“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” (Winston Churchill). Leon Leyson had many failures along his time of being held captive, none of which were fatal to him. After his success in surviving the Nazi captivity, it isn’t the end of his story. Leon Leyson was one of the Jews that survived Hitler's reign in The Boy on the Wooden Box. He showed a lot of courage throughout his story, and is forced to make some tough decisions at the moment. Leon also courageously fights the Nazis efforts to take control over him, despite his family being killed while doing the same. He cares for his family, endures his challenges, and helps others. One reason Leon is the most courageous character is his care for …show more content…
his family. Leons mother was honestly heartbroken about leaving her youngest child, and Leon didn’t like it either, so he took action.
The text states “I am sure this man was one of the ones who roamed the camp shooting people...” (Leyson 130). The guard at the gate would have had the heart to just shoot Leon in the stomach and be done with it. However, the guard spoke to Leon and let him go to the factory, where he could be with his mother, and his mother could feel comfortable knowing he was safe. Overall, Leon cared for his mother, and knew she wouldn’t be able to live without knowing he was safe and alive, so he took action and risked his own life for her comfort. It takes some real courage to risk your life for your …show more content…
mother. The second reason that Leon displays the most courage as a result of social injustice is his endurance of the challenges he faces. The text states, “Having been given a little ray of hope, the loss of it was worse than not having it at all. I knew I wouldn’t survive...”(Leyson 129). Despite the fact that he himself said he wouldn’t manage to survive, he did. In all of his hopelessness, he managed to build up enough courage to make his way to the factory from his dreadful death-camp, and home known as Plaszów. It takes a lot of courage to come out and fight for your last hope. To connect, Leon did just that, and made it to the end. Leon took the hits that were struck out by the Nazis to his family, himself, his soul, his way of life, and his overall well being, and courageously went on to the liberation of the Jews. Some people may argue that Mr. Frank from The Diary of Anne Frank is the most courageous character in the face of social injustice, because of his effort to help Mr. Dussel, who is in need of a hiding place. The text in The Diary of Anne Frank states, “...could I find him a hiding place? . . . So I’ve come to you… would you take him in with you?... Of course we would” (Goodrich and Hackett 37-38).. The Franks and Van Daans already had it hard enough with just the six of them, and scarce space and food. Mr. Frank knew this as did everyone else. However, he still didn’t feel right letting another Jew stay in the open, to be taken by Nazis. So, with all of the limits, all of the hardships, he still took a seventh, not so nice man, which shows him to be courageous enough to help the man at risk of himself, and everyone else in the attic. However, Leon does even more to dedicate to helping the safety of others. “...after almost two full days, we dropped down from the rafters”(Leyson 105). Leon Leyson was obligated to hold up in the rafters for almost 48 hours, more for his two friends and mother, then himself. Most people would have kept themselves safe, and not cared for the others. Leon goes out of his way to help the newly orphaned children, and exhausts himself, and maybe it was for himself, but definitely not only himself. In contrast, to Leon's actions, Mr. Frank doesn’t consider everyone else.While he helped Mr. Dussel by letting him live in the attic with them, he further risked the hunger and space of everyone else in the attic. Leon’s care for his family, his endurance, and his willingness to stand up for the weak and helpless are just three reasons Leon is obviously the most courageous in the storm of social injustice.
Courage is the ability to resist fear and carry on with what you have to do. Leon’s courage is necessary in the book for many reasons. If he hadn’t shown any courage, he wouldn’t have had the courage to find where his father was being held near the beginning of the story. He wouldn’t have stood up to the guard, which would result in his being stuck in Plazów. There, he would have for sure been dead before the end of the war, and we wouldn’t have heard his story, his mother would have been crushed by the third lose, and the whole story would crumble. In the modern world, courage like Leon's is needed for many reasons. Recently in the United States, people had the courage to fight to keep the confederate statues. It took courage to do so as people were killed during that time. Leon shows that even when there is no hope, all is lost, and you are sure it is the end that it is vital you still have the courage to fight for that little bit of hope that you’ll make it. Leon does all of this, as do all the other great courageous figures in
history.
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no help at all.� Dale Carnegie believed that perseverance could overcome even the harshest obstacles. Perseverance is inspired by a purpose, an unsatisfied drive to achieve a goal. During a cataclysmic event, only people with a purpose endure.
Between 1933 and 1945, Nazi Germany established more than 40,000 camps and other incarceration sites that killed the elderly and children as if they had no purpose. Leon Leyson was one of the few to survive and retell his whole story to us through the book “The Boy in the Wooden Box.” Leon would’ve never been able to tell us his story, but he had perseverance. Leon had a lot of perseverance at a young age because he understood what was going on around him. Having a positive is the best response to conflict, especially in time of war.
"Some do not realise the journey they are taking until they are faced with its obstacles."
Leon Leyson had to work hard to survive. He made himself useful and therefore they kept him in the factory. When he would work he would get food and that helped him survive. He had hope that he would survive struggling for a way out. For many years he struggled in the camp until finally. Schindler let them all free.
The second prisoner was a young boy who was being hanged for the fact that he stole weapons during a power failure. The significance of this particular hanging was the young boy’s lack of rebellion, his quiet fear and the unbearable duration of his torment. The boy had lost all hope and was one of the only victims who wept at the knowledge of their demise. What made this case different from the rest was not only his youth, but also his silence, and emotion and the fact that it took a half an hour for him to die, as a result of the lightness of his young body. Even though he was constantly tortured and provoked by the guards before he was hanged, he still said nothing, unlike the two people who joined him, who both shouted in defiance. His quiet courage really stood out as an unspoken and unannounced rebellion not only for the Jews, but it showed the doubts that some of the guards began to have. “This time, the Lagerkapo refused to act as executioner.” Although this quote is one sentence it still shows the effect the boy had on everyone in the camp. Even though the prisoners had been living with the constant presence of death, the execution of this young boy made them feel emotion they believed they had lost forever. This death was an unsaid act of rebellion in the sense that it showed the audience that there was indeed still some sensitivity left no matter how much both the prisoners and the guards were dehumanized: the prisoners as merely a number, and the guards as ruthless
Based on the Merriam Webster dictionary, courage is defined as the,“mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.” In the play, the characters are tested and forced to make life or death decisions, with
There was one character which showed extravagant amounts of courage, and gave a Jewish man refuge in his own home. This character was Hans Hubermann. He had met someone in World War 1, who he had become great friends with, and who had even saved Hans' life. This man was Erik Vandenburg. After Erik died Hans payed a visit to his family to return some of his belongings. As we was talking to Erik's wife, "he slid a piece of paper with his name and address on it across the table". He had offered them any kind of help they could need, in order to return the favour of Erik saving his life. And with that, he left. Many years later, when World War 2 was beginning, there was a knock on his door. It was a Jewish man, by the name of 'Max Vandenburg'. He was Erik's son and he was seeking a hiding place from the Nazi soldiers. Hans let him stay, just like Johanna Eck did, sacrificing his food, his life, and even his families life. There was an incident where Nazi soldiers were checking basements, Hans didn't try to get rid of Max. No, he simply just hid him and hoped for the best. Hans later died in an air-raid, and if it weren't for him, Max would have to. Well, he probably wouldn't have even made it to that point of time alive it it weren't for Hans. Max survived the entire duration of World War 2, in its fictionalised version by
“Each time we face our fear, we gain strength, courage, and confidence in the doing.”
“Courage - a perfect sensibility of the measure of danger, and a mental willingness to endure it.” Courageous people understand the danger that they face when they act how they do. That is what courage is all about. Many historical events occur due to people having the courage to do what they think is right, or because of those who use their courage to do what they want. Having the courage to stand alone in one’s beliefs may be one of the hardest thing a person can do.
“Adversity isn't an obstacle that we need to get around in order to resume living our life. It's part of our life.” - Aimee Mullins
Lev doesn’t identify as a patriot or a defender of the city. He strives to become a hero, to triumph. Almost immediately, Lev and Kolya are thrown into a battle with a giant cannibal. Kolya represents what Lev aspires to be, a mature man. Lev is not yet mature enough to fight the giant like a man. He runs away as Kolya fights of the cannibals, even though he aspires to help. Immideatley after Lev escapes he thinks he “was betraying Kolya, deserting him when he was weaponless and [Lev] has a good knife,” (Benioff 60). Lev wishes to be the person that fights. He aspires to be the patriot he claims to be, but is reminded in this encounter that he is not mature. “I’m not a coward I know I looked like one back there, but I’m not,” said Lev as they continued their journey (Benioff 64). Lev wants to be brave. He doesn’t want to be a coward and is trying to convince himself that he isn’t. Lev repeatedly claims to be something he is not, in the hope that someday he will become it. The journey continues to be difficult as they struggle to find shelter in the cold, fail to travel in the right direction, get shot at in the house, and join the other captives in the Einsatzgruppe labor camp. He is still viewed as an outsider by the german as he questions Lev, “you’re young still. We all had our awkward years,” (Benioff 195). Benioff reminds the reader that through all the challenges of Lev’s journey, Lev is still young. He has not become a man.
...n but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” [Lee, 1960, p. 149]
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” – Nelson Mandela
“Rest if you must…But don’t you quit! Success is failure turned inside out, the silver tint in a cloud of doubt. You can never tell how close you are. You may be near when it seems so far, so stick to the fight when your hearts been hit, it’s when things go wrong that you must not quit.”
Failure is not merely the reciprocal of success; moreover, it is the shadow of success waiting for the correct path of light to grow and unveil itself. Instead of being melancholy about failing, we should take our failure as an advantage to do the correct thing and succeed. After all, as said by Ellen Degeneres, “It’s failure that gives you the proper perspective on success.” I, along with the billions of other people on this planet, have failed many times in life. However, there are certain failures that can teach us a value so powerful that it can outpower the most preached teachings or morals.