While you're reading, focus on :
1. Would you consider these people heroes? Why or why not?
2. What is achieved by Marilyn Jones using real-life examples or pictures? Such as the pregnant woman's crash or the lost boy.
3. Is this a reliable source or do you think that she is biased towards these types of people?
By: Emily, Gage & Yuqin.
http://www.fedsmith.com/article/1993/heroes-among-us.html
I think that the author picked a good example of the "everyday" hero and did a good job finding a few people with extraordinary stories. I think that the whole point to the article could be summed up with a quote at the end, which says ""It's what we do," Harrington said. "We look out for our customers." " The point is that these people act heroically because it's what they feel is right. It seems to me that everyone should be this type of hero, just go slightly above and beyond your normal responsibilities to help those people who need help. The stories she chose correctly introduced this idea.
ReplyDeleteI would certainly consider certain postal workers heroes. This is because when the situation calls for it, they go above and beyond what is expected from them in the particular examples shown. I think Harrington shows the heroism of postal workers when he says "We look out for our customers." By showing this, the author is saying that postal workers sort of watch over the public like heroes because in essence, everyone is a customer of the postal service. The author comes off as unbiased on the topic because she simply presents factual stories about postal workers that demonstrate their heroic qualities.
ReplyDeleteI think that no matter what your background is if you do something to help or save someone you should be considered a hero. Just because they have a job that is normally pretty basic, doesn't mean that you are incapable of being heroic. I think that Marilyn Jones incorporated the pictures because heroes are often idealized and she may have been showing that these are, truly, everyday people. The same goes for the pregnant lady and the lost boy. Everyone knows someone that has been lost or pregnant. We love these people and should be grateful that there are people out there looking out for one another.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was really cute! I never have really thought of directly my mail man as a hero but I love it when I see ordinary people doing helpful things; my mailman would be no exception. The top picture with the little boy caught my eye since I have a little brother about that age. If he were lost, it wouldn't matter if a bum off the street brought him back to us..he would still be considered a hero to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first looked at the article I questioned it's credibility but after reading it I enjoyed it. It's nice to know there are people out there with good intentions. I think everyone should try to help others in need just as these people did. The story about the pregnant lady and her son touched me the most especially because an unborn baby the mom and child could have died :( I also think it's interesting that these mail deliverers continued with their job as if nothing happened after they helped these individuals, good choice on the article.
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt in my mind these people should be called heroes. They act without thinking about themselves but instead thinking about others. That’s exactly what a hero is! I also believe a hero is someone who is modest doesn’t try to “show-off” their heroic acts; none of these mail carriers did that. I don’t think she was bias because she is not a mail carrier and was just trying to show that heroes don’t need to be big-shots, they can be regular people like mailmen. I really enjoyed the concept of this article.
ReplyDeleteI believe that these people deserve to be called heroes. They went above and beyond their call of duty, saving peoples lives when it didn't benefit them. They did it because they were nice people that truly cared about other people's safety. That's what makes a hero in my opinion. Doing good deeds just because it's right and not for the media's attention. I also believe she showed pictures of the mailman to show how normal people can do heroic things.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are displaying ordinary people. I believe that these ordinary people can be called heroes. They are going out of their way to help others. I agree with damieon that they go above beyond their call of duty. The fact that they have everyday jobs just makes them another one of "us" however what sets them apart is the fact that they are willing to go out of their way to help people they do not know with no questions asked. Also, I would say that this author is unbiased in the way that she provides examples of ordinary, everyday people. She posts factual stories which shows their heroism.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this article, and I thought it was a very interesting way to look at modern heroism. I definitely believe that these postal carriers are heroes because I think anyone who goes out of there way to really help someone or even save their life is considered a hero in my book. I think this article is talking too much about how all post carriers are heroes when in fact these particular ones just happened to be at the right place at the right time in order to help out these people in need. Regardless they are amazing people that helped people out in a big way, but being a postal carrier really does not have a lot to do with their heroism in particular. I think this article is definitely biased because the heroes did could've been ordinary people besides postal workers, but ti is still a nice article to read and I think the pictures really add to wanting people to think that all postal carriers are heroes.
ReplyDeleteWithout doubt, these letter carriers are heroes. Though they are plain with ordinary jobs, the most commendable is their sincere hearts. In other world, the most important spirit is that they are always ready to give others a hand. They are motivated by love, and expect nothing for return. The real-life examples and pictures used by the author are more convincing. Tragedies, like car accident and lost children happen everyday. Fortunately, we have those heroes who would like to try their best to help others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Breanne that everyone could be considered a hero if you really help others no matter who you are. I think the author appropriately presents the fact what these ordinary people did to be heroic, and I was touched for some of them indeed. However, in my opinion, the author only focuses on carriers as heroes makes it a little wired and biased for others, because I believe that there are much more people deserve to be called "heroes" among us. I think she should introduce this phenomenon concisely at first and then focus on these examples.
ReplyDeleteI think the author shows us some great examples of the everyday heroic behaviors. For normal people, following their duty is already enough and leave nothing to blame. But when people go beyond their responsibility and try to save others, they can be called heroes. I think the author’s aim is simply using these heroic behaviors to show the customer-focus of these letter carriers, but we can interpret it as that normal people can do something great and become a hero. The author focuses on the group of letter carriers because they are examples of ordinary people doing something extraordinary. So I have to say I do not quite agree that this article is biased.
ReplyDeleteThis article does a great job of showing how anyone can be a hero, and these people are definitely heroes. Their life saving deeds are something that should be admired. I like to think that anyone would do the same put in these situations but I know that is not true. This is why I don't think the author has any bias here or if she does it does't matter because the actions taken by these mail carriers speak for themselves. The flipped SUV for instance is a powerful image to imagine. Not only does the mail man get help but he dives right in to save these endangered people. All of the people mentioned in this article are modern day heroes and it's great to know they are out there.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, I have the feelings that heroes are everywhere and everyone can be a hero. The definition of hero depends on different persons, because everyone has their own moving moment of life. Hero is just a hero, a person we choose to admire and follow, not such a untouchable glorious person who could not be seen around us. The author uses real stories which are quite convincible to impress readers, which can also help readers start revising and rebuilding their own images of heroes in our minds and paying more attention to details in our daily lives.
ReplyDeleteAt my point of view, this article is more related to our true life. and there is no doubt that these people are called heroes. They are real heroes. As Mei said that heroes are everywhere and everyone can be a hero. It depends on your mind. Would you wanna to help people? or Would you wanna to do something helpful to this real world? These heroes are differed from the hero from hollywood movies. It based on real stories and makes people know that heroes are not superior. All of us have reading thrilling stories in which hero had only a limited and specific life. However, it should be change now. Heroes could be real people!
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