Stuck Between A Rock And A Hard Place

For instances, in the book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, Mariam gives up her life and surrenders to the Taliban, so Laila and her children can live a better life, one without fear of the Taliban hunting them down for the death of Rasheed. Insert quote. Mariam could have run away with Lalia, but she knew that they would always have to look over their shoulder, to worry if today is the day that the Taliban come. She wanted Laila and her children to live a long happy life, especially after all the hardship they have already suffered. Mariam only had Laila and her children’s happiness in mind when she made her decision. She made the most noble gesture anyone can do; she gave up her life for others. Sacrifices don’t always need to be made with someone’s life though. Another example is ‘sacrificing’ or donating money. Thousands upon thousands of people donate money to charities, whose only goal is to change the lives of others for the better. When most people donate money, their purpose isn’t to make themselves feel better or to bring them more happiness, their true purpose is to give to those who need it, to help establish a better life for others. Sometimes we get so caught up in the grandeur of things, that we don’t always remember that sometimes the little acts can also make a big

Heroes have achieved many feats that support the belief of a greater good and expressing valor and selflessness through the ages. There are fictional or real life accounts that have recognized these men and women for their vigor and marked them as heroes due to their events of success and motives of committing the heroic deeds. Yet there are copious amounts of people who have sacrifice themselves for a greater good but they have been lost through time even if their actions were prosperous or doomed in the end with a valiant purpose. They are unsung heroes who committed the actions based on their inner fire of what is right or honorable or rather than the fame they hope to achieve from those acts. The world or a populous may not know of their actions, but the actions and beliefs of an individual or group can entitle them of being hero-like without the necessity of recognition and success. They have lost their lives or a part of themselves to a cause based on righteousness rather than self-gain. They presented selfless heroism rather than the the intention to receive praise from the victories. Sacrifice contributes more to Heroism because the individual invested his or her own determination, valor and accepting the opportunity to risk their self-health (physical or psychological) based on great intentions rather than reaping the accolades of committing good deeds.

Another case was when Salva’s uncle was going to leave Salva, so his Uncle can fight the civil war in Sudan, and he overcomes this by continuing his life at the refugee camp, “He doesn’t want to leave me here, but he must fight for our people, I must not act like a baby, I must try to be strong.” (60) Salva did not want his Uncle to leave, but he decided to just accept the fact that

When one fails to triumph, one looks for a solution. When one realizes hardship will ensue from a decision, one must make a sacrifice. However, sacrifices can lead to accomplishment and prosperity, as they may serve as the solution to the original problem. This concept is addressed in the novel, The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. In the novel, the main character, Henry Fleming, must decide to make sacrifices that will forever affect his life. However, they eventually will lead to his happiness. Henry’s ability to eventually find his solution after making continual sacrifices demonstrates the novel’s underlying theme that setbacks do not spell the abandonment of one’s goal.

Many people are willing to sacrifice for what they desire, whether out of selfish or selfless motives they are willing to sacrifice themselves or others. This sacrifice is a costly and even puzzling act. One must wonder, is this sacrifice for better or for worse? Here are two stories that will show two different sides to this query.

“Eliezer prays to God to give him strength never to do what Rabbi Eliahou’s son has done.”(Wiesel 97) Sometimes, people see other’s give up something in return for a commodity that they believe is greater at the time. Although it may seem like a good idea, in the long run it turns out to be a bigger burden to carry knowing that you can’t go back and fix what you have done. In other instances like this one, the burden they gather after the satisfaction of no heavy lifting is not as great as the

If you have sacrificed, you have suffered. The fundamental parts of the human condition is that everyone has an equal capacity to suffer. Whether It’d be sacrificing yourself for perceived security, sacrificing your happiness in order to keep someone safe, or suffer with someone and make the ultimate sacrifice. All humans are ultimately equal with the ability to lose, sacrifice, and suffer. In Ethan Frome, Ethan sacrifices his familiar lifestyle to be with Mattie. In Age of Innocence, Archer longs to be with Ellen. In The Yellow Wallpaper, the narrator sacrifices her decision making in order for perceived security. In A Pair of Silk Stockings, Mrs. Sommers gives up her responsibilities for some pursuit of happiness. In all these stories there is a universal characteristic of suffering and sacrifice. All humans can suffer equally and ultimately sacrifice to help others, even if it hurts themselves.

In Washington in 1982 there was a plane crash on the pentatonic river. A man repeatedly saved other lives in the place of his own. Rosenblatt states “The odd thing is that we do not even really believe that the man in the water lost his fight.” This man had so much courage and faith to put others lives before his. This saying, he had a plan in mind, he followed through with it, and achieved it so he did not lose the fight, he really won, and also shared his victory with others. He gave up everything he had to give hope to others. Rosenblatt gave another point being, “When the helicopter took off with what was to be the last survivor, he watched everything in the world move away from him, and he deliberately let it happen.” One could think he was content with what he had done. He sacrificed himself for the life of another life. This being said, the anonymous man in the water not only saved 5 lives with a humble heart but gave hope to

“Father,” I screamed. (Wiesel 96) A man's hands locked around my neck leaving me breathless. I struggled to move trying to yell for help, but no sound had come out except the sound of gasps for air. I looked into his eyes, deep into a mad man's eyes. I let a loud yelp and my father rushed over trying to get the man off of me, but my father was to weak. My father yells for someone to help him. Finally the man let go off the grip had noticed after the minutes without air I finally felt the pressure on my neck release. I laid there taking in as much air I could take, and my face that was red slowly perished. My father came back as himself and looked over at me with a surprised look on his face. I do not think he know what happened, so I will not bring it up to him.

When people are in these life or death situations they have to do things they thought they would never have to do. For instance, in the book “Night” by Elie

An example of this is shown in The Book Thief, and in fact, it’s the main plot line. Hans welcoming Max into his home can be considered a sacrifice made by the tugs of guilt Hans felt for making it through the war without Max’s father, Erik. Hans had offered Erik’s family anything they ever needed from him by saying, “‘You know… he saved my life… He-- if there’s anything you ever need’” (Zusak 179). At the time, Hans had been feeling incredibly guilty for having survived while his friend had died and left his family behind. Hans had risked his life by hiding and housing Max, and this sacrifice had helped rid him of the guilt he felt for Erik. Although it was something he was doing for a friend, housing Max was a favor he was completing to make up for the loss and culpability he felt when Max’s family lost their father. The example of this from Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is also a major plot point in the book. Atticus Finch spends the story defending Tom Robinson, a black man who has been framed for a serious crime in their town. During the time period that the book is set in, African American citizens were heavily oppressed, leaving them to be judged and put down by the people in their towns. By defending Tom, Atticus was sacrificing his life, knowing that he would be targeted for defending somebody Maycomb looked down upon. Atticus took the job defending Tom because he realized that Tom couldn’t be judged just because he was a black man, and because he felt guilty for the people in Maycomb being so cruel to Tom just because of his race. Atticus was brave enough to face whatever was to be thrown at him so he could gain justice for Tom in his time of need. Atticus showed courage and sacrifice when he continued treating Tom like the human he was even when the community could only see him as the enemy. Atticus describes courage as, “It’s when you know you’re

In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Lenny runs from the murder he has committed in an attempt to find safety from the men on the farm who would surely kill him for what he did. As Lenny runs away, he is not letting losing his job at the farm, losing his source of income, and losing his dream of owning his own farm with George affect his decision. He is only concerning himself with his own safety from what he has done. When man fears that his personal life is in danger, his first instinct is to abandon dreams and freedom for safety and survival; therefore, security of life is the main concern. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones similarly portrays the sacrifices one makes for their own safety and that of their family.

Although we do not tend to notice, humans number one priority is survival. It is only when our lives are endangered when we will take extreme lengths for our survival. In the film, The Good Lie, a handful of children left their village after their parents and fellow villagers were murdered by soldiers. Theo, one of the few children, chose to be cheif of the younger ones, and lead them to survival after his parents’ death.

Confused, shocked and fear filled my mind as I lye on my side, gasping for air, trying desperately to stagger onto my knees. A sharp pain suddenly ran up my spine into my forehead and quickly I collapsed back onto the cold damp floor inside this mangled metal coffin in which I was trapped in. Bit by bit I moved my hand closer to my forehead, trying to impede this massive throbbing that was affecting my head. I skimmed my forehead and paused my hand on a huge gash. The pain shot into my head again, but I was able to clutch on to the seat and hold my balance. There was blood pouring down the side

Fate can be very complicated in life. Fate is determined by not only God, but the decisions people make. Fate can be either good or bad, as it is the end result of prior events. Often in literature we see fate as being grouped with death. Sophocles once said that “the greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves”. When people guide themselves or others to their downfall it is one of the most powerful control of fates. This can be proven in the literature works of Antigone by Sophocles and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. Where the characters are tragic heroes and what makes them tragic heroes is that they accept defeat for their beliefs.