The Value Of Fortitude In The Grapes Of Wrath And Ma Douglass

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Americans value the virtue of fortitude through overcoming hardships because they

wanted to be successful. Success is “the accomplishment of one’s goals” (dictionary.com). To

be successful or for a person to attain success means that the person achieved their own personal

goal and they are fully satisfied with the outcome. Americans have preserved through tons of

aspects in history, such as slavery and the Great Depression, and they have come out of those bad

times stronger and wiser. Americans, such as William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass, are

just two of the great Americans, who demonstrated fortitude and later achieved success. Fortitude

was not only demonstrated in history, but also in literature, such as Ma Joad in The Grapes of

Wrath and Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter.

In The Grapes of Wrath, Ma Joad exemplifies fortitude through her consistent striving to

get her family to California. She persevered through many hardships during the journey, such as

the birth of Rosa of Sharon’s child, the deaths of multiple family members, and the constant

arguments among the family. She attained the role and responsibility of being the “head honcho”

of the family, allowing more stress and anxiousness upon herself during the trip. Through every

hardship, Ma stepped up and took the situation into her own hands and made sure the problem

disappeared. She exemplified such strength during the time of both Grandpa and Grandma’s

death. She saw the tragic sadness of the family and knew that she had to rise up and take action

and keep the family on track to California. So when the family had to pass the border patrol, Ma

took on the responsibility of making sure the police did not see th...

... middle of paper ...

... not one of the Crown’s appointed duty collectors was willing

to perform his job. In 1776 Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, and thus the colonists won the

battle over the stamp tax.

Some people might say that fortitude is not the most valued virtue by Americans. Those people might say justice is the most valued virtue. Justice is to do the right and moral action and to look out for others. Fortitude is the most valued virtue by Americans because the United States was founded upon strenuous times and hardship. The Founding Fathers fought to claim this land from the English in order to build a country’s foundation upon free ideals and liberty for the people. From the very beginning, the people have bore hard times and have come out stronger and more successful.

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