As the prominent philosopher Thich Nhat Hanh puts it, “Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear…” (Steen “Adversity Quotes”). In other words hope aids in overcoming adversity because it makes the situation bearable. Othello in Othello by William Shakespeare, Hester in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Huck in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain exemplify adversity. Adversity means overcoming misfortunes through hope and learning from one’s mistakes.
Adversity occurs in many different ways; it may happen physically or mentally but both courses can be conquered through hope and learning from mistakes. One example of overcoming adversity can be seen through Hester in The Scarlet …show more content…
A prime example of overcoming moral adversity appears in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through Huck. Huck becomes accustomed to adversity when his father beats him, he decides to run away, his lack of experience/knowledge, and his internal adversity over Jim. Not only does Huck’s journey down the river aid in Jim’s physical freedom, but also aids in Huck discovering his own moral and mental freedom. His life changes drastically because he gains freedoms he never had before. These new freedoms not only assist Huck in overcoming adversity, they also teach him to learn from other’s mistakes. Huck lacks knowledge and experience due to his upbringing; throughout the novel the reader can easily notice that Huck matures and begins to learn said knowledge by analyzing others’ choices and making some of his own. One of the biggest misfortunes Huck experiences comes from his father; “I [Huck] used to be scared of him all the time, he tanned me so much” (Twain 19). He conquers this adversity by formulating a plan and escaping his father while his father believes him to be dead. Huck continues to stay hopeful in the idea of freedom from his father which in turn aids him in becoming free. He also gains advantage by using his father’s mistakes against himself to ultimately overcome this adversity. At the end of the book Huck discovers that his father is the man “in de house dat was float’n down de river… kivered up...” and dead (Twain 281). The death of his father insures that his father has not discovered that he is alive and that Huck has officially overcome his father’s wrath. Now that Huck has overcome the adversity brought upon him by his father and his past he can now focus on his future, while keeping the lesson’s he has learned from his troublesome experiences. Although Huck’s adventures expose him to the ruthlessness of society they also teach him that he can overcome anything by
Adversity occurs in many different ways; it may happen physically or mentally but both courses can be conquered through hope and learning from mistakes. One example of overcoming adversity can be seen through Hester in The Scarlet …show more content…
A prime example of overcoming moral adversity appears in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through Huck. Huck becomes accustomed to adversity when his father beats him, he decides to run away, his lack of experience/knowledge, and his internal adversity over Jim. Not only does Huck’s journey down the river aid in Jim’s physical freedom, but also aids in Huck discovering his own moral and mental freedom. His life changes drastically because he gains freedoms he never had before. These new freedoms not only assist Huck in overcoming adversity, they also teach him to learn from other’s mistakes. Huck lacks knowledge and experience due to his upbringing; throughout the novel the reader can easily notice that Huck matures and begins to learn said knowledge by analyzing others’ choices and making some of his own. One of the biggest misfortunes Huck experiences comes from his father; “I [Huck] used to be scared of him all the time, he tanned me so much” (Twain 19). He conquers this adversity by formulating a plan and escaping his father while his father believes him to be dead. Huck continues to stay hopeful in the idea of freedom from his father which in turn aids him in becoming free. He also gains advantage by using his father’s mistakes against himself to ultimately overcome this adversity. At the end of the book Huck discovers that his father is the man “in de house dat was float’n down de river… kivered up...” and dead (Twain 281). The death of his father insures that his father has not discovered that he is alive and that Huck has officially overcome his father’s wrath. Now that Huck has overcome the adversity brought upon him by his father and his past he can now focus on his future, while keeping the lesson’s he has learned from his troublesome experiences. Although Huck’s adventures expose him to the ruthlessness of society they also teach him that he can overcome anything by