Definition Essay On Character Analysis

What do you think of when you hear that someone is an individual of good character? Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines character as, “one of the attributes that make up and distinguish an individual.” The word character was first used in 14th century Latin, meaning distinctive quality. I say character is defined how a person reacts when their back is against the wall. I say this because, it is only then when you have two options, either to stand and fight or lay down and die, is your character shown. That is figuratively speaking, of course. A historic example of character is the biblical story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three men, would not bow down to the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue, because of their belief …show more content…
It is not as serious as my example from the Bible, but it illustrates character properly. It was my junior year of high school, we were playing W.S. Neal High School in football. They were no doubt the largest and the best team on the field. We came into halftime down by about thirty points, but to us it felt like a hundred. Our coach explained us that we had a choice to make. He said we could one go back out and lay down, letting them run away with the game as expected. Option two, we could come out and get in their way, and make them earn their victory. He explained to us that it was not about strength or speed anymore this game. It was about our character. We came out the last two quarters and scored twenty unanswered points. We also injured their star running back. In the end, we lost the game, but we walked across that field with our heads held high and congratulated our opponent. This game taught me more about myself and my teammates than any game we ever won had. We come out of half time with a new strategy and a different heart. We played like we had nothing to lose, instead of hoping we could play with them. We came to that point where our character as a team was being questioned, and we responded. We never were known as a good team, but from then on, people came to watch us because of the heart and character we started to show. So, what is your definition of character now? Is it straight out of the dictionary, or is it different