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Throughout history there have been great people pushing the limits of human ability. These people persevered through hardships in order to come out better and shaped themselves into better people. Without experiencing hardships, we can’t learn how to improve. There are amazing people without bad times, but these people are not truly great without pushing themselves to the limit. Persisting through adverse life is the only way to change for the better. Louis Zamperini began at his place of birth in Italy as a young thief and began smoking at the age of 5. He changed his way of life and became a track star in the US who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Louis persevered through many challenges much worse than his unwealthy upbringing. Louis …show more content…
During his training for the Olympics, the games were canceled because of World War 2. Louis enlisted in the army after this and became a B-24 bombardier. During his time in the military, his crew survived multiple missions including one with an emergency landing after the plane was shot more than 600 times. One unfortunate mission ended in a crash that left him stranded in shark infested waters for 46 days. Louis and the only other survivor Russell Allen Phillips were found at sea by Japanese troops and taken to a prisoner of war camp. It was at the camp that he spent 2 years being tortured daily and starved by the Japanese soldiers. He was forced to work in awful conditions and even his dignity was taken in some situations. In the prisoner of war camp a particularly awful guard named Mastuhiro Watanabe beat all of his prisoners multiple times daily. Louis talked back to him, and in retaliation to this Watanabe did not feed Louis and forced him to clean a pig sty. “Now he was condemned to crawl through the filth of a pig’s sty, picking up feces with his bare hands and cramming handfuls of the animal’s feed into his mouth to save himself
When asked to write about an important activist who has demonstrated protest, I immediately drifted towards a Hispanic and/or feminist activist. Various names came across my mind initially such as Cesar Chavez and Joan Baez but as a later discussion in class concluded, there are numerous others who are rarely highlighted for their activism and struggles, which lead to me researching more. In my research I came across Dolores Huerta, an American labor leader and civil rights activist, who I felt was an underdog and brushed over activist in the Hispanic community.
To read a story that deals with this theme makes us realize that it is not everyone that can accomplish what they really want in their
After reading Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt and The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, I observed that both these texts share a few similarities in the way the authors portray the difficulties their characters have to face, in order to get to where they are now. After researching a few rags to riches stories and using Slumdog Millionaire and The Pursuit of Happyness as my primary sources, I found out that successful individuals from harsh backgrounds shared similar complications, yet they had the will and perseverance to get to where they are now. They faced difficulties such as dealing with poverty and hardships of everyday life, struggling to overcome the effects of addiction and abuse. They found ways to overcome these difficulties through things like having some form of education, and utilizing their knowledge, to manipulate opportunities to their advantage in order to bring about success.
The Diary of Anne Frank is about Anne Frank’s life in the Secret Annex hiding from the Nazi’s. The diary shows how the members of the Secret Annex help each other keep hope in spite of dark times.
A major factor in the development of character through personal struggle is that it shows a person what they are willing to do to succeed. One example of this is the acclaimed author J.K. Rowling. She and her daughter suffered from poverty prior to, and during the beginning of writing the infamous Harry Potter series. She had to get undesirable jobs, and write in coffee shops without a computer or copy machine, which meant that she had to manually process each copy that she sent to publishers. Through every problem thrown at her, she persevered, and proved to herself and others that she would do anything to succeed and support her family. Everyone has limits that they can push, and lines
Simon Wiesenthal life and legends were extraordinary, he has expired people in many ways and was an iconic figure in modern Jewish history. Szyman Wiesenthal (was his real named and later named Simon) was born on December 31 in Buczacz, Galicia (which is now a part of Ukraine) in 1908. When Wiesenthal's father was killed in World War I, Mrs. Wiesenthal took her family to Vienna for a brief period, returning to Buczacz when she remarried. The young Wiesenthal graduated from the Humanistic Gymnasium (a high school) in 1928 and applied for admission to the Polytechnic Institute in Lvov. Turned away because of quota restrictions on Jewish students, he went instead to the Technical University
Another reason was identity. Napoleon only represented Stalin, and that really brought out his characteristics. Since Napoleon was meant to represent Stalin, all of Stalin’s traits, most of his bad deeds, and events occurred in the book. For example, in Animal Farm, Orwell made Snowball seem smarter than Napoleon, but made Napoleon more powerful. This is true in real life because Lenin was a lot more educated than Stalin, but Stalin ended up with the power (Radinsky 97)
Many people know Susan B. Anthony as ‘the women that dared to vote.’ Many women go to vote without knowing how important she was on that decision. She is one of the most recognized historical people fighting for Women Suffrage. She was an icon on Women’s Rights history. Women regardless of age, religion, social class, fought for one objective; the achievement to get the right to vote, the right to make their own decisions. She was part of this achievement. Susan B. Anthony was an American women hero.
Evidence: Joseph Stalin was the son of a poor shoemaker from a backward province with a significantly low education. Stalin had always had a place for faith in the destiny of the Russian social revolution and an incredible amount of determination to play a role in it. Stalin’s rise to power was remarkable and deadly, yet in an unexplainable twenty-nine years of leadership he turned Russia into a highly industrialized nation. Stalin was a tyrannical ruler who played the most significant role in shaping the direction of Europe at the end of World War II in 1945. He went from a young revolutionist to an absolute leader of Soviet Russia.
From the very beginning of his time in the presidential spotlight, Theodore Roosevelt signified the Progressive goal and ambition. Often times, Roosevelt’s presidency is labeled as accidental or ironic. This irony is present in the fact that he was given the role of vice president to William McKinley simply because Roosevelt’s rising popularity and progressive ideals were seen as a threat by McKinley. The McKinley administration figured that they could silence the growing progressive voice Roosevelt embodied by giving him the menial position of vice president. So, it was seen as a shock when McKinley was suddenly assassinated, six months into his second term, and Roosevelt rose to power bringing with him new excitement and power to the Presidency (Theodore Roosevelt ). It is exactly this surge of excitement and charisma which made Roosevelt one of America’s most unforgettable presidents. His presidential career and attitude can be described by the phrase “steward of the people” which he aimed to embody throughout his term, this meant that Roosevelt made his primary goal to maintain the public good to the fullest extent of his power (Theodore Roosevelt ). Roosevelt’s character and contributions to the Progressive campaign are both equally important parts of American history and will be explored throughout this paper.
“I’m sorry, I did not mean to do it.” These were the last words of historical figure, Marie Antoinette, right before being executed for treason. Being viewed as very scandalous in her day, she lived a very interesting life: making the famous quote, “Let them eat cake,” and being accused of treason.
A person’s character is developed by the surroundings around them as well as their experiences. The Roman poet Horace quotes “…Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents in which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant…” I agree with the Roman poet, Horace, in that adversity has a way of waking talent from slumber. Adversity can encourage people in ways success and wealth cannot, as there is a benefit in the hardship. In Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot, as well as Macbeth, by Shakespeare, adversity has developed the characters. From my observation, I strongly agree that experiences, such as hardship and danger, shape a person.
One of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history, Joseph Stalin was the supreme ruler of the Soviet Union for a quarter of a century (www.bbc.co.uk). Joseph Stalin had a major impact on the Soviet Union and the rest of the world. He changed the world by making the Soviet Union a powerful, modern nation, and also the largest state on Earth through his policies and ideas. He also led the killing of millions of people including commoners who spoke out against him (McKenna 94). He also had the Great Purge, which sent anyone who was not “loyal” to him to camps and executed them. In total he killed about seven times as many people as Hitler did which would probably be about twenty to sixty million people. Stalin also changed the world by helping to start the Cold War, and also some of the countries that aligned with the Soviets in the Cold War are still in poverty because their benefactor crumbled. Stalin was the face of the second world for a chunk of the twentieth century and the Cold war. Stalin also created the Five Year Plan, which was a series of nation-wide economic plans in the Soviet Union. The plans were developed by a state planning committee and were general guidelines of the communists used for economic development. During the Cold War Stalin challenged the Allies multiple times trying to win the war and created major damage to a lot of countries including Germany. Competition between the Soviet Union and the United States escalated during the Cold War to a point where nuclear war was not going to be a surprise. Joseph Stalin ended up losing the Cold War, but still created a lasting impression due to his theory of ruling by fear. Stalin also ended the New Economic Plan that Lenin created and then he also forced p...
While there are many things standing in my way, my experiences have prepared me. My mother’s kidney disease shows me the importance of being financially prepared for the unexpected. My dad’s hard work and sacrifice has shown me how to be a hard-working woman and to put others before myself. And most importantly, I have learned that no matter a person’s race, gender, or class, you never truly know a person’s
It is stated in the article, How People Learn To Become Resilient “But the remaining third developed into ‘competent, confident, and caring young adults.’ They had attained academic, domestic, and social success—and they were always ready to capitalize on new opportunities that arose” (Konnikova). Although there had been children growing up in the same conditions there was a handful that became people you wouldn’t have thought they were capable of becoming. The children all had been facing the same adversity, so why did only one third become better people than they started off as? The answer is simple, they had the drive and capability to overcome the adversity instead of submitting to it. Instead of being content with the life they were given, they sought out to create opportunities for themselves and it benefitted them immensely. In the article The Deafening Silence Nancy Johnson states: “I dreaded speaking” and “Soon I’d drive home to take my place at the anchor’s desk or in the field…”. The two quotes are said at two points in Johnson's life; the first, when she was a young child and afraid to speak, and the second, when she was an adult with more confidence she thought she was capable of. The adversity faced may seem trivial to others, but the effort taken to overcome the adversity is exceptional. It may seem that she gained resilience from other people, but she gained her confidence from within, although it cannot be seen. Johnson could have easily succumbed to her adversity, but because of her will to achieve her dream, she overcame her fears and has fulfilled her wishes. No matter what the adversity may be, if the person has enough will, they can overcome and live a life they are content with. Although people have the ability to overcome adversities and be