The power to overcome life threatening experiences helps a person to grow within. In the books Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels, Empire of the Sun by J. G. Ballard, and The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay, the main characters — Jakob, Peekay and Jim respectively — were all able to overcome adversity at a young age. This was developed through their relationships with a father-like mentor, their ability to build courage from fear and their informal education. With these elements they were able to survive through harsh conditions to develop as individuals.
The main characters were able to overcome adverse situations in life through the presence of a father-like mentor. All three main characters were separated from their fathers at a very young age. Having a father figure to look up to is essential as it provides the youth with a sense of support, security and a feeling that they are not alone in the world. In Fugitive Pieces Jakob is rescued by Athos during the Holocaust. Athos cares for Jakob and takes Jakob in as if he was his own son.
“If you hurt yourself Jakob, I will have to hurt myself” (Michaels 45).
Jakob was able to rely on Athos as he grew up. He was able to feel “not that [he] owed Athos everything but that [he] loved him” (Michaels 60).
Jakob was able to feel safe in his surroundings as a result of the tenderness Athos showed him. Similarly, in Empire of the Sun, Jim was separated from his parents during the Japanese occupation of China in WWII.
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He met two people who supported him and helped him to grow. Basie rescued Jim from the streets and took care of him throughout their imprisonment. Jim emulated Basie and wanted nothing more than to gain his approval. “Jim noticed how different Basie was from his father in this respect. For the first time in his life Jim felt free” (Ballard 90).
Through Jim’s attempts to gain Basie’s approval, he was able to develop confidence and improved his ability to survive. He also developed in his friendship with Dr. Ransome. The Doctor was very kind to Jim and made many sacrifices for his benefit.
“Dr. Ransome gave too much of his own food to Jim” (Ballard 153).
He showed compassion by giving some of what little he had to help Jim. Finally, in The Power of One, Peekay is sent to boarding school away from his family. His experiences take place during the Apartheid in South Africa as he deals with prejudice and strong racism.
He meets people on his journeys that greatly impact his life. Their love helps him to overcome the emotional damage he sustains at a young age. Peekay befriends Hoppie, a train guard, who is the first person to instill confidence in him. “You ” re going to be the next champ Peekay… I think you ” re going to be [great]” (Courtenay 76).
Peekay learns from Hoppie that he is special and this impacts Peekay throughout his entire life. Peekay later meets Doc who becomes the most important person in his life and they stay very close until Doc’s death. During his imprisonment Doc had to try very hard to maintain his relationship with Peekay. “Peekay, I love you more than my life. If I do not [agree] they will not let you come see me” (Courtenay 208).
Doc’s love for Peekay gave him a reason to live and lifted his spirits.
Having people to look up to as father figures gave Jakob, Jim and Peekay hope for a better future in life. They were able to grow into strong, spiritual and wise individuals. Jakob, Jim and Peekay were all able to rise above the adversity in their lives by building courage from fear. In Fugitive Pieces Jakob lived in fear most of his life — from being discovered while hiding, from memories of his past, and from fear of being alone. Jakob was afraid of losing his childhood memories. He showed courage by overcoming this fear when Athos gave him a second chance in life.
The Essay on Life And Courage
Why is it that some people seem to live so large? There are those individuals that have seemingly done everything you can imagine. Perhaps it is diving, whether it is sky or scuba that they have tried. Or maybe it is the amazing career paths that they walk, paths that can lead us around the world, the likes of which many of us only dream of, or fear. I have always been of the belief that courage ...
Athos was trying to make him realize that if “[he] were strong enough to accept it [he] was being offered a second history” (Michaels 20).
Jakob also experienced a fear of being alone. It was very difficult for him to recover from the death of those close to him, which he experienced with his sister Bella and later with Athos. He was able to keep Athos vicariously alive by trying to finish his lifetime work. “The night I finished the work of my [Godfather] I wept with emptiness as I typed his dedication” (Michaels 120).
This shows Jakob’s courage as he was finally able to weep for his Godfather’s passing; he was able to show that he could find courage in his fear of being alone.
In Empire of the Sun Jim is faced with adverse conditions at a young age; he was terrified of being left alone. He was able to show courage through his fear as it was necessary for his survival. While at the detention centre he was faced with the possibility of being separated from Basie. He was afraid of losing Basie but he was also afraid of dying alone in the detention centre. “Straight on…
Woo Sung… It’s over there… he swung [Jim] over the tailgate of the truck shouting to the Japanese guard who sat with the prisoners” (Ballard 94).
Jim challenged the guards and spoke up in order to get a place in the truck alongside Basie. He demonstrated courage despite his fears and he was able to survive as a result. In The Power of One Peekay was faced with many situations in which he experienced fear.
This began very early in his life with his persecution by the ‘Judge’ at school. He was terrified of him yet he refused to allow himself to show his fear. “I didn’t cry, they ” ll never make me cry again” (Courtenay 27. ) Peekay did not want to show any semblance of fear which was a demonstration of his courage. His negative childhood experiences caused him to shy away from confrontation. When he finally meets the Judge again at the peak of his boxing career, he is able to confront him.
“Jaap ie Botha, come! Come, man, come, I’ve been waiting for you most of my life” (Courtenay 528).
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“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear.” I bet no person will disagree to this statement. We all have fears. Some would admit it, most prefer hiding it. The fears we have inside serve as our weakness in our times of strong points. Facing and conquering these fears is the ultimate key to eradicate these frightening feelings inside us. To start with, what is fear? According to Encarta ...
It was a turning point in his life; he was finally able to say that he was unafraid. Like Jakob and Jim, Peekay was able to take his fears and build upon them until he found the courage to survive. Through their experiences with informal education the main characters were able to overcome the adversity in their lives. They gained wisdom which helped them to grow through the difficulty they faced. In Fugitive Pieces Jakob and Athos studied the earth together.
Athos was able to show Jakob his love of geology and share his knowledge with him. “Because Athos’s… loves were rock and wood as well as human, I learned not only the history of men but the history of earth” (Michaels 32).
By sharing his love of geology Athos gave Jakob a passion of his own, one that would take help him work through his troubling experiences. Athos also helped to stimulate Jakob’s creative side through writing poetry and short stories.
“Athos and I made up characters during our Sunday walks to practice my vocabulary” (Michaels 100).
By keeping his mind sharp through his teachings Athos was able to help Jakob cope with his tough past. In Empire of the Sun Jim gains knowledge from both Basie and Dr. Ransome. They contributed to his development as a person and his overcoming of the adversity he faced. Basie taught Jim important lessons of life.
“Words are more important Jim. Put aside a new word everyday. You never know when a word might be useful” (Ballard 71).
Dr. Ransome however taught him how to keep his mind sharp. He continuously challenged him to keep growing as a person.
“Dr. Ransome set Jim a wide range of tasks. There were poems to memorize, simultaneous equations to be solved, general science and French” (Ballard 147).
Through these lessons Jim was able to put a focus on his future which allowed him to concentrate less on the adverse conditions he was facing. In The Power of One Peekay had many teachers, people that taught him about life and survival. Whether it was botany, nature, geology, boxing or music, Peekay was always ready to learn.
Hoppie taught him the lesson that impacted him throughout his entire life, “First with the head and then with the heart, that’s how a man stays ahead from the start” (Courtenay 106).
The Essay on The Purpose of Life Is a Life of Purpose
Throughout my life, I have persevered through much pain and misfortune; however, instead of using my experiences as reasons for a life of retribution and reparations, I used these tragedies as motivation to making other people’s lives better. Growing up I witnessed my grandmother assist anybody she saw struggling or needed help. During the 17 years she was a part of my life, I watched her nurse ...
He showed him how he could overcome any obstacle. Doc showed Peekay the beauty of the earth; he taught him all about rocks, fossils, and plants. There was no place Peekay would rather be than in Doc’s garden.
“Doc became my real teacher, and school was simply time spent between eight and one o’clock, when I would rush from the classroom to [Doc’s] cactus garden… I became an expert of cacti” (Courtenay 167-168).
All three main characters were able to submerge themselves in their studies which helped them to look past their early troubles. In Fugitive Pieces, Empire of the Sun, and The Power of One, Jakob, Jim and Peekay were able to rely on a father-type mentor to support them through their troubles. They found courage through the fear they faced, and immersed themselves in study with their informal teachers in order to grow and overcome adversity. It is through these three things that they were able to develop as individuals and overcome their own individual adversity..
