Courage and Self-Determination of Lalu and Morinaga and Chris - Essay Example

Courage and self determination helped Lalu, Morinaga, Chris and Maya to live the way they want to. During the bad times of their lives when they had their self motivation that made them work harder in life ignoring the bad phase of life and looking forward for a brighter future. Where courage made Lalu accept the cruel decision of her father and work in life for the betterment of her family, Morinaga was able pass the, difficulties of life with patience and smile so he can achieve what he wants to and should not have any regrets in life. Chris on the other hand left behind his luxurious life so he can achieve what he really wants to achieve, what his heart wants and work towards that goal. Maya who dealt with the racism around her alone, was separated from her brother and was forced to live a life where she was tortured for being black which was not even her fault, still she was able to live a life where her own self was her priority irrespective of what people think about her. Courage made a very difficult journey of Lalu, later on known as Polly Bemis a dignified path for her. In the novel “Thousand Pieces of Gold” in 1853 Lalu started her life in Nathoy China, however she ended up becoming Polly Bemis living in Grangeville, Idaho in 1933. She was very dear to her father who used to call her “thousand pieces of gold” as she was very precious for him. During a bad patch Lalu was sold to a bandit and in return her father received two bags of soya bean. Lalu who was thousand pieces of gold for her father was actually sold for just two bags of soybean. Difficult phase of her life started where she was forces into sexual slavery. She was a slave of trader and later a Chinese saloonkeeper kept her as well in Gold Rush country. Lalu never lost her hope and even during extremely crucial and hard times was bravely protected her dignity and self respect which was important for her. She lived a life of a homesteader after she was won by a man in a poker game. Her spirits very always high and nothing in the world, no difficulty was able to affect her spirits. The importance of valuing ones self gives person courage to even cross hardships of the life with a smile on the face. In the novel when Lalu was sold, the scene depicts the story in a beautiful manner, "He reached out, hesitated, and then looked up at Lalu, his eyes pleading for understanding. She twisted her face away -- Behind her, she heard him snatch the bag and scoop up the spilled seed. 'Two bags,' her father begged. 'She's worth two bags of seed” (McCunn, 67). Novice to Master  is a story of Soko Morinaga who lived a life full of courage and self determination from 1925 till 1995. After completing his high school, he got into the practice of Zen. Zuigan Goto started training him to become a monk at monastery at Daitokuji from 1949 till 1963. Sesso Ota Roshi gave him the Dharma transmission seal. He also in the book says, “He led a very difficult life, Narrow experience of knowledge generated misconceptions for him however with a smile on his face, extremely high level of patience and spirit he led a life with sleep deprivation, without food, eating without any sound, strict behavior of his masters and a very difficult lifestyle. Morinaga says, "The purpose of practice is not to increase knowledge but to scrape the scales off the eyes, to pull the plugs out of the ears. Through practice one comes to see reality. And although it is said that 'no medicine can cure fully,' whatever prompts me to realize 'I was a fool' is, in fact, just such a medicine." In his sermons he talks about mental states, how no favorability and adversity is made and projected by the state of mind. He says, "In people or things, there is no such thing as trash" (Morinaga, 96). “Into the wild” is a story that reveals journey of a man who is from a well known family, Christopher Johnson Mc Candless. He decided to leave everything he had behind, from $25000 savings which he donated , his car which was very precious for him and even his wallet and decided to hitch hiked to Alaska, where he will walk alone in the wild north Mt. McKinley areas. Novel about his journey and story which he started after graduating from high school in the year 1991, he roamed around from vision quest west and south west areas which were originally made by remarkable heroes John Muir and Jack London. He not only left behind and burned his belongings but also want to leave behind his name thus he named himself Alexander Super tramp. He wanted to live a life free from everything, life which is raw and is close to nature. He threw away the maps and wanted to live an independent life without his parents and also sister. Christopher life is full of mysterious journeys and how he had an interest which took an obsession shape later in his life. It talks about the wilderness which is a part of our imagination. Novel talks about the strong courage and hardship which existed between father and son relationship which had an effect on the mind of the young man. He says, “I read somewhere... how important it is in life not necessarily to be strong, but to feel strong... to measure yourself at least once” (Krakauer, 78). Christopher mistake became fatal for him and is dismissed for his simplicity, hubris and pretensions. He decided to lead a courageous life though he wished death. How the author says this in his book is, ““When you forgive, you love, And when you love, God’s light shines upon you” (Krakauer, 89).His character and his difficulties are shown to be dealt wisely and bravely instead of emotionally. Finally the courageous journey of Christopher is ended when his body is found decomposed by a moose hunter. “I know why the caged bird sings” is an extremely heartbreaking, miserable yet courageous story of the poet Maya Angelous. She talks about her life with her brother Bailey Jr in stamp where they lived a life full of hardships with their grandmother and disabled Uncle Willie which was in 1934. Their grandmother loved her though she was strict and extremely religious. Maya and her brother had to face a lot of cruel treatment just because they were black. The story takes a turn when both of them were separated, where one had to go to St, Louis, MO and the other one went to San Francisco. The hardships are explained in a very remarkable way, “Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.” Maya’s life was a sad journey where her life was shaped by her mentors where she had to face many hardships of life from her distressing rape as a child to the racial injustice she had to face. She still led a life with dignity and strength, not letting anything hurt her image and respect. She said in the novel, “Anything that works against you can also work for you once you understand the Principle of Reverse” (Angelou, 30) . Over all to conclude we can safely say that the entire life of the characters was full of hardships and pressure of society but each one of them, whether it was Lalu who was fighting against her own father’s decision to save her family, Morinaga who wanted to achieve something in life, Chris who left everything behind or Maya who was punished for a crime which was not even her fault were able to come out of the family pressure because of their audacity, self determination and bravery. Works Cited Top of Form McCunn, Ruthanne L. Thousand Pieces of Gold: A Biographical Novel. San Francisco, CA: Design Enterprises of San Francisco, 1981. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Morinaga, So?ko?. Novice to Master: An Ongoing Lesson in the Extent of My Own Stupidity. Boston, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2002. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor Books, 1997. Print. Bottom of Form Top of Form Angelou, Maya. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. New York: Random House, 1970. Print. Bottom of Form Read More