When
I was little I would always make my parents read The Wizard of Oz to me, the
Cowardly Lion would always inspire me to go out and beyond, just because I
didn’t want to be a coward like him. The Cowardly Lion would only need his
courage when someone was a threat to him or his forest. Those are the times when you need
courage. Bravery and courage is a common
theme in many novels.
Among
the pages of Touching Spirit Bear by Ben Mikaelsen, the main character Cole
wants to take out his anger on other people.
For example; Cole beat up this innocent boy named Peter just because he
was having a bad day. Just because he
beat up Peter he got sent to an island and had to show a lot of courage to
survive. Peter also got beaten up by a
mythical spirit bear and he had to be brave and courage to survive.
Authors Note: I compared three stories and three characters that seem like they have a lot in common.
In
the story Stolen, by Lucy Christopher, the main character Gemma was harassed,
kidnapped, and abused by a 30 year old man named Ty. Personally I think that Cole and Gemma would
turn out to have a lot in common because of the path that they have gone
in. Gemma has experienced being drugged,
Raped, and a slave. Like Cole, she had
to show courage and bravery to get out of these horrible situations.
Beyond
the front cover of Among the hidden, by Margret Peterson Haddix Luke has to
survive living with the population law, this law where each family can only
have 2 children. In Luke's case he is an
3rd child so therefore he is illegal.
Luke has to hide for most of his life until he gets brave enough to go
outside and risk being seen. I think it
took major bravery and courage to go outside in his case, because where he
lived there are a ton of Population Police.
Luke has survived not being seen for 12 years, personally I wouldn’t be
able to do that and this is where survival comes in place.
In
life, you need both bravery and courage. Without these qualities, you would
live a very boring life and not be able to experience a world beyond your
horizons. Like the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz, he solved his problems by
taking Risks and visiting the Wizard of Oz.
I think that all characters should show those qualities through their
stories, simply because it makes them a little more interesting.
