After reading The Courage To Care I believe that Odette Meyers quote “I do think that good people, simple people are much more complicated than evil people, which is one reason perhaps why we do not bother with them so much.” is true for just about all of the rescuers. If these people were evil, they would have never found the courage to help out so many people. In my opinion, evil people are cowards acting out for attention. Normal, simple people are the human beings with the biggest hearts, most intelligent minds, and the one’s with the most courage. The two rescuers I have found Meyer’s statement to be most true are Marie Chotel aka “Madame Marie” and Irene Opdyke.
Madame Marie was your average, everyday woman. She had a huge heart and a great mind. When she helped rescue Odette and her mother she did what was natural to most simple people. Most simple people would not think twice about what they were doing or just how dangerous it was. It is human nature to protect our family and the people we love. For those that are evil, they think only of themselves. They are truly cowards and do things that good people would not even imagine doing which is why we pay so much attention to them. Marie thought quickly and on her toes when she was helping to rescue the Jews. She held her composure when the search team entered her apartment. She was able to think quickly and give credible answers so that she was believed. In my opinion, that is the sign of an intelligent person.
Then you have Irene Opdyke who also was your average, simple, and good person. She risked her life to help out and protect the people she cared about. Although the people she helped out were not her family, she considered them just that and did what I believe any good person would do. It is human instinct to help out each other in times of crisis and tragedy. There are go many more good and simple people on this earth that we don’t think twice about what they are doing even when they do something extraordinary. It is the evil people that we look at with puzzled faces and bewilderment. This is why these people get so much attention. It is disbelief on the part of the everyday person.
•Even though Irena didn't thin of herself as a hero, many people may disagree. She saved more than 2000 children from the horrible Nazi ghettos. She risked her life for people that she didn't personally know. Irena is too hard on herself, according to historyswomen.com, she said, "I could have done more, this regret will follow me to my
Marie Laure was residing in Paris with her father Daniel when she was diganosed with cataracts and became fully blind by the age of six. Her father was her everything he believed in her even when she did not believe in herself and he taught her everything she needed to know in order to become successful. Shortly after it becomes apparent that Paris will be overun by the Nazis so Marie-Laure and Daniel flee the city. Marie-Laure eventually loses her father and after the devastation her character grows immensely. Conformity takes over Marie-Laure as she is no longer allowed a choice, she follows the French resistance and does not question it which can be seen when she says “But it is not bravery; I have no choice. I wake up and live my life. Don 't you do the same?” (Doerr 1142-1143) Through this quote it can be acknowledged that although many believe that Marie-Laure is brave for overcoming her obstacle of being blind, Marie-Laure sees no sympathy for herself, she does not believe she is brave because she simply knows no other way than conforming to the society around her, she does what she does to keep her life. Therefore it can be seen through the situation and time period of the written work, conformity in which is very prevalent through the character of Marie-Laure. Moreover it is evident that citizens of the Hitler led countries were attuned with his orders because there voice could not be heard. While Marie-Laure still had the ability to see a Frenchmen exclaimed “open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever” (Doerr 123). Doerr expressed this statement several times in the novel after the Frenchmen had said it to Marie-Laure because it portrays the truth behind the quote. Although this could have been said to Marie-Laure about her blindness as she grew older
Norman Schwarzkopf Jr, a famous war soldier once said, "The truth of the matter is you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." Although society has the potential to help others in need they restrict themselves from doing the right thing. But when society is challenged with a problem only some step up against to the odds to make a difference. Throughout history, during times of devastation and separation there are people that show a ray of light that gives people hope during the darkest times.
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction,” declared John F. Kennedy, President and World War ll hero. This means if you go out and do something brave but it doesn’t have a purpose it is pointless. A lot of courage is shown in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, To Kill A Mockingbird, Schindler’s List, and The Merchant Of Venice.
One of the greatest, most selfless women in the history of the Holocaust passed away on Monday, May 12th of 2008. A kindhearted Polish woman, she helped 2,500 infants and children escape from the Warsaw Ghetto (Snopes, par. 2) while working undercover as a health worker (Irena Sendler, par. 2). Irena Sendler was an admirable woman who was able to discover children in the Warsaw Ghetto, sneak them out and get them to safety.
In my English class we were learning about Anne Frank and her life during the Holocaust. During the Holocaust, many people, mostly Jews lost their lives; Anne was one of the 6 million Jews who died. Before her family and everyone else were taken to concentration camps Anne liked writing in her diary. After the war Anne father the only one in their family that survived received Anne’s diary from Miep, the caretaker of the families while they were hiding. One of the most eye catching quotes of Anne’s was” I believe people are really good at heart”, I believe Anne when she says that.
The question ‘Why do bad things happen to good people?’ brings to mind the accident I was in on July 17, 2010. About an hour prior to the accident I had given a ride to a lady that lived in the shelter with me. In fact, I was
Irena Sendlerowa proved herself as a hero when she saved 2,500 jewish children from the holocaust. During an interview she stated “I was taught by my father that when someone is drowning you don't ask if they can swim, you just jump in and help” ( www.yadvashem.org ). This shows she believe that if a person needs help you don't look at their race or ask what they believe in you just help them. She smuggled the Jewish children out of the ghetto in boxes and bags in the back of delivery trucks and ambulances. Hopeful that the children could reunite with their families after the war was over, she kept records of the children’s
Heroism. Heroism is “heroic conduct” or “courageous action”(“Heroism”). People throughout America’s history, and the world’s history, for more than hundreds of years, have satisfied the standards of heroism, rising above and doing what is right. Heroism doesn’t have to mean saving somebody’s life. To be a hero, one does not need a cape or a villain to fight. Exhibiting acts of heroism can be as small helping retrieve a cat from a tree or as large as helping put out the fire of a burning building. Whether one’s acts of heroism are miniscule or major, they occur every day by ordinary people, proving their extraordinary abilities. After World War II ended, many acts of heroism were displayed that are still remembered today, specifically involving Operation Little Vittles. Over two million citizens living in West Berlin were doomed, cut off from the outside world by the Russians, praying for a miracle. Their wish came true when a handful of pilots agreed to drop thousands of tons of food and fuel from the air in Berlin. One of these esteemed pilots goes by the name of Gail Halvorsen, who changed the situation of the Russian blockade for the better. Halvorsen made the daring decision to drop thousands of individual packages of candy to all of the sweet deprived citizens of West Berlin. Pilot Gail Halvorsen contributed a daring effort by flying day in and day out dropping candy all with the hopes of trying to improve the awful conditions for those involved in the blockade, putting smiles on people’s faces and living up to the standards of heroism.
Courage can lead to positive changes since you are motivated to stand up and make a difference and if one did not have courage, they would not attempt to do such a thing at all; If Martin Luther King Jr, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, and Abraham Lincoln did not have any courage what so ever to make a change, our society would still be in slavery and also would not believe in equality for all. I strongly believe that if you have courage, you will change something for the best. The reason why I believe in courage being the number 1 way to lead to positive changes is because in the book The Cay Written by Theodore Taylor, Phillip was lost in a shipwreck and was taken in by a crew member of the ship named Timothy both which had sailed to a nearby cay, they both were stranded on the cay with limited resources only to have Timothy die from a fever and Phillip become blind, Phillip had the courage to live on his own and ended up being rescued, which in a way means that Phillip did not give up because he
...ly or mentally, a conscious effort to injure others that is no obvious benefit to the human race is not good. I believe that people try to do good most of the time. For example, the person had a motorcycle accident. He hated by a car on the local road and stocked under the car. The car was flamed. This news is from the yesterday of FOX25. When I saw many people stopped and together to get the car off the person and being without thinking about the flames, I am so grateful. The man was saved and no life injury and the story have a good ending. Accordingly, people are innately good. I think I am actually a good person. I like to open doors, push in chairs, listen to people, and help little kids. No meter outside the world how changed it doesn’t influence my good personality at all. I agree Carl Rogers’s theory people should be capable of becoming conscious good.
In life there are many terms that are relative to individual cultures. That means that the definition is different depending on the culture's location and its persons believe. The definition for one such term, courage, as defined by both Daniel Webster and Funk & Wagnalls is "That quality of mind or spirit enabling one to meet danger or difficulties/ opposition with firmness/fearlessness." The words that make courage a relative term are danger and opposition.
A “good” person is generally defined as a person who acts in compassion, integrity, and honesty. Yet, when living in a society that is composed of difference in social class, the meaning of “good” can often be misunderstood. David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Good People,” is a play detailing the struggles of Margie, a woman who resides in South Boston’s working class neighborhood. Lindsay-Abaire use of setting, dialogue, characterization, plot and structureconveys the theme of luck versus free will, a theme which I have endlessly encountered in my personal life. As I reflect upon my own personal experiences of battling such a mind-bending dilemma, I am able to understand Lindsay-Abaire’s overall message – the cycle of misfortunate events can only end if human charity endures – in a different lens.
What is courage? Courage is the spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, and bravery. Courage to me is bravery, heroic acts, and people that put their life in danger. Many people show acts of courage everyday in the world. You might not know if you are showing courage, unless it is a big act.