Courage
“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear.”
Mark Twain
Interpret, agree or disagree and support your point with an example from a novel .
English 10 Honors
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“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear- not absence of fear.”
Mark Twain
Interpret, agree or disagree and support your point with an example from a novel .
I feel this quote can come off as saying that courage is really conquering your fears, looking them dead in the eye and saying your not going to win. From that interpretation I can say I do agree with the quote. One of the best novels I have read putting this quote into action would be ALL BUT MY LIFE by Gerda Klein. It is novel concerning the Holocaust. Throughout the novel she does her best (and does win) to conquer (the fear of) death and survive. Also at one point in the novel she holds a play in one of the camps to raise the morale of her fellow prisoners and even if just for one day help them forget about the unfolding tradgedy in front of their eyes. Reading this book may give a person a much better understanding of this quote and courage.
To me, this quote means that courage isn’t about avoiding one’s fears, but facing them and overcoming them. I agree with this because I think that it takes more courage to face something threatening than to avoid it completely. The work that I think fits this is a short story; “Throw like A Girl” by Jean Thompson. The main character, Gail, showed MAJOR courage by visiting her dying friend. Gail had always feared the death of a loved one, but she faced her fears. Gail visited her friend and stayed with her until she died. This showed courage because she was willing to put her friends needs infront of her own, even if it meant coming face to face with death. This short story, to me, was a great work to support the quote.
P.s.-Why am I not surprised that you used a Mark Twain quote, Sr. J. ha
I feel that this quote means that to achieve courage you can’t just ignore fear. to have courage you must be able to overcome your fears. I fully believe that this is true. If you just avoid whatever you are afraid of then you will never grow and overcome it. I think that this connects with the book Speak (insert underline here), by Laurie Halse Anderson. The main character Melinda was raped and she is scared to face the boy who did it and is scared to tell anyone. In the end she faces her fears not only by telling her friend but also when she fights back when the boy tries to attack her. That is why i think that this novel fits in with that quote.
P.S. so is Mark Twain your man-crush? lol only joking!… But seriously is he?
Well, my interpretation of this quote by Twain is that: in order to bask in your courage you have to overcome your fears first. That means that you can not just ignore them and think that they are going to go away. Conquer them. That will make all the difference in the department of courage. If I could choose a novel that included this “philosophy”, I would not choose one. I would say that the poem “Still I Rise ” by Maya Angelou exudes it better than any novel I have ever read. The women in the poem ahs fears up the whazoo of people and the harsh words. But some how she raises above the fear and does not let the horrors take over her life.
P.S. Sorry I know I use this poem a lot a lot but it is one of my favorites!
The quote is saying that people must live with their fear that is inevitable but,it is very much possible to overcome fear and learn to deal with it accordingly in daily life. I agree with Katie on this one she has an excelent point when she says to be courageous you must first overcome your fear. I have read alot of books that deal with this kind of idea the book I chose would have to be Whirligig. This is because the main character must travel to the four corners of the country to make whirligigs for the girl he killed. Doing something like that takes a lot of courage. This means he had to master all the fear of traveling all alone, and not knowing what lied ahead.
The quote is saying that people must live with their fear that is inevitable but,it is very much possible to overcome fear and learn to deal with it accordingly in daily life. I agree with Katie on this one she has an excelent point when she says to be courageous you must first overcome your fear. I have read alot of books that deal with this kind of idea the book I chose would have to be Whirligig. This is because the main character must travel to the four corners of the country to make whirligigs for the girl he killed. Doing something like that takes a lot of courage. This means he had to master all the fear of traveling all alone, and not knowing what lied ahead.
Ohh, Twain is one smart cookie.
He’s absolutely right.
The best literary example I can think of to support the quote is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the… series. Throughout all seven novels, fear is always present. However, instead of running away from the terror that steadily builds and threatens the existence of Muggles everywhere, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Order of the Phoenix refuse to run away. They face their fears. They master them. If they hadn’t, Voldemort would have taken over. Therefore, Twain makes a lot of sense.
I agree with Twain completely. Having courage means you face your fears like a man and do not simply run away from them. You cannot hide what you are afraid of. It will haunt you in the night like oh say…an anthology! (Just kidding Mr. J) One example of this is included in a novel I read, This Lullaby, by Suzanne Fisher Staples. The main character Remy is faced with whether or not to run away from her insecurities. In the end, she stands up to herself and finally allows someone to get close to her, something she was before extremely afraid of. I agree with Katie and Missy when they stated that to be courageous you must first overcome your fears.
P.S. (Ah more dear anthology memories!) Why are you a Twain stalker, Mr. J?!?!
As the trend seems, most people are agreeing with the quote. Not to be a conformist, but I also agree. The presence of fear is not something that can be avoided. But fear itself can be dealt with. One who faces their fear is courageous, one who is fearless is a liar. The ablility to see that there are more important things than avoiding what you are afraid of is one of the marks of a brave person. Fear is only as influential or insignificant as you let it be. In the novel Cell, by Stephen King, (anthology work), the main character soldiers on to find his son, facing all the horror imaginable. Anyone would be afraid in that situation. Not everyone would be able to continue. Not everyone can accept fear, accept and move through it. It’s like a veil or mist.
Well I interpret this quote as if there is no fear present courage is not needed. I agree with this quote entirely. A person can say they are courageous but if there has never been any fear in there life, they have never had to be courageous. If a person can be brave and master fear in a difficult situation, they are the true definition of courageous in my book. It is hard for a person to master a fear and if they do, it is a feat in itself. I know I have fears and for me to overcome them would be amazing. if I was to overcome my fears, I would be courageous. Mark Twain is 100% right when he said this.