Examples Of Optimism And Courage

Elie Wiesel shows us that kindness can give the human spirit hope to get through hard times. When Elie first goes to Auschwitz the guards torment him and his fellow inmates, the man in charge of his block is kinder. He offers the men a piece of advice,

“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.

Imagine floating on a raft in the middle of the ocean. You are famished and dehydrated and on the brink of death. Sores cover your sunburnt skin, and sharks surround the raft waiting for you to fall in. But somehow you remain optimistic. You find happiness in the little things. Perhaps a rain storm passed and you were able to drink and collect water. Maybe you caught a fish or a bird to eat. It’s the little things that are keeping you alive. This is how Louie and Phil were in Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken. They were both very optimistic about the situation. However, their friend Mac was very pessimistic. He would not talk, ate all the chocolate rations, and was just trying to protect himself. All of these men were able-bodied, fit, and received

Holocaust Survivor, Elie Wiesel, in his speech, “The Perils of Indifference” (1999), advises that having an apathetic attitude to a situation is dangerous a society in need of help. He supports his claim by gaining credibility from his audience and uses imagery to help, then addresses briefly about his past life and an example of when indifference occurred, and finally, throws everything that transpired in the past and hints what we can do differently in the future. Wiesel’s purpose is to urge the audience to not be indifferent to what is happening around the world, but to see how society could all help. Throughout the speech, there are a few different tones such as gratuitous, passive, and grateful for his audience to make a change.

As with all human beings, there are happy memories and bad memories. Some have no effect, and others can change someone’s life completely. Elie Wiesel’s autobiography, Night, writes about Elie’s external conflict of the horrors of the Holocaust’s violent concentration camps. Elie resolves this conflict by having all the hope of the world in him and enduring the evident deaths of his family members; however, Elie’s trek also illustrates his character as both enduring and dependent. Elie’s decision to staying hopeful and stay enduring also reveals the universal theme of, “The toughest and darkest of times and experience can test your hope”

Little rock, Arkansas 1957 in Warriors don’t cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, her and eight other African American, high school students integrates Central High School. Only eight of the nine that begin at Central High lasted for the full year. Melba and her eight friends face new wars every day. These are some of the traits she uses to survive her year and overcome her enemies at Central High School. Melba relies on her courage, faith, and not only her physical strength, but her mental strength as well.

“He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again”. This quote stated by Elie Wiesel from his speech, “The Perils of Indifference”, refers to the day Elie Wiesel got liberated from the Holocaust when he was young. The Holocaust was just one of the many horrific tragedies that occurred during that century. In hopes of changing the future for the better, Wiesel decides to deliver a speech about helping the victims of injustice. He gives this speech intended for the President, Mrs. Clinton, members of Congress, Ambassador Holbrooke, Excellencies, and friends hoping that they will make positive changes for the future. By using rhetorical strategies such as anaphora, rhetorical questions, and ethos, Wiesel tries to help the victims of injustice and prevent future tragedies from happening.

Throughout history, there have been countless times whenre individuals have courageously fought for change and societal justice. For instance, Gandhi helped India gain their independence, even though the circumstances were extremely risky for him, and could have led to his arrest or even death. However, he continued to persevere through it all, and was able to accomplish great things for his country. Another example is Malala Yousafzai, who promoted the education of girls in her country. Despite the clear threat of the Taliban, she continued to fight hard for her cause. Courage can be defined in many different ways, such as the ability to persevere and accomplish something in a frightening or risky situation. Examples of courage can be seen all around the world. Without courageous people, society would not have been able to improve. Being courageous is difficult, and requires an abundance of dedication and perseverance. It also includes remaining strong, despite the challenges that may occur along the way.

Undeniably, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an interesting yet enlightening read about the discrimination and unfairness African Americans faced in the 1930s through the eyes of a child. There are numerous passages throughout the novel that are life lessons for not just the characters in the story, but the readers. Without a doubt, one life lesson that is displayed in the story is the empathy shown by Atticus. The life lesson of personal integrity is also a major one in the story, as well as persistence. Lastly, the theme of courage is significant and the life lesson of the mockingbird in the story has a deeper meaning than what might appear to readers. Overall, the life lessons of empathy, personal integrity, persistence,

Ronald Reagan once stated “Peace is not absence of conflict, it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means”. In the passage “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank, a story of how a young girl responds to conflict by staying optimistic. In “Dear Miss Breed”, written by Joanne Oppenheim, Japanese children of all ages write letters to Miss Breed that explain the conflicts that the individuals have and how the children overcome and resolve it. Others may say that the most effective way to respond to conflict is to stand up for what a person believes in, however, the best way that people can respond to a conflict is to have a positive outlook because it helps to not focus on the hardships in an individual’s life, alleviates stress,

Over thousands of blacks were discriminated in the 1950s because of their skin color. Blacks and whites were prohibited to go to the same school just because of their skin color. However, in the year of 1957 the Little Rock Nine were the first nine black students that integrated to Central High. If this group of people didn’t have the courage to attend Central High our schools would be extremely different today.

Forty-two years after entering the concentration camp for the first time, Elie Wiesel remarked, “Just as man cannot live without dreams, he cannot live without hope” (Nobel Lecture 1). This means a lot from someone who endured almost two years of the terror in the WWII concentration camps. During these two years, Elie endured the sadness of leaving his former life and faith behind, the pain of living off of scraps of bread, and the trepidation of the “selections”, where he almost lost his father. He watched the hanging of innocent people, was beat by Kapos and guards time after time, and marched in a death march right after having a foot surgery. Through all of this, he survived because he remained hopeful. Hope was all the Jewish people

The optimist sees the rose and not its thorns; the pessimist stares at the thorns, oblivious

Ordinary courage is a book that tells the story of an ordinary man who is inlisted in the continental army in the revolutionary war. Joseph Plumb Martin is the young man fighting in this war, at the time he entered he was just a mere 16 year old kid but by the time his time in the continental army was up he became a man. This is a first person memoir of what it was like for a regular person living in a war zone, and dealing with the everyday fears of food shortage, low morale, and danger of attack. This is something that many people in todays world could not handle because even some of the old guys in the

We’ve all faced difficulties in life and been at a point where having courage and maintaining hope was the only option available. While you may think courage simply means an act of bravery it’s much more. Courage takes a bigger picture of an act of bravery. It takes one to believe and have the ability to push through the hardest of times even when the results may not be guaranteed. It can be compared to a weapon armed in everyone's heart. You know when to take your gun out and load the bullets. A few of the main characters in the novel Between Shades of Gray ,Elena, Lina, and Andrius display courage in occasions that are easier said than done.