Evan McClain Ms. Krick 12 March 2024 English 8. Courage essay In life, courage is necessary for everyone in order to make progress. As stated by Robert Frost, ”He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” Courage can be shown in many real world situations such as taking a risk on the stock market or doing a new jump while skiing. This trait can also be observed in stories where characters use courage to overcome their fears and results in them bettering themselves. The stories that show this are “Monkeyman,” “The Ravine,” and a poem called “Sonnet”. In these stories, the characters demonstrate courage in different ways and in different situations. In the story “The Ravine,” it shows how doing the opposite …show more content…
In this story, they go to a ravine where a boy went missing and was then presumed dead just two weeks earlier. They begin jumping off of smaller cliffs and when they get to the big cliff everyone jumps except for Vinny who is too scared. After all the friends jump off they peer pressure Vinny into jumping off, but as he gets to the top he decides not to go and resists the peer pressure. One example in this story about the character that shows courage is when Vinny is getting ready to jump off the big cliff because of peer pressure and says to himself “Don’t do it”. Walk away from the sand. Just turn and go and walk back down.” His self talk shows courage because Vinny’s friends all want him to jump and are putting pressure on him. It takes more courage to say no to your friends after they have all done it before you, and admit defeat and that you are too scared. Some more evidence that demonstrates the theme of courage is when Vinny is painting himself with mud in preparation to jump off of the tallest cliff at the ravine, where the boy went missing. But then he does this, “But deep inside where the peace was, where his mind wasn’t, he would jump. He would walk back down.” Choosing …show more content…
The “Sonnet” is a poem about hope and courage. The theme of the poem is to show courage in keeping going and not giving up. Some text that demonstrates courage are in lines 5-7 when the author writes, “For certain as the raven-winged night is followed by the bright and blushing morn, Thy coming morrow will be clear and bright.” The author is reminding us to keep going, it will end up good in the end. Courage will be rewarded by “the bright and blushing morn.” In lines 13-14 when the author writes “Tho’ thick the battle and tho’ fierce the fight, There is a power making for the right.” This line, “there is a power making for the right,” indicates there is a power at work that in the end the right thing will work out in your favor no matter how hard it is to do. It also shows you have to have courage because you have to be brave to do hard things. The story “Monkeyman” is about a boy in Harlem named Monkeyman that is not known to be very tough or strong, but is smart. When Monkeyman saves a girl from a gang called the Tigros, he demonstrates courage. This makes the Tigros want to fight Monkeyman. Clean is a kid that wants to be in the Tigros gang. He calls Monkeyman out to get the approval of the gang. When Monkeyman fights Clean, he lets him hit him and doesn’t fight back to try to show what is wrong with their neighborhood. The action of self-sacrifice displays courage and
Courage is shown both mentally and physically in Hiaasen’s novel. The scenes in the book that best describe Hiaasen’s message to the readers--what the true meaning of courage is--are when the protagonist risks his life to return a panther cub to its mother, when the protagonist hangs on to the last bit of hope he has for his dad healing from an injury, and when a character has lost courage in himself. Courage is one of the unique traits that define us as a human being. Sometimes, we as humans, perceive courage differently than what the true meaning of courage is. Our minds see courage as someone saving the world, or being fearless, often overlooking mental courage. Hiaasen, in his writing, poses a question to the reader, one that makes them think about courage: Does courage always mean being fearless? Is courage always associated with overcoming a fear? Humans tend to be wired with the belief that a good story should be enthralling, and have courageous characters. Hiaasen alters the reader's stereotypical view of courage . Hiaasen does not provide readers with characters that fit the “stereotype” of courage. Maybe, Hiaasen wants the reader to observe the true, and imperfect human being. The reader’s mind then makes a startling discovery, as it stumbles upon a part in the story that forces the reader to redefine their perception of courage.
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
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.
John is in the ready position, waiting for the referee to shoot the gun in the air. He hears the gun go off and sprints down the track. He keeps his pace right behind the person in the lead. John sees that the person in front of him is getting tired, so he runs with all his might and takes the lead. But he was running too fast and suddenly his left foot hit the front of his right foot. He falls and slams onto the ground and all the racers pass him. His leg is scrapped badly, but John shows courage and gets up. He runs all the way to the finish line even though all racers are already at the finish line. He showed courage, courage that is trying even though failure is inevitable. Harper Lee and Mark Mathabane exhibit this courage throughout their books To Kill a Mockingbird and Kaffir Boy. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee shows courage through Atticus when he takes up Lee and Mathabane illustrate that courage is defined as people who put effort to achieve something even though failure is likely.
Courage is an act of sacrifice that allows you to face danger without showing fear. A time he showed courage was when he threw the first punch at the rumble between the Greasers and Socs. He threw the first punch for pride, he threw it for loyalty, but he was courageous while doing so. As Ponyboy stated on page 142, "... He was ashamed to be on our side..." It took a lot of courage to throw the first punch being on a side you were ashamed of being on. He was ashamed because the person he punched was what he could've been and that crushed Darry. It would take a lot of courage to look after two adolescent boys while they are growing up. Darry could've gone to college, become a national football player and have a better life than what he had. Darry instead sacrificed that to keep his brothers together after the death of their parents. If Sodapop and Ponyboy could stay together, Darry would've gone to college. Darry was incredibly courageous to give that up for his brothers.
Courage exists in several forms in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As defined by Atticus Finch, real courage "…when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (149). The novel explores the how this real courage can be shown in different ways through the lives of many characters in Maycomb, particularly, Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Their courage is evident through their lifestyle, actions, and beliefs.
Courage is not something that we are born with, it is a skill that takes time to learn and only a few are lucky enough to have it. To Kill a Mockingbird is not only about life in a world full of hate, it is about standing up for anyone’s beliefs being brave enough to do it. In this story, Harper Lee says “Courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. It's knowing you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do” (Lee 112). In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates courage through Atticus Finch, Mrs. Dubose, and Arthur Radley.
Everyone is born with some form of courage. The question is, in their lifetime, will they choose to use it and grow from it? People can be courageous in many different situations and through multiple types of courage. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, values standing up for what is right as being the most important category of courage. Harper Lee displays acts of courage through the characters when Atticus defends Tom Robinson, Scout and Jem choose not to show their anger through violence, and town’s people stand up for Tom and Atticus; thus showing that the author believes that standing up for what is right is the most valuable attribute of courage.
To be courageous you cannot be deterred by possible outcomes that may involve danger or pain. To be courageous you have to be more than brave you have to be undaunted and have a heart of a lion. Through Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird courage and determination are embedded through the character’s actions. Atticus Finch, a lawyer in Maycomb County, explains to his son Jem, “I wanted him to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and see if through no matter what.(Lee 149)” Through this quote Harper Lee is trying to convey that, real courage is more than appearance it is a significant action
What is courage? Ernest Hemingway, an American author, defines courage as “grace under pressure.” “The Leap” by Louise Erdrich is a story narrated by the daughter of one of its characters, Anna Avalon, a former trapeze artist. Anna displays many acts of what I’d call courage in this story as her daughter claims that her mother has saved her life at least three times. In this story we get to see how her mother saved her life multiple times and just how calm and collected she is. Anna Avalon fits under Ernest Hemingway’s definition of courage.
Courage can have a huge impact in decisions people make in their daily lives and in the novel.
Courage, courage is accomplishing something that frightens someone else. In life people aren’t afraid of the same thing those people that aren’t afraid are the courageous ones. To Kill A Mockingbird is a wonderful story that is all about courage of how there is a crime that was said done by black man and a white lawyer is covering his case. The lawyer goes through this battle to win this case, but also at the same time teaching his children about life. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee characterizes Atticus as a man who has a lot of courage.
Before supporting the idea that courage is a value that we need to live the “ideal life”, it has to be determined what this “ideal life” looks like. This
The world’s greatest innovator Steve Jobs once said, ”Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Whenever someone explains what courage is, a person’s definition would be about overcoming fear or having bravery. Despite that, courage can be an individual handling what society is asking from them and going by what their hearts say and dealing with their own problems. This concept comes into play in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, where several of Lee’s characters experience courage by going against societal means. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee connects the characters going through their own conviction to show her theme that courage is going against society’s beliefs and handling one’s situation.
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.