“‘Guess I’ll have to come back and try again,’ Roy thought.” Roy discovers that this is the attitude he and his friends must have to save the burrowing owls that live in a soon to be construction site. Roy Eberhardt is the main character of the realistic fiction novel Hoot, written by Carl Hiaasen. Roy’s persistence and stubbornly strong attitude taught me what true strength and perseverance was. He never gave up, on his friends, on the owls, but most of all, he never gave up on the hope that things will turn out alright. I believe that true perseverance is to fight for what you believe is right and never give up, no matter what obstacles stand in your way.

Florida is one giant tourist attraction, full of crowds, people, and …show more content…
The story switches back and forth to Roy’s and Curly’s adventures, which gives us an in-depth look at the differences between their characters and stories. Curly is too concerned with losing his job to care about the owls, and denies anything mentioned about the owls even existing on the lot. On page 214, his boss says, “There are no owls on that property and don’t you forget it, Mr. Branitt [Curly]. Zero owls. Nada. Somebody sees one, you tell him it’s a- I don’t know, a robin or a wild chicken or something.” Curly knows something is wrong, and that owls live on the property, but he is too afraid to say something. This is extremely different to Roy, a young man who doesn’t back down without a fight no matter what. Roy never stopped trying to help the helpless, and you can bet that Roy would’ve fought back if he was in Curly’s position. The juxtaposition of Curly’s commentary only highlights Roy’s strong and determined …show more content…
What would we be, as a society, if we didn’t work long and hard for what we believe? How would anyone succeed in anything, if they gave up on the first try? This book gave me a new sense of awareness of how often myself and others simply stop trying when there’s a possibility of failure. This book showed me how important it was to give yourself wholeheartedly to what you believe in. I learned alongside Roy that perseverance is fighting, even if the odds are stacked against you. Roy is strong, courageous, and just the right amount of stubborn. I believe we all have a little bit of Roy Eberhardt inside of us, if we’re just willing to look. And of course the novel Hoot is about owls, but it’s about so much more than that. It is about strength, courage, and, maybe most importantly, never giving