Junot Diaz Courage Analysis

Inspiration of Courage Junot Diaz often thinks of his mother when he has trouble with his art. He reflects back on a seven-year-old girl being raised in the Dominican Republic, with a dream of achieving higher education. Though she had lofty goals, she had to face the reality of imprisonment from working on the family farm or receive what they called a “Third World-country beating”. Through a leap of faith, she was able to achieve her dream and unknowingly inspiring her son to achieve his. Diaz overcame his own struggles at a young age, often relates his trials in life to his mother’s past, and ultimately finds a way to achieve his dreams. This essay portrays the definition of “Courage”. Diaz’s mother was destined to work on the family farm for life. While caring for the field hands, she would often envision herself as a nurse in the capital city. Her abusive mother stood

This determined girl took advantage of this opportunity by drinking from a stagnant pool of water, getting herself sick. This allowed her to stay with her cousins while her immediate family traveled up the mountain to the next harvest. Diaz describes a young girl scared and desperately thinking of what to do and the courage she must have had to do this. She saw an opportunity with her abusive mother away and took a leap of faith and confided in the local teacher. This seven-year-old girl took a big chance that she would be returned to her mother, finding an unwelcome beating like in the past, but it was worth it. When her mother came to retrieve the young girl from the school house, the local police followed the orders of the Dictator and jailed her mother, enabling the young girl to receive her education. The courage from getting herself sick, confiding in the teacher, and jailing her own mother showed the author something he will never