Nailer as a Leader in Ship Breaker Essay Example

A leader is an amazing individual who, influences/inspires people to do the impossible, and inspires them to never give up on their dreams. They are great role models, for people to look up to, who need a voice/support on things, they too experienced, like discrimination, gender, color, or race. 

People like them, motivate people to, try new things, try a new path in life, have a better lifestyle, and make people get out of their comfort zone, and even face their fears. They are truly the real G.O.A.T in this society. 

In a novel, there is a fictional character that carries out as of being a leader and the protagonist of the story, and that is Nailer Lopez, in the book called Shipbreaker(a novel by: Paolo Bacigalupi). How he is a leader, to that most people can be influenced and relate.  The reason for this is that in our society none of us are perfect, and that reality we face alot of hardship, pain, and difficult challenges and obstacles, and that’s how Nailer takes place as being a leader. 

Nailer suffered alot of challenges and alot of risk of dying in the story. But even though people can’t relate to him becoming a shipbreaker, Nailer has other aspects of him, other than having a job as part of a ship breaker member and working as a light crew. 

Since Nailer has a job, everyone who does have a job, can both acknowledge the fact that money is a big deal, and losing their job can destroy their future accomplishments, and can ruin their reputation on things they want to achieve as goals in life. The fact that alot of people around the world are losing their job, and living on the streets,  ever since a virus called COVID-19 spread around the world, that started on December-2019, everyone has been risking their lives to provide needs to their families and themselves.

Viewing what happened during that pandemic, in the story, Ship-Breaker, the job that Nailer and his crew do, is all about having alot of quota(money) and making sure to not lose their job and get fired by their boss Bapi. Because if did get fired, they have to be sent outside of where all of the shipbreakers work and live a life of poverty, without anyone caring they you are suffering or dying out there. 

Despite this obstacle that Nailer and alot of people can relate to, not everyone is having to worry about having a job or having alot of investment of money. They might be living a life of luxury, not having to worry about what alot of people are having to deal with in life, and that is helping and providing for the needs of their families or themselves.

However, they might relate to losing loved ones or people who they care about, that impacted their life, and that help them become the person they are today. Like Nailer,  he’d lost a bunch of people in the story. One of which is losing his own parents. His mom died because of terrible sickness, and while his toxic abusive dad was alive in most of the chapters, Nailer killed him after what he did to him, by pulling a lever on gears on a ship that made his father(Richard Lopez) get stuck by it and died in front of him. 

He even “loss” Pima and Sadna, when he and a swank girl named Nita are planning to escape and go to Orleans by jumping on a train, Pima said to leave her behind, making  Nailer self-conscience of why Pima didn’t want to go, even though she said she didn’t want to leave her mother(Sadna) behind. Nailer still felt that Pima was still family to him even though they aren’t related in blood. 

Pima also promised to join Nita and Nailer in go to Orleans and escape from their problems in life, and that’s how true reality is to us people, we can break promises, and always find ways to run away and forget what problems that we are facing with.

Nailer almost lost the love of his life, Nita, after Nita’s people/enemies from Pole Star took her away. But eventually, at the end of the story,  Nailer finally saved Nita from her enemies, and also met back with Sadna and Pima in the story. 

Toxic relationships, and any other relationships that Nailer dealt within the story, are another thing that people can relate to and understand, and that everyone is faced. Whether it is family, friendship, loving relationships, Nailer had gone through all of them. In family relationships, Nailer and his father(Richard Lopez) didn’t really have great moments with each other. 

Ever since Nailer’s mother died, everything for them starts to change, and when changes, it is Nailer’s father, Richard Lopez, who started to drink and always abuse Nailer, even if it is something that isn’t even a mistake. Nailer most of that relationship was defenseless and wasn’t able to fight back against his father, and if he did, it is would another bruise or scar on him. Richard Lopez wanted to kill Nailer, so he can take  Nita, and get the prize possession, that Nita had promised them. 

An unhealthy relationship is Nailer’s friendship with Sloth. Sloth is part of the light crew with Nailer, and what Sloth did, made her get her karma by getting fired by their boss Bapi, was breaking blood-oath with Nailer, and their blood-oath represents trust, and Sloth didn’t follow that rule. Nailer trusted Sloth to save him when he was drowning in this room full of oil, but instead, Sloth left him there to “die”, so she can take his place in the job as being a shipbreaker, and get alot of quota(money). 

The definition of the word “trust” in the shipbreaker novel, is used alot in Nailer’s interactions with new characters, he continues to meet. A loving relationship, with Nailer in the story, is Nita, though they did have nice moments with each other, and together help each other face their problems. There was one thing that made their relationship disoriented, and that was when Nailer found out, that Nita lied to him, all this time, thinking that her people were going to come back and save her, and the reward that she promise she will give him, and her true last name.

As of Nailer being a leader in this story, people can take risk in life, just like him when he his risking his own life of wanting to run away from his problems(going to Orleans), killing his own enemies(even his own dad), and wanting to save Nita from Pole Star, even not knowing how to read. When Nailer was wanting to help find Nita with some of Nita’s role companions, he was able to lead them to where the Teeth(loction of where Nita was caught) was.

Nailer as being a leader, in the story ship breaker, shows alot of us some  inspiration. Because all of these things that Nailer had face with, every individual too must have also faced one of these challenges. Because of that, this gives people a voice to the world,  telling others that  what whatever trails  they are facing in life they are not allow, wheather they are fictional or non-fictional people, we can honor the fact that Nailer proved his worthiness of being a leader, showing those that whatever problems you are facing and the risks you are taking, at the end day we shouldn’t give up when things are tough, and that there will be some light that guide you to a good future, just like how Nailer ended up being in the end of the story.