What really means the book's title?

The title of the book is applicable to the thematic issue of the relation of words to meaning. Benjie has given up on the idea of heroism existing in his world because what the rest of world has constituted as a hero cannot be reconciled with his own world. What is taught in school impacts students in ways that administrators and curriculum advisors often do not understand. To see a portrait of George Washington hanging in a classroom automatically brings to mind words like “Father of his Country” to many if not most, but it can also automatically bring to mind words like “slaveowner” to a different set of students. The characters of Nigeria Greene and Bernard Cohen are at the center of the exploration of the theme of what makes a hero by virtue of their debate academic debate with the point being that proposing a certain limited standard for what defines a hero in the minds of children sets a standard that is untenable in the real world of them all, not just in the world of Benjie.