Risk-Taking In Short Stories

Risks? What are they? Why do we do them? In the collections unit 5 I read all different kinds of stories that deal with risk taking. In the deep by Anthony Doerr Tom took a risk of living his life when he had a heart condition where he was going to die and by the time he was 18 years old. A second story that deals with risks was Blackheart by Mark Brazaitis and Emily is lonely and risks her life by trying to make a friend. Finally Beowulf who risked his life to gain respect and have safety of the Danes. In the story the Deep, “Tom pumps. His heart does its fragile work.He should not be here. He should not be here while the skinny, spellbinding girl drowns herself in a marsh.” (438) This a big risk because he’s risking his own life but also trying to keep Ruby alive as well. Everyday that Tom lived was a risk because he went to school, had a two jobs and also he was in love. An example being “they …show more content…
An example of Emily taking her first risk, “Piercing the bars of his cage, she held out her hand to him, palm open. She felt his mouth engulf it. She felt his teeth touch her skin. She thought he was going to bite down. But his mouth held steady. Carefully the cage so she could stroke his head and neck and back. His fur was like the leather of her father’s jacket.” (105) Emily took a risk by putting her hand out to blackheart and letting him lick her. This shows bravery but also trust on her part because she let a dog who is trained to kill be that close to her. Towards the end of the book she makes a rational decision in helping BlackHeart “she has one bolt left to open before she can turn the doorknob and release him into the garden.” (cr 106) Emily risked her life to open the cage of Blackheart for friendship and sadly in the end she pays for it.She was feeling alone and abandoned. Kids want attention and someone who they can look up