnegation like fireman. Fireman helps people all day when they are in danger. Sometimes they risked their life and perished to save them as the attentat of 11/09. On one document seen in class, an assistant chef related what he has seen.  They mobilized them to go on World Trade Center, entered on tower to incited people to came down the stairs with their 60kg of equipment on the back. Many fireman are never come back and died..
However, they save and change lot of life.
So they are admired for their achievements, noble qualities as their strength and their courage.  Their roles of rescuer give them the status of hero. In the society, they can also be an icon, a model for children, who wants to save people too.
There are also anonymous heroes, like the boy in “Clinging woman”. The woman wanted apparently  to commit suicide, but changed one’s mind. So she was hanging by her hand s from the railings of a balcony.  His calm, and his call to fireman and police has allowed to saving her. As a result he is considered as a hero by his neighbors because he saves one life.
Then there is hero who wants change the History as a defender of common values. For example, in spite of the abolition of slavery by Abraham Lincoln, discrimination against the Blacks between 1865 and 1965 was shameful and shocking. It was the time of the Jim Crow Laws. These laws forbidded to Black to be by Whites side at the school, bus, restaurant, etc. A black man and a white women were not authorized to married and have children. In the text “Forging an identity”, a mother and her daughter travelling on a segregated train are insulting and despising by the conductor because there are between Whites, on the bad wagon.
 So many people fighted for freedom and equalities between Black and Whites like Rosa Parks, who said “no” to this laws or Martin Luther King, with his famous speech “I have a dream” who incited to keep hope, and many others. 
Thank to determined and tough people such as Martin Luther King, the blacks achieved the abolition of the Jim Craw Laws and got Civic Rights even if the racism is also present. They change the course of History and the condition of Blacks today.
Finally, there is also many person who are an object of extreme admiration and devotion. They are icon. For example, a  lot of girl want to look like mannequin as Claudia Schiffer or Cindy Crawford. Some fans as “Belibers” will do everything to see and touch Justin Bieber. Boy wants also to look like famous sportsman who breaks records or are icon in their sport like Zinedine Zidane, Alain Bernard, etc.
All of them have an impact and modify our lives. They change or have changed the course of History and the actual society.

II – Myths and fictive hero in society and history
Depending on different cultures, myths are also different.
Heroes allows to dream by the myths they represent. For example, the story of Peter Pan embodies the dream of everyone to eternal youth and our fear of old age and death.
Thanks to the effects produced by the literature, the iconic fictional hero becomes. The subsequent era of great discoveries gives the world a new kind of hero : the adventurer, as Sinbad the Sailor, inspired by the myth of travel.
Similarly, Romeo and Juliet represent the myth of eternal love, while Harry Potter shows the victory of love against the darkness.
In society, many fictious hero, superhero in comics, cinema are invented as Superman, Batman. They symbolize the civism, the strength, courage, etc. They have many qualities and become a model, an ideal for kids who wants look like them and do what heroes do.
In one sens, this incites children to be a good man or girl, with values, civism and so to be a good citizen. He is a role model.
It may also happen that the authorities or a marginal group use a mythical image as Captain America or a legend like Grall to encourage people to defend their cause or to join forces in a common quest.
Myths and heroes who represent are created by the company to us implicitly format has certain values ​​and principles.

To conclude, I think the concept of myths and heroes has an important place in the society. We must not forget that the definition hero is subjective, it depends on us and society. Define someone as hero is acceding to its causes, goals, which can sometimes be good and just as bad or faked. Some people or characters are considered heroes in reality impostors or corrupted.
Narrated and presented to the children, myths and heroes are part of their education. These are examples of models to be chosen carefully. I have the feeling that they are sometimes a source of manipulation.
However, a fictional hero as real must be courageous, honest, just, that is to say have qualities.