Dorothy is an ordinary girl, who had to face extreme challenges to go home after she was whisked away to the land of Oz. We probably wouldn’t consider her to have hero-materials. However, she brought great changes in the Land of Oz and to the people who live there. She liberated the citizen of Oz from evil witches and helped expose the fake ruler of the Emerald City. During her personal journey to go home to Kansas, she made friends with the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion and while accompanying her, they learned and gained confidence. At the end of their journey, all three of them became rulers who were able to govern and help their subjects wisely. Those are all the qualities of heroes. They brought changes and better lives for others. They encourage and inspire others for the better. They take actions and are determined to go through with their quests. These all bring hope to others and hope often brings changes. The famous heroes in history and today's world, such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Malala Yousafzai; all have these traits.
I'm sure the heroes of the past, present, and future too have sometimes lost hope in their journey. We know this from the diaries or journals that some left behind. Mother Teresa may be one of the symbols of Christianity, but there were times when she had no faith for God. Based on her letters, she wrote that there were times when she felt empty and found nothing inspiring when helping the sick poor. She asked for support so that she could still continue on her work as she felt that she was left alone by God.
Another example of someone whose hopes were often dashed is Malala Yousafzai. She campaigned hard for girls' rights to have an education, which was unsupported, and eventually banned by the Taliban. There were several times when she had to face danger of being attacked by the Taliban when she secretly went to school in Pakistan. She's also in great danger when she spoke out about it, which resulted in her getting shot by the Taliban. However, she persisted and refused to stop fighting for what she believe is right. Now, she has an organization dedicated to help and improve girls' life and education. Dorothy had to face a lot of challenges that seemed too difficult for her to overcome. Although generally, she didn’t lose hope and persist on, there were times where she was discouraged. She got upset when the raft brought her away from the golden road to Oz and was upset when Oz's balloon left without her. However, she quickly gained hope when the guard of the Emerald Palace told her that Glinda the Witch of the South might be able to help her.
From this story, it showed that anyone can be a hero, no matter your background. Dorothy brought significant changes to the people of Oz. Even though she's just an ordinary little girl from the boring plains of Kansas, she indirectly brought people hope, and hope often results in change. In a way, she's kind of a hero to the Land of Oz, and Dorothy left Oz as an honoured person.
All these heroes, both real and fictional, had the choice of giving up or persist through their hardships. However, they chose the latter and were awarded with their achievements. As the saying goes, you have to suffer before you succeed.
