When Your Hero Falls

Many people have heroes, but what happens when that hero falls from grace? A hero is a person well known foe feats of courage and nobility; especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. Tupac’s hero was his mother. He wrote a poem about her called “When your hero falls.” The poem is about his disappointment in his mother, the hypocritical aspects of their relationship, and the pain and loneliness he felt from seeing his hero fall from grace. Tupac always looked up to his mother. He saw her strength and resilience and admired all the sacrifices she made for him. Tupac felt great disappointment when he found out his mother was addicted to crack-cocaine. The poem states “When your hero falls from grace all fairy tells are uncovered myths exposed and pain magnified the greatest pain discovered.”

Furthermore Tupac also saw his mother as a hypocrite. Tupac’s mother raised him to be strong, enduring and a leader. She created a hypocrisy she pretended to oppose a behavior while holding the same behaviors in her life; such as doing drugs and not having enough strength to seek help to kick the habit of being addicted to crack-cocaine. The poem states “You taught me to be strong but I’m confused to see you so weak you said never give and it hurts to see you welcome defeat.” Some may say that it’s not hypocritical of his mother to try to instill things in him that she was not strong enough to do herself; Such as never giving up and staying away from drugs. No one really wants to wish the same harsh conditions onto others especially their own children. I believe that if Tupac’s mother expected him to never give up and be a leader she should have expected the same from herself and set a example for him to fallow because actions speak louder than words.

Almost anyone would feel confusion and pain if they saw someone they loved addicted to drugs. Tupac expresses his pain and loneliness he felt in the poem. Anybody addicted to drugs stays in a constant foggy state of mind. Most drugs impair people’s ability to make responsible decisions. Tupac felt alone because he couldn’t really go to his mother for advice are consoling. He wrote this poem when he was a teenager and that is a stage where he still needed his mother for guidance because he was not a man yet but only a young boy. His mother was not in the right state of mind to guide or comfort him. The poem states “Without my hero there is only me alone to deal with my sorrow your heart ceases to work and your soul is not happy at all.” In conclusion Tupac loved his mother he wrote songs and many poems about her. She may have made some bad decisions in her life but she never left his side. She soon kicked her habit of doing crack and even though he wrote a poem about his mother falling from grace, he never once said she was no longer his hero.