Trapped By Hyeonseo Lee

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“Survival can be summed up in three words- never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying.” (Quote by Bear Grylls) (H) This quote depicts how important never giving up is to one’s survival. Hyeonseo Lee from “My Escape from North Korea” and Aron Ralston from “Trapped” both portray what it takes to be a survivor. Lee’s family is repeatedly jailed as she tries to get them from North Korea to South Korea, but she doesn’t give up. Ralston becomes trapped when a boulder crushes his arm against a wall. Ralston tries again and again to get his arm out form between the boulder and the canyon wall, but to no avail. Ralston refused to give up and succumb to death, but unfortunately he had only one option left: he had to cut his arm off. …show more content…

(C) In the speech, Lee says, “‘But soon after, my family was arrested and jailed again, in the capital of Laos.’” (Lee, “My Escape from North Korea”) (E) At this point in time, Lee had no money left, since she had already bailed her family out of jail before. Despite her lack of money, Lee does not give up. The only thing that kept Lee from giving up was her determination and sheer will- power. Lee tries again and again to get her family out of jail and she tries several different ways of doing this. (A) “‘I went back and forth between the immigration office and the police station, desperately trying to get my family out.’“ (Lee, “My Escape from North Korea”) (E) This quote demonstrates the determination that Lee has to get her family out. This determination matched the amount of determination that Lee had shown when she was a kid living in China. Lee had been determined to not get caught, and, as a result, she didn’t. Lee has no money to post bail, so she thinks of other ways to get her family out of jail. Unfortunately, none of her methods are able to get her family out. However, Lee is still able to find a way to get her family out, but it was not her own doing. Overall, it was Lee’s determination that helped free her family from the confines of North Korea.

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