Every single human being wants to succeed at something. Whether it be sports, school, their job, or even the overall concept of life. They want to do what their peers did wrong. What does this entail? This demands that they sacrifice some concept of freedom in order to succeed. Sacrifice is more important than success because one cannot achieve success without sacrificing something first. If a student wants to get an A on their test, they need to sacrifice time from their day to study. If a soldier wants to be a hero, they must sacrifice their family, their honor, and even their life. Throughout Earth’s history, there have been many records of heroic deeds, depicting what they did to succeed. In each of these stories, it tells the reader what they have to give up to receive. Nothing will happen if the hero does not make the attempt to make a change.
Let’s look at the story of Beowulf, written in the seventh century. This story depicts the ideal hero for the time. Beowulf is a prince who has sacrificed his life many times for total strangers. In this story he is at it again, sacrificing his life to save the Danes from the loathsome Grendel, a monster who is killing and eating the Danish soldiers. During this point in time, Grendel has been snacking on Danes for a while now, and nothing has happened that will change that. This is a noxious situation. If anyone were to try and stop the beast, they would have the likelihood of being eaten. However, Beowulf is willing to risk it. Beowulf takes on the beast and even murders him, saving the Danes from his bloody fangs. If Beowulf never risked his life to save those people, there would not be any Danes left! Sacrifice is that middle piece that leads to success. There is also a trickle affect when it comes to heroes and sacrifice. There is a poem written by Richard Lovelace called, “To Lucasta, On Going to the Wars.” This fourteen-line poem talks about a man leaving his lover, Lucasta, and going to scuffle with the enemy on the battlefield. Lucasta sees this as a selfish act, for even the narrator states, “I could not love thee, Dear, so much, Loved I not honor more.” (“To Lucasta, On Going to Wars,” Line 13-14, 77) However, his sacrifice could lead to her life being saved in the long run. What if the enemy, whatever their goal, found their way back to the homeland Lucasta lives in and kills her? There is always that possibility of success or failure when it comes to sacrifice, but either way, one has to make a sacrifice. The whole point is that the hero is trying to make a change. Now some would argue there is no point in making a sacrifice if one does not succeed, such as Wilfred Owen in his poem, “Dulce et Decorum Est,” “My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, the Old Lie: Dulce et Decorum Est Pro patria mori. (it is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country.)” In this line Owen claims that no one should feed the heroic success of death into the minds of children. Owen seems to think that death is not a form of success, rather failure, so there is no point in fighting if the end result is death. However, that is a decision the individual has to make. Everyone has a basic understanding of war. People use artillery to kill the enemy for a cause. Obviously, some will die. However, if an individual’s pride for that position of war is strong enough, death may just be worth it. This is why our military is on a volunteer basis. If the soldiers are not willing to sacrifice their lives for the greater good of the United States, they might as well not join. If someone wanted to make a change, how would they go about it? First, they need to sacrifice something. Whether they sacrifice their previously led lives like Beowulf, or give up their lovers like the narrator of “To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars,” some characteristic of live must be given up first. If the need for change is strong enough, the individual will not even bat an eye at the possibility of death. Even if the attempt for change goes down in flames, the fact that the attempt was made is what counts. Sacrificing some quality of life leaves room for the hero to observe the task at hand, fight for what they believe in without distraction, and do what they believe is right in order to succeed. There is no success without sacrifice.
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