Standing Alone

At least once in your life you have probably heard something along the lines of, “stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone,” or, “do what is right, even if you are doing it alone.” It is common advice given, but not as common followed. Many people choose to side with whatever most people are siding with, often because they are scared to do it alone or draw attention. As shown in both “In the Silence” by Peggy S. Curry and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, characters are brave because they stand up for both themselves and what they believe in, even when standing alone. First, in “In the Silence”, Jimmy takes a stand, talking back to Angus Duncan. Secondly, he is willing to stand up to …show more content…
In “In the Silence”, Jimmy McDonald is brave because he stands up for himself even when he is alone. Initially, he is willing to stand up for what he believes even though it questions the authority. Specifically, he speaks up and questions Angus Duncan about the reason why he must go into the mountains alone. Angus Duncan sets him up for a difficult task and is not going to change his mind. Jimmy remembers asking to stay and travel with the other herders, asking, “‘Let me stay with them,’ Jimmy had said. ‘Let me move to the high country when they do’” (Curry 191). Angus Duncan is a tough, strong man whose decisions are usually set in stone. Jimmy, a young boy of only 16 who does not want to be forced into going up the mountain alone for two months, stands up and talks back to him. It is a fairly risky move, considering Angus is like his boss, and angering him could cost him his wages or his job. Secondly, Jimmy shows signs of bravery because he is willing to make sacrifices to defend himself. Specifically, he is willing to stand up to the stranger and give up the brooch, his most treasured item from home, in order …show more content…
Initially, Arnold does what he believes in regardless of what the other thinks. Specifically, he has the courage to send Rowdy a Thanksgiving cartoon even though Rowdy hates him. When Rowdy’s father calls the cartoon a bit gay, Junior thinks to himself, “I want to cuss at him. I wanted to tell him that I thought I was being courageous, and that, I was trying to fix my broken friendship with Rowdy, and that I missed him, and if that was gay, then okay, I was the gayest dude in the world” (Alexie 103). Junior makes an attempt to fix the friendship between him and Rowdy by sending him a cartoon, regardless of the fact that Rowdy hates him. As stated earlier, it took Rowdy a long time to get unmad and he beat him up bad earlier. Going to him was a unintelligent, but brave idea. Junior missed him a lot and wanted to fix their friendship so he took the chance. Rowdy later flipped him off, but Arnold realised that he did not rip up the cartoon, which would have hurt him more. This one brave act led mending a bit of their friendship. In addition, Arnold makes a hard, life changing decision. Specifically, he makes the decision of going to Reardan. When Arnold makes the decision, his mother cautions him, telling him, “The indians around here are going to be angry with you” (Alexie 47). It is here that Arnold releases that