Tyson, Odysseus display hero traits

To the editor:

For a project in ninth-grade English at Fairfield High School, we were required to write a paper comparing and contrasting the Greek hero Odysseus to a modern-day hero of our choosing. I myself consider astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to be a hero of today. He is similar yet very different from Odysseus, and I have a few reasons why.

First, both men are very eloquent. They have a way of persuasion, though Odysseus normally uses it to get his way. Dr. Tyson uses it not for his own benefit. He uses it for others? by persuading them to a point that is much more logical.

Second, they are both highly knowledgeable. While Odysseus knows nearly everything about war and strategies that go along with it, Tyson knows almost all there is about space. Both are also quite driven about their fields of knowledge: they want to know everything there is to know about it.

Lastly, both have many people that admire them greatly. Neil Tyson has many fans that are passionate about astronomy like him, and Odysseus has many fans that enjoy war and adventure as much as he does. Because of this, they have been shaped into great leaders that many look up to.

Though both men are from different periods of time, they both display outstanding qualities in their character that make them role models. Tyson, an astrophysicist, and Odysseus, an adventurer, can both be comparable to each other despite their varying interests. Being persuasive, intelligent, and having people look up to you are all great qualities that can make people be considered heroes.

? Dakota Andersen, Fairfield