Many people face challenges and difficulties in their lives, but do they give up or persevere through them? The Sudanese war was an immense challenge for many people. Most of all, kids and teenagers who faced many obstacles along their journey, but they persevered to survive the war. This idea is evident in the books Lost Boy, Lost Girl by John Dau and Martha Arual Akech and A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park because the characters John, Martha, and Salva persevere through the hardships to survive. In Lost Boy, Lost Girl, John demonstrates persevering because he persists through the war to head to safety. For instance, John perseveres by swimming across the Gilo River. The text states, “ ‘ I can’t help you’, I shouted at the big man. I kept struggling and swimming and kicking” (Dau 70). This shows that John perseveres because he is facing a challenge, but he is overcoming it to survive. He is struggling to swim across the Gilo River, but it is his only chance to flee from the ambush. Additionally, John perseveres by walking distances while facing starvation. The …show more content…
text states, “ We kept walking and walking. One day, we crossed the Kenyan border without realizing it. There was nothing to mark that we had entered a new country” (Dau 95). This conveys John persevering because he is constantly walking although he is hungry. Now that John made it to Kenya, he will feel calm because he will receive safety and valuable resources from the camp. Overall, John demonstrates persevering by swimming across the river and walking towards Kenya. In addition, Martha from Lost Boy, Lost Girl portrays persevering because she faces many obstacles along her journey while encountering a major responsibility. For example, when Martha was in the camp, she was worried about the abrupt shooting while protecting her sister. The text states, “ There was shooting, and some of my group was killed… Tabitha was big enough to walk on her own, but he was scared and crying a lot” (Akech 83-84). This demonstrates Martha persisting because she is protecting herself and her sister although she is in great terror of the artillery. Furthermore, now that Martha survived her journey and is under protection in the camp, she is focusing on her education while avoiding a Dinka tradition of marriage. “ I started to think that if I were educated, when I grew up I could take care of myself and my sister” ( Akech 110). This shows that Martha is persisting by focusing on her education for future use while trying to avoid getting married which would affect her because she would not be able to have her own voice in the future but be under someone else’s rule. Martha is also mature because she is thinking about her future and what choices can impact it. All in all, Martha portrays persevering because she takes responsibility to her own hands and is thinking about her future. Similar to John and Martha, Salva from A Long Walk to Water shows persevering by walking and remaining determined.
For instance, Salva persevered by walking which led him to find his uncle, who he depends on. “ Uncle was true to his word. That very day he shot a young antelope, the kind called a topi” (Park 36). This shows that Salva has trekked through parts of Africa, leading him to find his uncle. Salva is also dependent on his uncle for support. Likewise, at the end of the story, Salva loses his uncle causing him to regain his independence. “ There is no one left to help me. They think I am weak and useless. Salva lifted his head proudly. They are wrong and I will prove it” (Park 66). This indicates that Salva is determined and has the confidence to continue his trek. Therefore, not only is Salva relentless, but he is also fierce because no matter what obstacle comes his way, he is moving
forward. All in all, the characters John, Martha, and Salva portray perseverance throughout their journey to survival. John swims across the Gilo River and walks distances. At first, John is fearful, but towards the end, he is calm because he survived and knows what to do the next time the situations occur again. Moreover, Martha encounters a major responsibility and puts her future ahead of her. In the beginning, Martha is in great terror with all the shooting. Towards the end, she is serene and has the time to reflect on her future. Last, Salva trekked and found his uncle, who he depends on. In the end, he has to regain his independence because he is completely orphaned. Many of the lost boys and girls of Sudan moved to the U.S. where they were able to start over, but many of them are still orphaned and living in poverty.
To begin, Salva went through a dangerous war but he managed to be mentally strong. When Salva’s uncle had died, the group of refugees that Salva had been traveling with started treated Salva as extra weight. Salva made the choice to keep going. He was determined to prove to the group that he is not useless and can be independent. In Chapter 11 it says, “The way they were treating him made Salva feel stronger still. There is noone left to help me. They think I am weak and useless. Salva lifted his head proudly. They are wrong and I will prove it.”(66) This quote shows that Salva became stronger because it helped Salva realize not to terror his life and that he does not need to depend on anyone and that he is more than what they see and think of him.
The novel Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals has many themes that are shown. One of the major themes that stuck out to me was inner strength and perseverance. Inner strength means to have Integrity of character: resoluteness of will: mental resistance to doubt or discouragement. Perseverance means steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
He was determined to find his family, no matter how hard it was. One piece of evidence to prove this is on page 52, it said, “ The sun was relentless and eternal: There was neither wisp of cloud nor whiff of breeze for relief. Each minute walking in the arid heat felt like an hour. Even breathing became and effort…” This confirms that even though the weather is blazing and super hot, Salva kept walking. This supports the theme because he had perseverance to keep pushing himself, and Uncle supported him too. Also, on page 80, the text mentioned, “ They were traveling through a part of Sudan still plagued by war. The fighting and bombing was worse during the day, so Salva decided that the group should hide when the sun shone and do their walking at night.” This demonstrates that Salva still tries to find a way to guide the group to safety. He is determined to keep the pack moving. Finally, on page 110 it remarked, “ A step at a time. One problem at a time-just figure out this one problem. Day by day, solving one problem at a time, Salva moved toward his goal.” This explains how Salva works to solve problems and achieves his goals. This supports the theme because Salva has perseverance to help his people. This is how Salva has perseverance and goes on a long journey to find his
Adversities are often given a negative connotation and view, as most consider them to be hurdles which impede progress. Nevertheless when taken in and accepted under a positive light, adversities can serve as stepping stones through which an individual can better their character. In the face of looming obstacles individuals who persevere come out of the situation as stronger, determined, and more hopeful for the future.
In the context of the story, Salva's intelligence and capability has helped Salva on several occasions to survive, keeping himself safe and healthy. For example when one of the quotes occurred, without Salva having the ability to walk long distances, and living on little to no water and food, and without supervision; he probably would have died, but due to his capability of being able to work hard and persistently with no key essentialities, it kept him alive. Furthermore, in this quote it evincing that Salva got leadership, intelligence, and self-sufficiency; when he learned at school he could be a great leader, and he pursued it. In addition, in another piece of evidence, Salva must make immediate choices and responses in a certain time; like when Salva must make quick decisions on how to survive after the Soldiers are trying to drive out the refugees by forcing them into the crocodile-infested Gilo River. Soon after Salva must decide on where to travel next, and he became the leader of 1500 Sudanese boys. This is simply overlooked as on page 72 and 73 of ALWTW where it states, “Salva had no choice, He jumped in the water and begin to swim ... The rain, the mad current, the welter of arms and legs, the screams, the blood... He had to get across somehow…. Salva made up his mind, he would walk South, to Kenya. He did
When individuals face obstacles in life, there is often two ways to respond to those hardships: some people choose to escape from the reality and live in an illusive world. Others choose to fight against the adversities and find a solution to solve the problems. These two ways may lead the individuals to a whole new perception. Those people who decide to escape may find themselves trapped into a worse or even disastrous situation and eventually lose all of their perceptions and hops to the world, and those who choose to fight against the obstacles may find themselves a good solution to the tragic world and turn their hopelessness into hopes. Margaret Laurence in her short story Horses of the Night discusses the idea of how individual’s responses
He felt more persisted in proving them wrong in their actions and feelings. He was thinking that someday they’ll look at him as a person to look up to or a hero, not the young helpless little boy he was. Eventually, Salva pursued that dream. He became stronger and became a leader during his walks. When Salva became a leader, he persisted in getting to his destination.
Salva doesn't know where his family is and later on he gets to move to New York.. Salva wants to find his family but he doesn’t know where they are and they don’t know where he is. The reason Salva shows the theme Determination because on page 53 it says, “The worst moment of the day happened near the end, Salva stubbed his bare toe on a rock. The pain was terrible, but Salva still walked to the rock.” this shows Salva has determination because even though he hurt his toe he still kept walking and didn’t give up. Another reason Salva shows determination is on page 61 because it says, “Uncle when you go back you might meet my parents, you could tell them where I am.” this shows Salva has determination because he never gave up trying to find his family he still looks.Last reason Salva shows the theme Determination is on page 67 it says “If they are here, I will find them.” this shows Salva has determination because he still wants to find his family even if he can’t find them he still won’t give up
Most people do not actively seek out adversity, yet few can escape encountering adversity in the form of hardships and afflictions. Two people who faced great adversity in their lives were Martin Luther King Jr. and my father Brent Vickery. These men both faced adversity in different degrees and at different times and places within the United States, but what makes them similar is that their strength of character allowed them to face adversity boldly.
In the novel The Golden Compass, it is proven that persistence is a great personality trait. This is proven first by the fact that Lyra wants to go to the north but is constantly being told no. She tries again and again until she is finally allowed to go. Secondly Lyra wants to learn about the alethiometer but there are over a thousand meanings. Later on in the book Lyra figures out these meanings because she never gave up. In the novel The Golden Compass there are a lot of powerful meanings and one that is clear is that never giving up builds confidence because people with confidence know they can overcome whatever challenges they may face.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines perseverance as the continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition. In today’s society, there are so many walls and barriers that prevent humans from achieving their dreams and goals and people begin giving up. However, great poets such as Homer and famous music groups such as Mumford and Sons have used the strife of humanity to compose works that can be used to inspire and institute hope for humanity. With perseverance, there are three key aspects, struggle, loyalty, and strength. The struggle is what allows humans to learn, grow, and better themselves, the loyalty demonstrated provides motivation for success, and the personal strength allows the person to build
Throughout life many people face difficulties. Depending on the person’s strength some will get through tough times, but some will fail to overcome them. Two books where characters have to face many challenges include: Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. These two stories deal with people overcoming the difficulties faced throughout everyday life. Some difficulties include racism, religious discrimination, and dealing with others’ cruelness or kindness. Examples from these books prove that the characters have challenges throughout the stories to overcome. In the face of adversity what causes some individuals to fail while others prevail?
Many people show perseverance, including me. I showed perseverance when I failed a quiz and I knew to get my grade up I had to work harder and study more. I knew if my parents found out that I failed a quiz they would yell at me and would be disappointed on me for getting a bad grade on a quiz because I didn’t study. This factor contributes me to work harder, I learned that I need to work harder to succeed, like Salva, how he showed perseverance by looking for his family.
“Even though we face difficulties of today and tomorrow I still have a dream”- Martin Luther King.At times human beings face difficulties in life.These difficulties can either change us for the better or the worse. In the novel “The Outsiders” by S.E.Hinton we see how different people deal with different difficulties in their lives and how they’ve learned and grown from those experiences whether it would be positive or negative. People learn and grow from challenges and often people change from these experiences.
People don't truly accept life for what it is until they've actually tasted adversity and went through those misfortunes and suffering. We are put through many hardships in life, and we learn to understand and deal with those issues along the way. We find that life isn't just about finding one's self, but about creating and learning from our experiences and background. Adversity shapes what we are and who we become as individuals. Yann Martel's Life of Pi shows us that adverse situations help shape a person's identity and play a significant role in one's lief by determining one's capabilities and potential, shaping one's beliefs and values, and defining the importance and meaning of one's self.