Theme of Courage in Literature Essay Sample

Courage is an essential part to survive in any given life or death situation. “The Seventh Man” written by Haruki Murakami explains the traumatizing event that the narrator carries for forty years in guilt, however found his peace through courage to fight back his fear. “The Most Dangerous Game” written by Richard Connell shows the hardship and fearlessness that it takes for Rainsford to survive the ‘big game’. Similarly, Edgar Allan Poe the writer of “The Pit and the Pendulum” expresses what it takes for the narrator to survive from the pit of hell. Some may disagree with courage being the key to survival, on the other hand, everyone in their life needs courage to fight and manage their fear, as the protagonists in the stories did. The protagonists in “The Seventh Man”, “The Most Dangerous Game”, and “The Pit and The Pendulum” survive their biggest fear through courage. 

After forty years, the seventh man’s trial finally faded, he fought through and gain the courage to overcome his greatest fear. As the wave suddenly take over the beach, the seventh man couldn’t do anything other than to run the opposite way of where K was. His fear dragged him away without him knowing, it was too big for him to handle. In paragraph 30 of “The Seventh Man”, “…fear, a fear so overpowering it took my voice away and set my legs to running on their own.” (Murakami). The terror in the seventh man was too strong that it took control of his entire body, even when he wanted to turn around and save K from the wave. After forty years of pain and self-torture, he finally realizes the fact that K was not haunting him, K did not want to drag him into the wave like the image he saw of K before fainted. As stated, “For no matter how long I continued to look at the picture, I could find nothing but a boy’s gentle, innocent spirit.” (Murakami, paragraph 54). K’s painting helps the seventh man to wake up to reality, he now remembers that K was a playful, innocent boy who would never try to haunt him. The speaker’s resolution helped him to contend with his horror, and now grateful for what happened that leads him back to the real world, where he should’ve been the last forty years. Toward the end the narrator said, “But even if it comes too late, I am grateful that, in the end, I was able to attain a kind of salvation, to effect some sort of recovery.” (Murakami, paragraph 63). Although it took him forty years of his life looking for light, he still feels grateful that in the end, he gets what he deserves, a sense of peace. Everything comes to an end, his realization is fulfilled, and courage wins the game between his past and his ability to live a better life. The story of the seventh man helps us to understand the value of life and what it takes to battle against fear, similarly to “The Most Dangerous Game”. 

Through courage and skills as a hunter, the protagonist in “The Most Dangerous Game”, Rainsford, faces his fear of death by encountering the uncertainty of Zaroff’s hunting game. His view of hunters and huntees changes throughout the book as he comes across challenges in the ‘big game’. As Rainsford stated in his conversation with Whitney, “The world is made up of two classes the hunters and the huntees. Luckily, you and I are the hunters.” (Connell, paragraph 14). At the beginning of the story, Rainsford believes that only animals could be the huntees and humans are the hunters. His view gradually changes as Zaroff made him play the ‘big game’ of hunting. As for courage overtaking fear in a life-or-death situation, Rainsford jumped into the sea and swam around the island to make his last move, to kill Zaroff and survive the game. According to Richard Connell, “Twenty feet below him the sea rumbled and hissed Rainsford hesitated. He heard the hounds. Then leaped far out into the sea…” (paragraph 202). To save his life, Rainsford holds back his fear and jumps into the sea with all his courage. No matter how skilled or strong Rainsford is, in the end, he still needs a large sense of bravery to battle against his fear and survive.

Finally, the narrator in “The Pit and The Pendulum” defends himself through bravery and courage. As hinted in the story, the narrator’s biggest fear is to bury alive, this helps him to have the motivation to face his fear and save his life. In the text, “A fearful idea now suddenly drove the blood in torrent upon my heart, and for a brief period, I once more relapsed into insensibility.” (Poe page 3). The battle between courage and terror lit up in the narrator, he now must determine his fear and goal, at the end, he chooses courage over fear, which leads him into a path where he has a better chance of surviving. The trumpets, a symbol of a warning, give us a clue of the upcoming assistant who will help the protagonist in a life-or-death situation. As written on page 12, “There was a loud blast as of many trumpets!… The Inquisition was in the hand of its enemies.” (Poe). Although the narrator needed an assistant at the end to survive, he still faces his fear to pass the challenges that eventually lead him to his assistant. 

Courage, an essential part to survive in a life-or-death situation. “The Seventh Man”, Rainsford and the narrator in “The Pit and The Pendulum” go through different challenges, however needed the courage to survive.