Hero and Mrs. Fisher Essay Example for Free

Hero and Mrs. Fisher Essay Heroism is a role model and someone who helps others with out personal gain or need, and they show support. Tangerine by Edward Bloor contains characters that are heroes and non-heroes. Paul Fisher is a hero while his brother, Erik, is not and Mrs. Fisher also has traits of heroism. Paul Fisher is a hero because he puts others before himself despite personal danger and because he does the right thing without need for personal gain. Paul helps people during the sinkhole incident at lake Windser Middle School. He saves other classmates and teachers from the portable classrooms, ensuring their safety (80). This shows Paul is brave and willing to protect his classmates in a horrible accident. Besides the sinkhole, Paul aids to the Cruz family during the freeze. He brings wood to Luis and chopped ice off trees, doing whatever they could to get a majority of them saved (214, 215). Paul helps the Cruz family without being asked to. He lies to his mom so she would let him stay and help (210, 213). Paul was committed to save the tangerine trees of Tangerine. Since Paul is friendly to people, he always has his friends backs and he understands them. Paul defended fire fighter Wayne when Mr. Fisher strongly complained about his unprofessional appearance (22). Paul figured that Wayne didn’t deserve a complaint when he knew what he was talking about. Paul also gave Joey Costello advice to move schools and become a War Eagle (121). Joey took the advice and moved schools, and he joined their soccer team. Paul didn’t want Joey to be unhappy with his new school hours, so he suggested Tangerine High. Paul looks out for his friends and is very encouraging. Besides Paul Fisher being a hero, his mom, Mrs. Fisher, also shows examples of heroism. Mrs. Fisher is a helpful citizen and cares about everyone’s safety. She hosts a parent gathering to discuss their sons’ football practice times (54- 55). Mrs. Fisher tries changing practice times so no other player will be struck by lightning, like Mike Costello. Additionally, Mrs. Fisher shows her safety concerns to Paul’s school about his eyesight, so he could have extra help (24). She wanted to do what was best for Paul but she wanted him to have to opportunity to play soccer. When Paul moved schools, she realized the best thing would be is not to inform them about him eye conditions, that way he would be able to play soccer. Not only is Mrs. Fisher concerned about safety; she is also supportive to her family and friends. Mrs. Fisher supports Erik by attending his football games (124, 125). She encourages and cheers for Erik while he kicks. She is proud of his hard work and accomplishments. Another way Mrs. Fisher is supportive is when she shows sympathy to the Costello family. Mrs. Fisher attends Mike Costello’s funeral and explains how sorry she was and gives love and supportive gestures to acknowledge her sympathy. While Paul Fisher and Mrs. Fisher both are explained through heroism, Erik Fisher is a non-hero. Erik is very selfish and only cares about him and has success as an individual. Erik is an amazing kicker; he always bragged about his skills and was convinced that he will be a star one-day. All he cares about is football and his future of football (20, 21). Erik thought he was better than everyone else. He was happy when Mike was killed because he knew he would benefit from it (51). Furthermore, Erik is also a non-hero because he is a bully. Erik makes fun of Joey because he tried to take off his brother’s shoes when he was dead. Erik didn’t know the real reason why he did that, he just noticed it and judged him poorly (110). Erik doesn’t care about how anyone feels or how he makes him or her feel; he amuses himself with their emotional pain. Erik also makes fun of Paul about his glasses. Erik called Paul â€Å"Eclipse Boy† and made up stories about how Paul’s eyesight failed (2, 54). Heroism is someone that puts others before themselves and is a role model. Paul and Mrs. Fisher are both heroes while Erik is not. The author wrote this story because he is a middle school teacher and wanted to share a story that exampled students in ways they are heroes. There are more heroes than there are non-heroes. Edward Bloor wrote this book for middle age kids so he tried to focus on the positive sides of people. There are heroes all around you but everyone has non-hero moments, you should learn from your mistakes.