Endangered is a thought provoking, realistic fiction novel, where Eliot Schrefer plunges us into a heart-stopping exploration of the things we have to do to survive, the sacrifices we make to help others, and the tangled geography that ties us all, human and animal, together. To make someone a hero in my eyes, they have to be distinguished by exceptional courage, nobility, and strength. After coming to the end of Endangered, I have come to the conclusion that Sophie fits my interpretation of a hero, making her become a person who possesses the qualities of courage and strength. 
    I have come to the conclusion that Sophie fits my interpretation of a hero because she possesses the two qualities that I believe make a hero, which are courage and strength.  Sophie shows signs of courage when she is trapped in the Enclosure and has to adapt to her new environment quickly with barely anything to help her survive. For example, you can see this in page 83 when it states, “my hunger was getting sharp. My mind went to the duffel I’d packed for the UN flight that I’d thrown to slow down the peacekeepers.” “I’d packed my last American granola bar, a liter of spring water…. a bunch of cloths, contact lenses…. and sleeping pills for the flight.” “To eat I’d have to get the bag back. But it was on the other side of the fence.” This proves that Sophie has courage because Sophie choose to leave the Enclosure, where she knew she was safe for know behind the electric fence, and go to the other side of the gate where the peacekeepers where in the sanctuary where she was more likely to get shot, just so she can get back her duffel bag which had many things that would help her survive. It takes a lot of courage to choose to do something you know is dangerous over something that you know will keep you safe.
    While reading this novel I saw how Sophie showed signs of strength, which is one of the two signs that indicate that Sophie fits my interpretation of a hero. For example, this can be seen in the text when it states on page 128 where it states, “bonobos weren’t supposed to act like this-we’d already gone a few miles, more than they would ever range in one direction in the wild. But these were extraordinary times, and they were apparently willing to make an exception for their leader. Me.” This shows how Sophie shows signs of strength because bonobos are known for their aggressive and brute behavior, and they take challenges very personal and serious, so if they choose Sophie as their new leader or a leader to them, that means that they trust Sophie how is an outsider to the bonobos and not even a bonobo to begin with. This shows strength because bonobos usually follow the most dominate and strongest of all the bonobo women, and if they pick Sophie who technically isn’t even a bonobo then that means Sophie is a very strong person in both mind and actions, which makes her have the second quality that is needed to be a hero in my perspective.
   Therefore, as you can see after coming to the conclusion of Endangered, I have come to the decision that Sophie fits my clarification of a hero, making her become a person who possesses the qualities of courage and strength. Don’t you agree?