What makes a person virtuous? Virtue, by definition, is the moral excellence of a person. A morally excellent person has a character made-up of virtues valued as good. He or she is honest, respectful, courageous, forgiving, and kind, for example. C. S. Lewis had a particular talent of incorporating good or bad virtues into the characters of his stories. One of Lewis’s renowned stories is Out of the Silent Planet which follows the adventures of a man named Ransom. Ransom was abducted via spaceship by two men, Devine and Weston, and carried all the way to the far planet of Malacandra, in our world known as Mars. It is here that Ransom escapes, meets many different creatures, learns the language, falls in love with the land, but eventually has …show more content…
the chance to return home. But back to the first question. What makes a person virtuous? A person cannot attain virtues by just avoiding evil. Virtue can be acquired, however, by making active, moral choices. Therefore, in Out of the Silent Planet, Ransom had good virtues in the way he made actively made excellent choices. Ransom had many virtues while on earth and was able to attain more on Malacandra.
Ransom was full of virtues because of the way he constantly practiced them. Whether it was crawling his way through a hedge in order to bring a little boy home to his mother, or willing to give up his life in order to save the Malacandrians. These constant acts of moral excellence make Ransom a character full of virtues. Before Ransom, Weston, and Devine were preparing to leave back home, Oyarsa, the guardian spirit of Malacandra, speaks a few encouraging words to Ransom. Referring to Weston and Devine, who planned to destroy all of Malacandra’s inhabitants, Oyarsa says, “Watch those two bent ones. Be courageous. Fight them.” Notice that Oyarsa does not say to avoid them. He suggests that Ransom be constantly fighting the evil, not avoiding it. This is another way that Ransom achieved …show more content…
virtues. Weston and Devine, on the other hand, did not have good virtues.
Weston believed that he could save the human race. He planned to invade and take over different planets, one by one, so that humanity would live on forever. As Oyarsa said to Weston, “There are laws that all hnau (creatures) know…and one of these is the love of kindred. He (the devil) has taught you to break all of them except this one, which is not one of the greatest laws; this one he has bent till it becomes folly and has set it up, thus bent, to be a little, blind Oyarsa in your brain” (Lewis, 137). Weston believed that this one great act he was doing for humanity would justify all his unrighteous deeds. Weston did not value individual life, only the human populace as a whole. Weston, therefore, did not have virtues. He had one goal in mind, but did not practicing excellent deeds a habit. Weston had kidnapped Ransom and brought him as a sacrifice in order to save humanity. His morals and habits of excellence were lost. A bent man who is actively and zealously pursuing a single moral law is capable of far more evil than a man with no morality at all (Lewis,
138). In the captivating story Out of the Silent Planet, Ransom was virtuous because he made choosing right thing an active choice. Weston, however, did not. Ransom had upstanding morals because of the way he actively pursued them in the day to day acts of kindness and righteousness he committed. Weston, however, had one moral, and did not make a habit of practicing any others. Weston, in the end, was his own god, and even though he was willing to die for humanity, he was not willing to die for one person. Virtue is something that cannot be taught. It is something that one must actively pursue on their own. Avoiding evil things and evil ways will not give a person virtues. The only way for a person to attain and keep good moral excellence is to practice it daily. Avoiding digging in the dirt will not keep you from being dirty. For it is natural for our bodies to become dirty. In order to stay clean, we must bathe daily. It is just the same with virtue. Avoiding doing purely evil things will not make us excellent. For we as humans are always sinful. But if we pursue all things excellent and praiseworthy and make a habit of practicing those things, then we can attain virtue. One of the most important ways we can practice virtue is by putting individual life before our own.
The Christian Sci-Fi novel, Out of the Silent Planet, was written by the British theologian, author, and professor C.S. Lewis in 1938. The book is a third-person account of the space travels and alien encounters of a lonely philologist named Elwin Ransom, who is abducted by two elementary schoolmates while he was on a walking-tour. This begins his unexpected galactic journey to Malacandra, where upon landing there, he escapes from his kidnappers and experiences the nature, creatures, and morals of the foreign land.
Although he is initially fearful, his experiences in Malacandra nurture the growth of his courage and help form him into a better person. His bravery is seen to be lacking in the beginning of the story, such as when he attempts to stop Weston and Devine from harming the boy Harry. Even though he tries, his attempts are weak and lack conviction, as he merely shouts at them. On Malacandra, he lives in almost complete fear for the first part of the story, running and hiding from creatures he knows nothing about. It is only his meeting with the Hross that convinces him that not all the inhabitants of this strange world are hostile towards him. In befriending the Hross, Ransom begins to form a more open mind towards Malacandra, still somewhat fearful but now beginning to see it more and more as a home. He later encounters the creatures he feared most, the Sorns, and learns that they too are not hostile. Gradually, Ransom becomes acquainted with all three species, and in talking to them and seeing their viewpoints on things begins to lose his fear. He even comes to care for Malacandra and its people, to the point where he tells Oyarsa he should kill not only Weston and Devine but himself to protect it. Ransom’s suggestion shows that his courage has blossomed to the point where his willingness to defend is much stronger than it was when he tried to defend the boy Harry, the valuable lessons learned from the
Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published in the year of 1960, and is one of the few American classic novels awarded the Pulitzer Prize. The racism that is prevalent in many southern American towns in the 1930s is brought to life with profound imagery in To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several characters in the book, yet the true main character is the narrator's father, Atticus Finch. He is a man of great integrity and intelligence. A very heroic figure in more ways than one, Atticus possesses traits like being principled, determined, and, more importantly, he teaches others. When looking at To Kill a Mockingbird, one can see that Lee uses lots of description, dialogue, and actions to portray Atticus as a heroic individual.
Atticus Finch’s unique, courageous personality and contrarian mindset are proven through his unconventional actions throughout the novel. His stoic nature correlates with his extreme courage, a moral facet of his multi-layered personality that he highlights with various acts of nobility that many in Maycomb do not expect and often despise, but he continues on regardless. Early on, Atticus shows an aspect of his moral courage when he consoles Scout on the topic of getting bullied about his decision to defend Tom Robinson. In this specific instance, Atticus explains to Scout that, “no matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change” (Lee 101). Letting insults and rude remarks fly over
...ery, effectiveness, and honor. These virtues lead one to live a life of excellence in which they received praise from society. In the Christian tradition, a virtuous life was following the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, which caused one to live a fully flourished life as a human being. Telemachus is a man who was considered virtuous in both the Greek world and the Christian world. He showed qualities of all the virtues required and lived his life in order to better himself.
Of all the qualities in a hero, the ones that make helping a heroic act are honesty, wisdom, dedication and conviction, which John from Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher and Clarisse from Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury portray. John and Clarisse are both honest about everything no matter what anyone says or thinks. They also take the wisdom they gain from their experiences, and use it to create a positive impact on those that they are helping. The level of dedication that John shows is one side of a pole while Clarisse’s level of dedication is on the other. Clarisse puts more conviction into changing perspective, since she does this just by staying true to her opinion. John and Clarisse both show honesty and wisdom in their actions when they are helping people, but they differ in the level of dedication that makes them heroes and heroines.
As Martin Luther King Jr. quotes in A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that” (qtd.in. Goodreads.com). Atticus’ words of wisdom for the duration of To Kill a Mockingbird are used as a guiding light for not only his children, but the nation as a whole during the Civil Rights Movement. Through the 1950’s and 60’s African-Americans all over the U.S. were fighting to end Jim Crow Laws. Their movement inspired many and was what also influenced by Harper Lee’s to write her first literary work. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee uses the character Atticus Finch as a moral compass to show that true courage comes from
The book To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960 by an author named Harper Lee. Harper Lee born was April 28, 1926 in Monroeville Alabama Lee had made 2 novels in the time she was alive she had wrote To Kill A Mockingbird and Go Set A Watchman. Harper lee had also illustrated a few children's books. So what is courage? To Kill A Mockingbird gives the readers a look into how terrible things were in the south during the 1930’s from prejudice to racism to morality and even youth. When an African American man named Tom Robinson is wrongly accused of raping a young, white girl a lawyer named Atticus Finch takes the case. Atticus Finch is the main character's father. Atticus is very different from most people in Maycomb county, Atticus believes in justice for all and that
To many people, courage means bravery and admiration. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it teaches us there is a different type of courage – moral courage. Moral courage means doing the right thing even if it risks disoblige, reputation, punishment, or being laughed at. The theme of moral courage seems underlying at first in the book, but through the actions of some characters it becomes apparent. Atticus Finch a lawyer, widower, and father shows this theme by defending and guarding a black man. Another character that shows the theme of moral courage is Ms. Dubose, a frail old lady, who was a drug addict fighting a battle with morphine. Through the interactions with these characters, Scout and Jem learn that courage is different than they expect it to.
“It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to your enemies, but just as much to stand up to your friends,” remarks J.K. Rowling in her book Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Jem Finch, a boy from a small town in the South struggles to fully understand this idea. To Kill a Mockingbird suggests that real courage is standing up for others regardless of the what it may cost you. As a young boy, Jem’s understanding of courage and bravery are wrapped up in how others might view you, rather than who you really are inside. A little later he sees courage as having a clean record with others. Then Jem learns that courage is not giving up on someone or something even if you know you’re probably not going to win. Finally, Jem uses
They strive for 100’s, but in doing so, they score 82. This is not 100, but it is still considered good and in a sense would be considered virtuous. Concluding, in America today virtue exists on a scale of maybe 70-100, resulting in degrees of virtue, but all encompassing the status of virtue. If virtuosity was held to the strict standards of Aristotle, humans would never act virtuously. Although still a minority, people of virtuous character exist more than as would be spelled out by Aristotle.
He made his own enemies look up to him with respect and never gave up his great moral character. He turns noble through every act and scene. A noble person is someone with moral character, courage, generosity, honor and bravery to do what is right. They are the people who show respect for what is right and face obstacles, challenges and risks and face the consequences and challenges of proving what is right.
First, we notice that Weston has very little value placed on individual rights. If it is for a greater scientific discovery, Weston believes he may break rules to get to that point. In the book he tells Ransom, “You cannot be so small-minded as to think that the rights of an individual or of a million individuals are of the slightest importance in comparison with this.” His knowledge overpowers his heart and care for other people.
Being able to be around another person who is doing virtuous acts rather than doing virtuous acts by one’s self, gives the good man more realization that he is in fact an excellent person.
Odysseus from The Odyssey shows that honor is what most heroes valued. Odysseus returns from home and sees the hundred suitors competing to win his wife Penelope. He plans to kill them all along with his son Telemachus. One of the suitors, Eurymachus, apologizes and offers him wine, meat, oxen, bronze, and gold. However, Odysseus says “ ‘Not for the whole treasure of your fathers...would I hold my hand’ ” (22.61-63). This shows honor because he refuses many valuable treasures. In addition, he risks his life by going against a hundred suitors and is implacable in his choice to kill them all. During his journey, he resists many appealing women that tempt him to stay in the name of honor and for his family. Therefore, this shows that Odysseus is honorable, and he can consequently be an example of how older heroes possessed honor. Furthermore, earlier heroes also held bravery as a trait. [Jeffrey