Success In Chris Mccandless 'A Mystery Of Heroism'

Success comes in many forms. It can be the feeling of great pride. It can be a prize or award. It can even be as simple as the achievement of a goal. All of these are the different manifestations of success. Success itself is subjective, and therefore it is not easily defined. No simple dictionary definition can give volume to what success actually is. No matter what, however, there are three main components of success. These are passion, accomplishments, and self-perception.
The first component of success is passion. Passion is the love and pursuit of one’s interests. People find that once they have succeeded in the pursuit of their passion, they feel proud, happy, and successful. For example, in Into the Wild, Chris McCandless considers

The term “accomplishments” in this sense applies to achieving goals, winning awards, and everything in between. Typically, accomplishments lead to praise, and this boosts both morale and pride. Both of these feelings lead to the feeling of success. Therefore, people are generally pushed to achieve. An example of this can be found in Stephen Crane’s short story, “A Mystery of Heroism”. In this story, the young soldier Collins races to a well, hoping to fetch water. As he carries out his task, Collins ponders the meaning of being a hero. He believes that “[heroes] had no shame in their lives…” (qtd. in Holt 439). Heroes, according to Collins, are those who accomplish much with a clear conscience. Collins could not consider himself a hero according to this definition as he had not fulfilled a prior promise, leading to shame. Had he accomplished this, he could have been shame-free, and hence his action of bringing water would have made him a hero. Another example of accomplishments leading to success can be found in the work of Benjamin Franklin. As a scientist, Franklin took an interest to nature and “saw something to be examined scientifically and used to help humanity” (Holt 147). Franklin used his scientific knowledge and his passion for helping people to turn something which previously daunted colonials into something they could use in their favor. His many advancements benefitted the colonials’ lifestyles. This can be