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It Takes Courage

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Two people who I believe have shown extraordinary courage and persistence in their lives are Martin Luther King Jr. and Samwise Gamgee. Of course, one is a real historical figure and the other is a fictitious character from a fantasy classic, but both have overcome extraordinary obstacles and have taken incredible risks to be the historical and literary figures they are today. Martin Luther King Jr. who was both a Baptist minister and a civil rights leader, faced intense challenges and the ever possible threat of death throughout his life. Just given the time period and the fact that everyone knew who he was must have been a struggle on his conscience while coping with every considerable anxiety and fear possible. He did most of his nonviolent activist work in the south which was the heart of segregation and led marches through the streets of major towns and cities. He is known as one of the greatest historical orators and graduated from three different colleges with a B.A., a B.D., and a Ph. D. He headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for the pursuit of peace and equality through nonviolent activism and went on to expand his pursuits on poverty and the Vietnam War before being assassinated in 1968. Interestingly enough, King originally did not want to follow in his father’s footsteps to become a minister because he felt differently about some of the major ideals of the church at that time and he was known to rebel against his father’s wishes by playing pool and drinking through college. But through an intense persistence and incredible grit he did what he felt was right and rose to become the incredible historical figure he is today. An extraordinarily courageous, yet completely fictional character who I believe possesses great perseverance and grit is Samwise Gamgee who was Frodo Baggins companion in the fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings. Samwise was absolutely dedicated to helping his master complete the quest to destroy the One Ring and also faced impossible odds and imminent death. He was never required to go on the journey to begin with, and pleaded for Frodo not to go on the quest at first, but in the end he had the courage and the strength to never back down and the faith to keep going when everyone else felt lost. He was able to provide support and offer tales and encouraging speeches in the absolute worst of conditions. With his help, he was able to rescue Frodo out of death defying situations and help share the burden of the quest to its final completion.

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