Courage By Maya Angelou: The Embodiment Of Courage

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous or honest.” (Maya Angelou, unknown). Courage, beyond all, has to be one of the most valued characteristics in existence. In any tale told when you are a young child or any book you read when you are a teenager, a common theme throughout all of them, no matter what, is often courage. Courage, as a trait, has been made so global by the use of it in stories. Any main character is the embodiment of courage and hope because authors will use them in writing as a way of giving the reader strength and making them want to be brave and take risks, which the characters, created out of their own cowardice, inspired the authors to do in turn. Courage; the main theme of this story much like any other.

Whenever the team was in a bad situation, they never saw the upcoming obstacle as daunting, they utilised the courage that they had to overcome the challenge, despite the difficulty. When Gerry was faced with the decision to kick Ray Budds off the team, his friend at the time, he was scared as to what would happen after and what Coach Boone would think, considering his rule regarding cutting a player. Gerry quickly realized that the best thing, not only for himself, but for the team too, was to rid them of Ray, as he did not put his feelings aside for the team and did not support or approve of the integration especially from Gerry. As J. K. Rowling stated through her character Albus Dumbledore, “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.” (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s