I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
-Nelson Mandela
From coward to courageous.
Upon thoroughly developing the virtues of dignity and morality, the success-aspiring American citizen now has a clear-path to developing the most crucial aspect of the success-trait development theory: Courage. Americans utilize their understanding of dignity and morality to reevaluate their past moments of cowardice to fuel them to act courageously in the present.
THe Catcher in the rye and courage.
Continuing on with J.D. Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye," Holden Caulfield may come off as a measly, pathetic, teenager, he actually is a character designed to demonstrate some of the highest, yet subtle, moments of courage. Although minor in nature, Holden's courageous actions are especially bold for someone of his character and with the things he's experienced in his lifetime.
For example, after he was expelled from yet another private educational institution his parents sent him to, Holden decided it was time to get away from it all, his family, friends and society, and run away.
For example, after he was expelled from yet another private educational institution his parents sent him to, Holden decided it was time to get away from it all, his family, friends and society, and run away.
"He knew I wasn't coming back to Pencey.
I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out. I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all. They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself--especially around mid-terms, when my parents came up for a conference with old Thurmer--but I didn't do it. SO I got the ax. They give guys the ax quite frequently at Pencey (Salinger, 4)."
I forgot to tell you about that. They kicked me out. I wasn't supposed to come back after Christmas vacation, on account of I was flunking four subjects and not applying myself at all. They gave me frequent warning to start applying myself--especially around mid-terms, when my parents came up for a conference with old Thurmer--but I didn't do it. SO I got the ax. They give guys the ax quite frequently at Pencey (Salinger, 4)."
Holden then spent the next few weeks, if not months, roaming the city, getting intoxicated, all whilst avoiding the "phonies" and anyone else he recognized. However, Holden recollects of his younger sister, Phoebe, who it turns out sincerely cares about him and his well-being, contrary to that of his seemingly-negligent parental figures.
I started thinking about how old Phoebe would feel if I got pneumonia and died. It was a childish way to think, but I couldn't stop myself. She'd feel pretty bad if something like that happened. She likes me a lot. I mean she's quite fond of me. She really is (Salinger, 156)."
Phoebe's expression of care for Holden clearly details why he then goes on to make the daring choice to return to his home, risking an encounter with his parents; an encounter likely to get ugly very quickly. Upon encountering Phoebe in his house, Salinger, as Holden, writes:
"'You did get kicked out! You did!' old Phoebe said. Then she hit me on the leg with her fist. She gets very fisty when she feels like it. 'You did! Oh, Holden!' She had her hand on her mouth and all. She gets very emotional, I swear to God.
'Who said I got kicked out?' Nobody Said I-'
'You did. You did.' she said. Then she smacked me again with her fist. If you don't think that hurts, you're crazy. 'Daddy'll kill you!' she said...
'Cut it out, now,' I said. 'Nobody's gonna kill me. Nobody's gonna even--C'mon, Phoeb, take the goddamn thing off your head (Salinger, 165)."
'Who said I got kicked out?' Nobody Said I-'
'You did. You did.' she said. Then she smacked me again with her fist. If you don't think that hurts, you're crazy. 'Daddy'll kill you!' she said...
'Cut it out, now,' I said. 'Nobody's gonna kill me. Nobody's gonna even--C'mon, Phoeb, take the goddamn thing off your head (Salinger, 165)."
Despite knowing the possibility of encountering his parents after running away, and inevitably facing a scrutinizing lecture from his younger sister, Holden still decided to return home, simply for the sake of letting Phoebe know that he was, in fact, in good health and not dead. Holden applied his skills of dignity and morality to determine that returning to Phoebe was the just thing to do, as her value for his well-being out-weighed running away selfishly for the sake of avoiding punishment.
"They carried all the emotional baggage of men who might die. Grief, terror, love, longing - these were intangibles, but intangibles had their own mass and specific gravity, they had tangible weight. They carried shameful memories. They carried the common secret of cowardice barely restrained, the instinct to run or freeze or hide, and in many respects this was the heaviest burden of all, for it could never be put down, it required perfect balance and posture (O'Brien, 20)."
-Tim O'Brien, from The Things They Carried.
The THings We Carry: Courage.
One of the major premises of Tim O'Brien's literary masterpiece is the conflicts between courage and cowardice, and coping with our cowardly actions we've taken in the past. On this subject, the main character, Tim, struggles with the death of his best friend, Kiowa during a a mortar strike from the North Vietnamese Army. Amidst the chaos of battle, a mortar round explodes near Kiowa, severely wounding him. However, as Tim is attempting to save him, Kiowa begins to sink into the shit-muck of the field; Tim fails to pull him out. From then on out, Tim writes about he ultimately feels responsible for his friend's death, and that Kiowa could have possibly survived if it weren't for Tim cowardice behavior. Tim writes:
" He would've talked about this, and how he grabbed Kiowa by the boot and tried to pull him out. He pulled hard but Kiowa was gone, and then suddenly he felt himself going too. The shit was in his nose and eyes. There were flares and mortar rounds, and the stink was everywhere--it was inside hi, in his lungs--and he could no longer tolerate it. Not here, he thought. Not like this. He released Kiowa's boot and watched it slide away. Slowly, working his way up, he hoisted himself out of the deep mud, and then he lay still and tasted the shit in his mouth and closed his eyes and listened to the rain and explosions and bubbling sounds (O'Brien, 143)."
At first in the story, Tim writes Kiowa's death from the perspective of another soldier, and friend, Norman Bowker. In a turn of events, however, Tim reveals that it wasn't Norman who choked up during battle and let Kiowa sink, it was actually Tim.
"I want to make it clear that Norman Bowker was in no way responsible for what happened to Kiowa. Norman did not experience failure of nerve that night. He did not freeze up or lose the Silver Star for Valor. That part of the story was my own (O'Brien 154)."
However, Tim does something even more brave that could potentially make up for his actions that tragic night. Tim decided to put his emotions from the experiences of war into writing, and to then publish those writings into his novels. His novels even helped, and still help other Veterans, even today, cope with post-war life. Time writes:
"Telling stories seemed a natural, inevitable process, like cleaning the throat. Partly catharsis, partly communication, it was a way of grabbing people by the shirt and explaining exactly what had happened to me, how I'd allowed myself to get dragged into the wrong war, all the mistakes I'd made, all the terrible things I had seen and done.
I did not look on my work as therapy, and still don't. Yet when I received Norman Bowker's letter, it occurred to me that the act of writing had led me through a swirl of memories that might otherwise have ended in paralysis or worse (O'Brien, 152)."
I did not look on my work as therapy, and still don't. Yet when I received Norman Bowker's letter, it occurred to me that the act of writing had led me through a swirl of memories that might otherwise have ended in paralysis or worse (O'Brien, 152)."
By using his experiences from his past, Tim determined that it was the moral thing to do regarding writing and publishing his works following his letter from Norman Bowker, and for the sake of clearing his conscious. Unbeknownst to himself, Tim also published his novels because he discovered it helped clear his conscious, sort of in the manner of clearing one's stuffy throat before speaking. Time knew if opening up about his experiences, while sharing insight to how he copes, in his righting helped him through post-war life, it would certainly assist others as well. Tim's moral decision led to his significant success as a writer in his life.
Americans reflect and build upon their acts of cowardice yesterday to help them take courageous actions today. Just like how Holden at first ran away from his family and then returned home in secret to see his sister, and even how Tim may have felt responsible for Kiowa, he made the brave decision to open up, and even publish his stories and experiences in Vietnam to help himself, and actually countless other cope with post-war life. Moral actions help create successful outcomes.