What is a Hero?

Since the beginning of time, heroes and heroines have been a part of history and folklore. The dictionary's definition of a hero says that a hero is someone who "in the face of danger" displays "great courage and self-sacrifice". That is a pretty good definition of a hero, but it does not exactly explain it specifically. What exactly is a hero? What makes up a hero? Is it just the qualities from a dictionary or does it mean having a certain mindset? I believe that a hero is a little bit different than what is stated by the dictionary. I believe that a hero is someone who takes the difficult road just because it is the right thing to do. A hero is someone who puts themselves last when it comes to the well-being of others. This means that a hero not only displays a feat of courage and self-sacrifice, but also he/she does not just do this for the publicity or to look good. A hero does it because he/she wants to out of the goodness in his/her heart and out of knowing that it is the right thing to do. In "A & P", Sammie displays what he thinks is heroism. In one way it was heroic, and in another way, it was not. Sammie did have the right intentions by standing up for the girls. Unfortunately, Sammie's desire for their attention led him to defend them a little drastically and in the end, he lost his job for something rather stupid. Overall, Sammie may be considered a hero had he had the right intentions in mind. Instead, he acted out of desire and personal interest. This stupidity and selfishness backfired on him and instead of looking like a hero, he ended up looking like a fool.