How Does Tim O Brien Show Courage

Depending on the person, the idea of courage has many different meanings. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird's, the definition of courage is “when you know 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” (149). The novels definition explains that one needs to do the right thing even if one doesn’t win.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” ~ Winston Churchill. This quote defines what it is to be courageous, to be courageous is to persevere even if you know you will fail. This kind of courage is the courage which both Harold Crick in Stranger Than Fiction and Jean Louise “Scout” Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird. In Stranger Than Fiction, an IRS agent, Harold Crick, with a monotonous life learns that you must not only survive, but you must truly live. This lesson is taught through a series of events that lead to his breaking out of his shell and truly living his life. The events are preliminarily put into action through Harold hearing the voice of the author of a book about his life. In To Kill A Mockingbird, a tomboyish six-year-old, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, discovers the true meaning of camaraderie and bravery. Her friendships are strong but her definition of courage is flawed. In the end, she realizes a great truth, that to really know someone, you have to imagine yourself in their shoes. Courage is important to these two characters, as they both discover what it really means to be brave and what the true definition of courage is. Courage is not always outspoken, sometimes courage is knowing that you will fail, but trying and failing anyway and then accepting your failure.

Courage is the ability to stand up for ones beliefs and ethics that the Army has been bestowed on them, despite the danger they may face on duty. Courage which is the result of training and discipline is the kind upon which the control of men in battle is based. With such courage, the man when facing

     Bravery is the mental or moral strength to venture and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. Fear is what one feels when fighting, knowing that he or she could die. For example, when

The Help, a compulsive 2011 movie adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s novel . The quote that I want to direct you to is : "You know, courage seemed to skip a generation. Thank you for bringing it back to our family". This quote I think can refer to the theme courage and how it seems to skip a generation. In this essay, I will explain Courage in general, how we can relate this to the book, and how we can relate this to our current world.

Explaining what he once heard to be from Plato, O’Brien uttered that proper courage came from wisdom and nothing else. For one to be a true sublime human being, they must demonstrate wisdom, justice, temperance, and lastly courage. As for a man without wisdom cannot be courageous, something a man without courage cannot contain any of the other three virtues (wisdom, justice, or even temperance). To Plato, wisdom is simply not just knowing what is right and what must be done, but following through with it. Courage, portrayed so perfectly by Tim O’Brien, is “the endurance of the soul in spite of fear” (140). The act of bravery is a battle within itself. Bravery is not about acting upon one’s desires, but instead setting them aside and putting the needs of the people around them first. It is about humbling yourself to your best ability, no matter how much fear one may obtain. There are people who simply just do not understand what is right due to their lack of intelligence, states O’Brien. Then there are so many men who might know what is right, however, they have too much fear to build up the courage to fight for it. As fear so often overtakes one’s whole self without even true recognition, courage is acting against that (136). All throughout the war, soldiers are constantly faced with fear as fear tends to come hand in hand with death.

"He became not a man but a member. He felt that something of which he was a part -a regiment, an army, a cause, or a country -was in a crisis. He was welded into a common personality which was dominated by a single desire." (Crane ) The Red Badge of Courage is written by Stephen Crane. It takes place during the Civil War. Some readers think Henry is a Coward while other think he is a hero. Henry shows heroic traits when he ends up fighting, grabs the flag, and stays with the army.

True bravery is when you’re aware that the odds are against you, however, you have the ability to persevere through it. Even though you don’t want to complete the task ahead of you, an inner force brings you the motivation to do it. Sincere courageousness doesn’t always entail violence; in fact, courage comes from the choices made within that affect yourself or those around you. The outcome may not always be to your advantage, but

Courage is the ability to do something in the face of pain, grief or fear. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus serves as an example of true courage to the town when he shoots the sick dog Tim Johnson, defends Tom Robinson in his legal troubles and allows Mr. Ewell spit in his face.

This courage, or rather the opposite, is demonstrated in Tim O’Brien’s novel The Things They Carried, in particular the chapter entitled “On the Rainy River”. In the summer of 1968, O’Brien was drafted to perform military service in the Vietnam War. He, like many others, thought that this conflict was very unjust and he didn’t really understand what the United States was trying to accomplish. Unfortunately for O’Brien, he felt that if he did not go and perform the service like he intended that not only his family, but also his entire hometown would look at him as if he were a coward. In response, he states “I was a coward. I went to war.” (61). In the traditional sense, the

Courage is defined in this book as doing what is right. Even if it means you are on the

“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen,” said by Winston Churchill. I think this quote relates to Atticus because of the trial, he has to speak up for what he believes in and he also has to sit down and listen. It also relates to what Atticus tells his kids sometimes, like the time with Scout and school. In To Kill A Mockingbird Atticus is a wise father, a clever lawyer, and a brave man.

The novels: To Kill A Mockingbird and When A Girl Is Born show a common feature of having the courage to call in question the social norms of their society. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus challenges Maycomb's ways as he defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. By doing so, he is accepting the impossible by admitting that a black man is innocent and hence accusing a white folk of being guilty. As a result of doing so, he attracts many hardships. For instance, Bob Ewell disrespects Atticus by spitting on him, in return Atticus says, "So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take." This quote shows how Atticus considers the ignorant and cruel paradigm

“... I wanted you 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 you see through it not matter what” (Lee, 11). This book is a story about two siblings that experienced many things throughout the whole book, most of them hard and new to them, but at the end, they assimilated to face these things. Their father, Atticus, was a lawyer who did everything at his hands to always do the right thing, and as a result of that, Jem and Scout met several circumstances that other kids weren’t exposed to and they learned to forgive and and appreciate others the way they are. Compassion and forgiveness are perceptible in this book and appreciable things like Camellias, and Red Geraniums can represent such strong emotions.

Courage is a necessity to overcome fears and achieve a desired goal. Fear is something that exists in all of us. There is no hero or any particular courageous figure that is without fear. Being fearless is not required to be courageous, one simply has to look past or overcome their fears to possess this great quality. When overcoming fears and going against the norm, there are always risks involved. There are different types of risks that come about. Someone could risk life or limb, while others risk their reputation. Either risk is serious enough that a person must have courage to endure that particular risk. Courage can occur anytime, anywhere, and often in our everyday lives. Everyone will experience courage no matter how young,