Perseverance In The Power Of One Essay

Perseverance through Hate

Everyday of our lives, we face challenges that we persevere through. Whether it’s getting into a fight with one our close friends, failing a test, or swimming from Manhattan to Florida, like Diana Nyad did. Her journey took her years to prepare for, and finally, even with all the hate from people who thought she couldn’t do it, she finally did.

Hate is a very strong subject throughout The Power of One. There is the hate that the boys at the boarding school had for Peekay, there was the hate that everyone had for Afrikaners, and there was also the hate that people had for each other in general. In an article I read about hate by Frank McAndrew, he talks about how hate is always the lead story on the evening news because everyone has so much of it. He talks about how we want to know if others have the same interests as us, and this helps determine our level of comfort, trust, loyalty, and cooperation, towards them. He also talks about how once we believe something, we continuously believe it and it’s hard to change our mind on that subject.

In The Power of

When Peekay was beat and tormented by the boys at the boarding school he still fought through it and never really let his fear show. “Why won’t you cry, you fucking bastard?” pg.50. This is the judge talking to Peekay, wondering and getting frustrated with why Peekay won’t cry even though he has given him so many reasons to. In a video I watched about perseverance by Diana Nyad she talks about believing in yourself in order to persevere. In the book, Peekay had to believe in himself when no one else did and this helped him achieve his goals. The Afrikaners also persevere through lots of hate while the guards beat them continuously. They sing even though this is happening and keep a positive attitude. Singing is a way that they help themselves go through