Examples Of A Defining Moment In Here's Herbie

Throughout this unit, we have read sections that revolve around characters reaching their defining moment. A defining moment is an event that typically determines a point of all subsequent occurrences, or when you embrace a situation that has given you struggle. In order to reach your defining moment you have to give yourself the opportunity to come out of you shell. For example, the main character in Here's Herbie, by Mike Feder and the speaker of Two Kinds by Amy Tan both portray an event that was their defining moment. In the story, Here’s Herbie by Mike Feder, the speaker describes his feelings of being self conscious on the train to his doctor's appointment. There is a man on the train who is mentally handicap and doesn’t realize that people could possibly be judging him, while he is imagining that he is “driving the train” with his toy steering wheel. The speaker simply wanted to stand up and look out with window but he was too nervous because he thought the New Yorkers would judge him; when in reality they simply look and look away. He says “..I felt that it would be extremely uncool to stand there like some jerk-off and just stare out the window. When I was fifteen, I didn't want to seem like I was six” (Page 156). As the story proceeds, the speaker find the courage to get up and stop caring about what people thought about him. He then had had his defining moment. Another selection

If neither of them would have stood up and did what they wanted they would still be worried about situations tomorrow would bring. Whether they would be too embarrassed to do something because of being judged, or having to fail at performing another crazy task. Although the character in Here’s Herbie dealt with an internal conflict and the narrator in Two Kinds dealt with an external conflict, they both had to gain the courage to do what they felt would be sufficient to their