The Role Of Perseverance In Hemingway And Unwind By Neal Shusterman

Only individuals who are patient and who have a strong determination can achieve their goals through the means of persevering. Many people may fail at persevering through tasks because these tasks are often times difficult. Many times, people get discouraged and quit. As Samuel Johnson once said, “Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance”. This quote explains how the best outcomes come from persistence. Whenever one is faced with a problem, they are tempted to ignore it, rather than solve it. However, by not giving up and working diligently until this problem is solved, a desirable outcome will result. This quote and concept is shown furthermore in the works, The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and in Unwind by Neal Shusterman.

Perseverance is shown in the novel, The Old Man and the Sea by the main character, Santiago.

Even though he is an experienced fisherman, he has gone 48 days without catching a single fish. Due to this, he has acquired the nickname ‘Salao’, which is a form of dreadful unluckiness. He is perceived as being so unlucky that Manolin, his companion, has been forbidden to fish with him. His parents commanded him to fish on another vessel with more success. Through it all, Santiago keeps an optimistic attitude stating, “Only I have no luck anymore. But who knows? Maybe today. Everyday is a new day”. This mindset shows how the character of Santiago is not one who is easily discouraged. He has been coming home everyday for over a month with an empty skiff. Yet, he has not reached the point of defeat, or giving up. He believes everyday is a new day. Not only does he have tremendous optimism, but he also shows a considerable amount of self-confidence. Even though every other fisherman thinks he is wasting his time and unlucky, Santiago goes fishing anyway. He does not picture himself as a being elderly, unlucky, or weak. Instead, he believes that he is equal to any other

fisherman.
Santiago's hard work pays off on the 85th day of his fishing retreat when he catches a prodigious marlin. The old man encounters his first problems when he realizes the massive size of the fish. He only has his wits and fishing gear to bring this fish back to shore. In addition, Santiago was so far away from the shore, he could not even see it from a distance. As the marlin pulled the boat, he kept getting further and further away from home. While other fisherman may cut the fishing line at this point and find another fish, Santiago sees this as an opportunity. He calculates that if the fish is pulling against the current, it will grow weak eventually. The old man knows that it will take a considerable amount of time for the fish to tire. Infact, it takes several days. During this time, Santiago faces many obstacles which hindered his success. One complication occurred when his hand would cramp up as he tried to pull in the line. This event was especially frightening to him because if the marlin made a sudden move, it could easily get away. Through this ordeal, he remained calm, trying several remedies to release the cramp. Through it took a few hours, his cramp eventually ceased. As the days at sea dragged on, the old man grew tiresome. When he felt it was safe enough to sleep, he did, only to be awoken by a jolt. His catch had jumped out of the water, which caused Santiago to hit his head on the sern. Instead of withering in pain, Santiago took action. When the fish was finally close enough to his boat, he harpooned it, claiming his victory.
As the novel advances, the reader does not judge Santiago’s weaknesses, including his lacerated head or cramped hand. Nor does the reader judge the old man on his foolish decision for sleeping or going too far out at sea alone. Instead, they admire Santiago for overcoming these struggles to complete a seemingly impossible task. Through his entire fishing trip, he never gave up. Likewise, he solved the problems as they came to him and persevered. If Santiago chose to give up from the beginning, he never would have caught the colossal marlin.
Perseverance is additionally shown in the novel, Unwind. This novel not only demonstrates perseverance in the main characters, but in minor characters as well. In this novel, there are thousands of teenages fleeing from the act of ‘unwinding’. In this process, body parts are separated from a donor's body and given to someone else, if needed. This act is socially acceptable because when the body part is separated, it is still, in a sense, alive. The characters who are running from this act must hold their moral values before the values of the laws and the rest of the population. Even though the rest of their country disapproves of them running away, they must not give up if they want to remain whole.
One of the main characters, Connor Lassiter, perseveres the most. Conner has known that his parents have planned to have him unwound for months. Still, he does not say anything to his parents, or anyone else about it. His external emotions show him being content with his life and parents. However, on the inside Connor is falling apart. The night before he is about to be unwound, he asks his girlfriend to run away with him in desperation, which she turns down. Yet, Connor still chooses to run away from his predetermined fate. Through this time period, Conner faces a plethora of conflicts, which could prevent anyone from escaping the act of unwinding. One of these conflicts shows his strength and purity at heart. When he is running from the police, he saves two other characters, who were also about to be unwound. Additionally, he lets them travel with him. This situation may not be ideal for other characters in this novel. Traveling with a group could mean being easily spotted and identified as they are traveling through cities and towns. This could also cause a depletion of resources, such as food and water, which are crucial for living on the streets. Saving these two characters shows the Connor is willing to put others’ needs in front of his own. In other instances, Conner is met with police who are specifically looking for runaway unwinds. In this situation, Connor cannot panic and meet the police with violence. Instead, he formulates a plan and act nonchalant. Dealing with this type of situation may be especially difficult for Connor because he has met every other problem in his life with violence. However, through all the conflicts that Connor faced, he never showed any sign of defeat. In fact, every conflict that was resolved was treated as if it was a victory. In the end, his perseverance pays off. He is saved from the outside society by living in a secret society of unwinds.
The book Unwind shows how strength is not the only ability one must possess to complete difficult tasks. One must also show a strong characteristic of perseverance as well. Even though Conner’s strength helped him through the novel, if he used strength alone, he never would have reached his destination. For instance, when he would find himself face to face with a police officer, using his brute strength would have indefinitely gotten him captured. Even though it took much self-restraint and forced him to show a sign of weakness, Connor ran away from the policemen. Even though strength may have been used in this situation, there are many other conflicts where his brawn could not have been used. For example, he cannot vanquish the emotional pain he felt being betrayed by his parents, or the hunger he faces on the streets using his fists. Instead, he most formulate a solution for dealing these circumstances. Evenso, Connor brings on more challenges for himself when he lets the two other unwinds travel with him. When he ran away, he knew the journey would not be easy. In fact, he knew it was nearly impossible. However, through his determination and refusal to give up, his desired result was met, and he was saved. It was not pure strength which led him to his destination, but also an immense feeling of perseverance.
When faced with any conflict in life, one must not look at the problem and think that it is too hard or impossible. Desired results come from those who look at a situation and formulate a plan to solve it. Now, this plan may not be easy or enticing. However, any plan is better than no plan at all, or simply giving up. When someone is diligent about a task, their results will be better, as opposed to someone who quickly finishes the same task. In other words, someone who is persistent with what they are working on will have a better end result, than someone who gives up on the task from the start. Proof of Samuel Johnson’s quote is shown in the two novels because, each task that was met with persistence was met with a victorious success.