The Definition of Courage
The current dictionary definitions of courage are inadequate because they only include references to physical courage and omit instances of inner strength. Three contemporary dictionaries agree closely on the definition although they differ in the order of importance. Webster's New World Dictionary describes courage as "an attitude of facing and dealing with anything recognized as dangerous, difficult or painful, instead of withdrawing from it," and The American Heritage Dictionary gives a similar explanation. While The Shorter Oxford Dictionary concurs with this meaning, it states that the primary definition is "spirit, mind, or disposition."
Courage is not just found in the veteran soldier who can display shiny medals or in the policeman who bravely risks his life for justice as portrayed on television or in films. Suicide is the antithesis of courage. It is not an elementary school boy who agrees to fight, but he who can stand up against it. A six year old girl who ventures out on her bicycle for the first time displays as much courage as a young man who witnesses a murder and volunteers to testify in court.
Courage is a state of mind that enables a person to overcome fear, pain, danger, or hardship. Although different from one another, all aspects of courage involve taking risks.
One facet, physical courage, entails facing fears of possible bodily harm. For instance, a twenty year old man, unable to swim, jumps into a swift current to rescue a six year old who has slipped and fallen. A young fireman who rushes into a burning building to save a baby and a nineteen-year- old Vietnam soldier who leaves the safety of the trench to preserve the life of a wounded friend have physical courage. Elizabeth Morgan, who risked a jail term to protect her daughter Hilary from her injurious father, exemplifies courage.
Another form, mental courage, means standing up and not yielding to phobias. While some fear speaking in front of a large audience, others fear heights. A teenager who puts down her fear of flying to visit an ailing, distant grandmother, and a freshman who conquers his fear of public speaking to run for a student council office both exhibit mental courage.
Braudy, Leo and Marshall Cohen, eds. Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings, Fifth Edition. New York: Oxford UP, 1999.
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.
Courage is when you know you’re beaten. The character Atticus, for instance, who was a seasoned lawyer acted courageous defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was a black man who was accused of raping a white girl. Atticus was appointed to defend him. Jem was happy because he thought his father had won the case but Reverend Sykes loathed telling Jem “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man…”(Lee 208). Atticus was sure he wasn’t going to win the case, nevertheless he gave it a try. That didn’t stop Atticus from trying to defend his client Tom Robinson. Another part in the novel when Atticus was courageous was when he shot at the man street dog. Heck Tate the Maycomb Sheriff was not as courageous as Atticus so he handed Atticus the air rifles and with one shot Atticus took down the street dog. Miss Maudie says “I saw that, One Shot Finch” (Lee 97). Atticus was referred to as one-shot finch because of his shooting skills. The other incidence in the novel when Atticus portrays courage was when he was not scared when Bob Ewell threatened him. Bob Ewell was the man who accused Atticus’ defendant Tom Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Atticus thought Bob Ewell threatened him as some sort of revenge, but unfortunately Atticus was wrong because when Bob Ewell said ...
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I look to other artists for inspiration and affirmation in regards to my work. I am certainly not the first artist to portray ideas of the body and its fragility. Hannah Wilke, whose work dealt with ideas of beauty and vulnerability, is perhaps one of more influential artists for me. While her work greatly differs from mine, I believe that fundamentally she was asking similar questions of society through her work as I am. When I first saw her work, I felt f...
2. Explain each shot in terms of camera angles, sounds, acting, costume, props, lighting; you should explain the impact of the cinematic devices chosen and used by the director.
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Okonkwo crumbled under the newly developed society of the white man in Umofia. He could no longer act on his fury, vehemence or impetuousness, because acting in those non-compliant ways got him no further advancement and was frowned upon. Okonkwo lost his mental composure and everything in his life went to pieces because of it. His lack of sensitivity and understanding of those different from him handicapped his entire life. Okonkwo’s strength was further proven to have many fallacies because he was not strong in the important aspects of having composure and not acting on impulse. He could no longer control the people around him, nor his own life so he became misfortune of a classic tragedy.
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Film and literature are two media forms that are so closely related, that we often forget there is a distinction between them. We often just view the movie as an extension of the book because most movies are based on novels or short stories. Because we are accustomed to this sequence of production, first the novel, then the motion picture, we often find ourselves making value judgments about a movie, based upon our feelings on the novel. It is this overlapping of the creative processes that prevents us from seeing movies as distinct and separate art forms from the novels they are based on.
In the past decade, teens in America have disregarded their healthy state due to lack of eating habits and exercise. However, teens are not to blame for becoming obese. Because of stress, depression, social pressure, and their grandparent's eating habits, it can be the key factors for teen obesity. As a result, schools can be the change in a teen's life by encouraging healthier eating habits.
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