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Recommended: Essay on courage
"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it." Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. Courage is strength in the face of pain or grief. Throughout the course of World War 2, there were many people who acted in a courageous manner, as portrayed by Markus Zusak in his novel 'The Book Thief'. Weather it was putting their entire life on the line just to save some strangers from possible torture, hiding illegal people in their own houses with the possibility of being killed or smuggling thousands of people out of the Ghettos and into hiding places at the risk of death, there were some extraordinarily courageous humans in World War 2 who not only saved other people lives, but they did it all at …show more content…
There was one character which showed extravagant amounts of courage, and gave a Jewish man refuge in his own home. This character was Hans Hubermann. He had met someone in World War 1, who he had become great friends with, and who had even saved Hans' life. This man was Erik Vandenburg. After Erik died Hans payed a visit to his family to return some of his belongings. As we was talking to Erik's wife, "he slid a piece of paper with his name and address on it across the table". He had offered them any kind of help they could need, in order to return the favour of Erik saving his life. And with that, he left. Many years later, when World War 2 was beginning, there was a knock on his door. It was a Jewish man, by the name of 'Max Vandenburg'. He was Erik's son and he was seeking a hiding place from the Nazi soldiers. Hans let him stay, just like Johanna Eck did, sacrificing his food, his life, and even his families life. There was an incident where Nazi soldiers were checking basements, Hans didn't try to get rid of Max. No, he simply just hid him and hoped for the best. Hans later died in an air-raid, and if it weren't for him, Max would have to. Well, he probably wouldn't have even made it to that point of time alive it it weren't for Hans. Max survived the entire duration of World War 2, in its fictionalised version by
The future is a series of unexpected chapters in our lives packed with thrilling mysteries and remarkable miracles. Although the future may blossom with new, budding experiences, unforgettable tragedies and misfortunes can alter an individual's life. Refraining from grief takes plenty of courage and determination to overcome. As an individual with numerous experiences and involvements throughout my life, I strongly believe that our hopes and beliefs are exceptionally powerful. Throughout The Book Thief ,there are plenty of reasons to support the countless themes that are mentioned in this book. However, I was intrigued by the symbolization of hope, how it had affected the characters and their surroundings, as well as their belief in hope.
The ability to continue on with one's goals in difficult times or situations is one that requires strength, hope and most importantly, perseverance. One may persevere despite discouragement, obstacles and difficulties. One may show this persistence in many different ways including physically, mentally and spiritually. The theme of perseverance is evident in the novel The Book Thief by Markus Zusak and the short story “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen through the perseverance of the body, mind and spirit.
An example of courage, as the judgment that something else is more important than fear, is through the character of Kak in B for Buster by Iain Lawrence. In this novel, Kak is characterized as a young, determined boy, desiring to turn himself from a comic book reading boy into a World War II hero. Planning to escape his drunken, abusive father, Kak enlists himself in the Canadian Air Force although he is underage and only sixteen years old. During his first mission, he is becomes frightened of the risk of not coming home alive, but doesn?t show his emotions because of his austere, intrepid crewmen. During this mission, Kak did not have an absence of fear, but he felt that becoming a hero like the ones in his comic book, and accomplishing his dream of fly, was more important than his fear of dying.
Mark Twain best described courage when he said that, “Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear” (Twain). Both in The One Who Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and Watership Down by Richard Adams, the authors deal with the topic of courage and each share a similar view on it as this quote. Indeed, both authors suggest that courage is not accumulated simply by acts of heroism, but rather by overcoming fears and speaking one’s mind as well. These books are very similar in the way that bravery is displayed through the characters in an uncommon way. Firstly, an example of bravery
Society teaches that everyone is equal; however, between 1933 and 1945, the Nazi party deemed Jews inferior. Some people agreed with the party, other silently rebelled. Either way, in 12 years around 6 million Jews were systematically murdered. One person who silently rebelled was Hans Huberman. In “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak, Hans Huberman’s compassionate actions and beliefs are influenced by the Nazi party’s treatment of Jews.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”
“The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.” This quote is from the famous diary of Anneliese Marie Frank; a holocaust victim and a modern time hero. In Markus Zusak’s novel, The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger is surviving through World War II just like Anne Frank. Although their circumstances are vastly different, both girls learn that the person they wish to become must be created through their own experiences and trauma. Narrated by Death, The Book Thief is the story of Liesel Meminger, a nine-year-old German girl who has been given up by her mother to live with Hans and Rosa Hubermann in the small town of Molching in 1939. In the novel, Liesel’s greatest mountain is her internal conflict with herself and the propaganda
According to Google.com courage says “The ability to do some things that frighten one (Noun) Mr. Frank showed courage by letting the Van Daans in the Secret Annex and Mr.Dussel too. Another way he showed courage was when a robber broke into the shop where the Annex was above,
...eing of pure Aryan descent was a survival tactic, he had “…Beautiful blond hair and big, safe blue eyes.” Liesel’s eyes are not just brown. She had “…dangerous eyes. Dark brown. You didn’t really want brown eyes in Germany around that time.”
*Courage in the context of combat in this story was not real courage; it was merely going through the motions of being in war.
...nd results could be. Atticus Finch defended a black man, even though it put his and his children’s lives in danger; Mrs. Dubose acknowledged her morphine addiction and overcame it, and Boo Radley braved the outdoors to save the Finch children, even though it put his life at risk. Courage is not taking a challenge knowing you will win, it is facing a challenge one knows one will most likely lose and still trying.
“Courage - a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it.” Courageous people understand the danger that they face when they act how they do. That is what courage is all about. Many historical events occur due to people having the courage to do what they think is right, or because of those who use their courage to do what they want. Having the courage to stand alone in one’s beliefs may be one of the hardest thing a person can do.
Death states that, “I’m always finding humans at their best and worst. I see their ugly and their beauty, and I wonder how the same thing can be both” (Zusak 491). This book shows us human doing things that weren’t even imaginable before this point. Many people give into ideas that were lies. But, we also watch a few people go out of their way and sacrifice everything for a man they barely even know. They do everything they can to keep him safe and alive. They work harder, the get another job, and they even steal. In Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief, death examines the ugliness and the beauty of humans.
When I first started the novel The Book Thief, I was somewhat skeptical on whether or not I would learn or take away many things from the story, since I already know a lot from that time period. I have family members that have been in combat and my father is a war history buff, but it turned out that I learned a ton from the story. One thing that I learned was that the German soldiers were willing to whip and beat up a fourteen-year-old girl, just because she was talking to a Jew. This was demonstrated later on in the novel when Liesel finally finds Max when he is walking to Dachau and she runs up to him and starts to talk to him. The German soldiers pull her out of the group of starving Jews, but she runs back in, but then they pull
An act of courage comes when one risks their life while reacting to a certain situation at a particular moment. Courageousness often happens with split-second situations which can be risky and or an act that wouldn’t normally be done. For an act to be courageous it must follow the following criteria: