Teens, as part of Elevate Your Voice, we're asking you to give a shout out to your hero and to share an original art piece, video, photo or recording inspired by your hero. Your submission could be featured on the CPL website, like this one.
According to 16-year-old Destiny of South Chicago Branch, "a hero is anyone who can show courage when faced with a problem. A hero is a person who is able to help another person in various ways." For instance, she added, a person can become a hero by saving someone who is in danger, sacrificing their life so another person can live, or helping others by giving them strength through life's difficulties.
Destiny doesn't believe a hero always has to show courage. "I do believe that heroes don't have to be afraid to engage in a heroic act. You will sit back and think that without that teacher that taught you how to read, you would never have been able to get a job or go onto college. These are the heroes that don't get the recognition they deserve."
Destiny's hero is Shakespeare because his powerful plays help people understand everyday heroes. She explains that in Macbeth, "the central character, Macbeth, has the ability for moral judgment, but he willfully disregards his own moral thoughts. This leaves him vulnerable to deception. Macbeth is strongly led to evil, but he also absorbs it. It's his awareness of evil that makes him tragic. He is a tragic hero, simply because he becomes caught up in the reaction between his conscience and his evil actions. Through Macbeth's actions, Shakespeare depicts the nature of evil as disruptive, deceptive and lustful."
