In the novel The Power of One, the main character, Peekay, is a very complex character who through a perilous and difficult journey is able to achieve the power of one a concept that means through personal struggle a single person is able to change the world for the better. The novel is a summary of Peekay’s life through his early childhood to young adulthood and throughout these years Peekay developes a many traits and qualities that contribute to his gaining of the power of one and through the continuous development of these traits Peekay, in turn, achieves the power of one and becomes the best version of himself. While a number of things contribute to the achievement of the power of one, three traits that Peekay obviously demonstrates are …show more content…
Peekay is 5 and is leaving the only place he has ever known but he still goes he doesn’t throw a fit and complain he goes to the school and deals with the torture and keeps his head up high. Peekay learns from this very young age that you have to be brave and it gives him this courage that he takes with him into the rest of his life. Throughout the novel this train builds and progresses from this tiny bit of bravery and it turns Peekay into a person who knows what is right and isn’t afraid to stand up for what he believes in for example when Peekay thought it necessary that the Afrikan adults got an education he didn’t sit idly by and wait for to happen he went out and made it happen not caring what the other boys or the school though because he thought it was right. As Peekay grows older he continues to express bravery and courage and in the last scene of the novel when he has to face the judge again instead of cowering at the idea and letting someone who terrorized him win just by the memory of torture Peekay knows he has to be brave so this causes him to not show fear and stand up to him anyway. This final test of will really shows how far Peekay has come and how each important event in his life leading up to this in which he needed to be brave helped him to be able to have the courage and to know that he …show more content…
He has a strong will and as this is tested time and time again it just makes him a more patient and together person. The first time this is tested is when in Baberton Peekay is told he is not allowed to box or to actually fight for two years and he must only train if he wants to be on the team. Now this had to be almost impossible for someone who wanted to box more than anything but he took his time and mastered his technique and stamina and was patient instead of just quitting took his time and built himself as boxer. Being forced to take that time and just wait and train and wait caused Peekay to learn what being patient could do for him because by the time he actually stepped into the ring he was able to win. This trait builds in Peekay through each and every match and through every confrontation of a challenge in his life but is very obvious in Peekay 's fight against Gideon Mandoma. When these two boys fight they continue going and going but instead of being an overly aggressive fighter like his opponent Peekay wait and waits and eventually it pays off because he was able to find the each right time to act and this allowed him to win the fight. Peekay had to have the self control to wait and to hold on to his head and this fight helped him to know that more so than anything else in his life so far. He couldn’t just give up and he
Do we control the judgments and decisions that we make every day? In the book,
There are some literary devices or methods that can be applied in analyzing a given story that can either be short or long. Other aspects include literary devices, contrast, repetition, and anomalies (Wallek and Warren, 1956). In this task, I will use the short story, The First Day, which is written by Edward P. Jones. I will provide a summary of the story and later analyze it by identifying the devices used and how they have been applied to bring out the meaning of the story. The story is about a little girl seeing her mother as a flawed woman. The first day of school or the young girl, she found out her mother is not perfect. It’s not easy when you grew up expecting something, but after a while you find out the opposite is completely right.
Through the three children in the story’s development, the author realistically portrays the coming of age in a world distraught with prejudice and racism. The three characters start out the start as naïve, ingenuous children, but grow up to be smart and mature by the end of the novel. Jem learns about true courage and who Boo Radley really is, a person completely contrary to his original misconceptions. Scout learns about the complacence with which a person can ignore injustices and that people are not always what the populace holds them to be. Dill learns that prevarication can lead into a very inauspicious life that can cost a human being’s life. As the characters grow up, they obtain new knowledge, learn new lessons, or understand the different aspects of life and society.
His first show of strength is when he was the youngest at his boarding school yet out of everything he went through he would never cry. “One thing got to all of them more than anything else. They could not make me cry” (45). As a little kid Peekay was beaten and made fun of but nothing was worth making the Judge and his posse happy so he held in all his pain. As Peekay gets older he learns to stand up to what he feels is right. “Then you are trespassing and I must ask you to leave at once… It isn’t nine o’clock yet, Lieutenant. No one’s broken curfew” (450-451). Peekay finds out that the police does not have the right reason to be there because the ticket has the wrong school on it, therefore Peekay stands up for what is right and tells the police what he knows is right. The police tried to mess up Morrie and Peekay’s black people school but the police was wrong wrong the whole time. Peekay is also very strong when it comes to boxing. “Lemme tell you, I never have seen an amateur throw a perfect thirteen-punch combination before” (433). Strength from Peekay's boxing comes from the countless hours he has put in to win all the fights he has been in. Geel Piet has raised him right and taught him how to stick through every fight. Peekay’s strength came from various people that came into his life. He was raised to be strong when it came to boxing and stick up for what he knew was
Courage is something that lives in all of us. However, many don’t use the virtue. Many let the aspect of fear obstruct with being brave and courageous. However throughout the novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Atticus Finch dares to travel ‘the road not taken,’ and has a mind of a modern man living through the Great Depression. Atticus is a treasured lawyer in the novel and is an inspirational role model for his kids and many others in Maycomb County. Atticus is seen taking the road not taken by others; when he is defending Tom Robinson, thus proving that he puts others before himself and most importantly when he uses teaching methods and values that are immensely different than other peoples.
In Harper Lee’s novel Atticus Finch is represented as a very courageous person whose courageousness the author of the novel brings to our attention all throughout the book but since our time is limited the student needs only to highlight three situations where they feel Atticus Finch is courageous for example he accepts a criminal case that involves a Black...
A major trait that Peekay acquires while he is in his first all boys boarding school is resilience. During his first term at boarding school, he is persecuted and physically tortured for being English.
The Judge traumatized five-year-old Peekay at his first boarding school, Peekay was given unusual and cruel punishments just for being English. These series of events altered Peekay’s perception of himself, it caused him to camouflage himself by hiding his intelligence and changing himself in order to fit in. For example, Peekay who at first seemed to be a sensitive child and who grew up in the arms of his Nanny conditioned himself to never cry after being harassed and humiliated by the Judge. The Judge affects the plot because Peekay keeps the camouflage for years to come, and for a big part of the book the main question is, “Will Peekay ever learn to accept himself?”. After over a year of torture, Peekay is free of the Judge but we later find out that he has harbored hate and vengeance for years, and he releases it
His power does not come from his physical strength it comes form his ability to persuade and control others against their will. She gives very few details on who or what the man is. And she gives no details as to where this power comes from. He wields it with grace and style, and without discrimination. By leaving out details about the man, the reader becomes suspicious of his intentions with the main character Connie. The reader fears for Connie’s safety almost as much as she must fear for hers when she realizes that she can not break his spell. Oates approaches her power archetype with a sense of mystery leaving the reader to subconsciously fill in any blanks with details that are daunting and frightful. This power is mysterious and seemingly unlimited in its effect and
Jem's definition of bravery changes as he grows up; he gains insight and experience of the world around him. At the beginning of the story, Jem only thought of bravery as touching the side of the Radley house, only because "in all his life, [he] had never declined a dare. (pg 13)" However, as the story continues, Jem learns about courage from several events. Upon hearing about a trial where a black person's been prosecuted, Atticus decides, as a lawyer, to defend that person. Atticus chose to defend Tom Robinson, an African American, because it's the right thing to do, and no one else wanted to ,or had the bravery to. "Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win, (pg 76)" he said to Scout and Jem when Scout asked. Atticus was courageous for doing something just, even though it's not encouraged. Jem also learns a different kind of courage after learning about Mrs. Dubose's fight with a morphine addiction. Jem and Scout disliked Mrs. Dubose because she was quite a mean person. Later, they were glad they didn't have to read to her anymore. Atticus told Jem that Mrs. Dubose simply had her own views on things, and that her fits were from her addiction. Atticus made Jem read to her and explained, "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway According to [Mrs. Dubose's] views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew. (pg 112)" This is similar to Atticus's choice to defend Tom.
To many people, courage means bravery and admiration. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it teaches us there is a different type of courage – moral courage. Moral courage means doing the right thing even if it risks disoblige, reputation, punishment, or being laughed at. The theme of moral courage seems underlying at first in the book, but through the actions of some characters it becomes apparent. Atticus Finch a lawyer, widower, and father shows this theme by defending and guarding a black man. Another character that shows the theme of moral courage is Ms. Dubose, a frail old lady, who was a drug addict fighting a battle with morphine. Through the interactions with these characters, Scout and Jem learn that courage is different than they expect it to.
Scout learns that by yielding to prejudice, we often hurt and cause strife unto others. For example, Scout is harassed and becomes the target of insults when her father decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman. This is a plajurized essay. The hate felt towards black people by the majority of the Maycomb citizens causes them to bother and harass those who attempt to befriend the black people. Forgive me for stealing this essay. Scout realizes that the only reason she must undergo this torment is that her father is defending a black man, which has become taboo because of the corruption that racism has caused in many people. In addition, Scout watches Tom Robinson undergo unfair treatment and false accusations. Please dont tell my parents I stole this essay. Although Atticus provides the jury and the people of Maycomb with overwhelming evidence benefiting Tom, and ultimately proving him innocent, this is not enough to overcome the powers of hate and racism. Scout watches as the jury deliberates and convicts Tom Robinson of murder because he is a black man. This is a stolen essay. Although Scout witnesses a myriad of injustices occurring against black people, she also sees an exiguity of kind and compassionate movements towards black people.
Many Children receive Bravery Awards every year around the world, and none of them hold any weapons or punch someone in the face to prove that they are brave, unlike what the majority of people picture it. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus believed that true bravery and courage is facing the negativities of life and society persistently, and by sticking to your belief no matter what the cost is. Jem and Mrs. Dubose are two characters that strongly apply to Atticus’s meaning of bravery and courage.
Learning to do the right thing, does not come easy for children. This especially is difficult to show your friends and siblings, what to do and not to do. This lesson does not come easy for Jem, but he learns how to have courage in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the novel, Jem transforms from a very childish young kid to a very mature young adult due to learning the lesson of real courage.
The other thing I think is very important to note about the power of one