The Role Of A Hero In William R. Forstchen's One Second After

In the novel, “One Second After”, written by William R. Forstchen, America was hit with an Electromagnetic Pulse called EMP. America died on that day. Thousands of people died in the U.S after only one day. Any person that were on a ventilator died instantly, food was beginning to rot, there wasn’t any transportation, and many more other problems. One Second After was about John, the main character, struggling to cope, help out and deal with what happened to America. He was a retired U.S colonel, he used the skills that he learned. He was able to help Black Mountain last as long as possible. He learned how to put his feelings aside and do what he has to do. He had to put his own beliefs away to make sure Black Mountain last.
To begin with, …show more content…
Is it sacrificing oneself for others? Is it putting others before yourself? A hero does all this, but thinks about all the outcomes with every decision that they make. John is a hero in so many different ways. He trusts his gut and does what is necessary in order to keep his friends and family safe. There was incident that happen after a day or two after the EMP hit the United States. There was a man trying to get drugs from a pharmacist. However, he was becoming violent and wasn’t listening to reason. So John knew what he had to do. He didn’t want to resolved to violence, but he didn’t have a choice. He took a beer bottle and smashed it against the man’s skull. He stomped on his solar plexus to make sure he doesn’t get back up. This makes John a hero because he went out of his way and went against his beliefs to help a woman from being attacked by a man who probably wanted medicine for drugs. He even helps the guy out even though that man treated the woman poorly. He said, “Maybe somebody can look at his face and see if I cut his eye.” It proves that John doesn’t like violence. He had to do what he needed to do. He made sure that no one was harmed and whoever was will get justice. That is what makes John a …show more content…
Surviving is about living life to the fullest. The world might seem like it sucks, but any person who lives appreciates life is surviving. John doesn’t turn against America even though he has lost so many people in the last year. He doesn’t go off killing anybody for no reason. He even refused to kill dogs for food or because they went insane from lack of food. He knew what was happening the very first day of EMP. He was prepared, it wasn’t exactly enough, but he was prepared. He was surviving and living life as much as he could. He made sure that his daughters weren’t getting depressed, he didn’t place any blame on anyone. He was angry for whoever bombed America, that is understandable. But he never went off saying, “I am going to kill whoever did this to us.” He is a honorable man. When his daughter died, he was sad who wouldn’t be? He buried her in his backyard where she wanted to be. He was surviving as much as he could. He made an easy decision to kill his dog for Elizabeth. He didn’t do it because he wanted too. He did it because he knew that Elizabeth might not live through pregnancy without any protein in her diet. He asked his mother in law to do it, but say these last words to his dog Ginger. “You can still save a life, my dear friend. And besides … Jennifer wants to play with you again.” He was making sure that his dog died for a honorable reason. He was upset, but he was still