People Who Inspire Us To Overcome Adversity

Throughout the world, there are various examples of adversities that occur daily. Adversity, a state of significant misfortune, is represented differently in each person’s life. These hardships affect a person greatly, especially how they acknowledge the methods of overcoming their misfortunes. In particular, Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who became an orator, author, and activist, was forced to endure several horrific experiences while in slavery. These experiences consisted of constant abuse from his multiple slave masters, living with little food and clothing, and learning to survive and educate himself.

On the other hand, Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner and World War II bombardier, suffered through barbaric circumstances as a prisoner to the Japanese during World War II. Similar to Frederick Douglass, Nick Vujicic, a man born without limbs, was born into his adversity. Nick Vujicic experienced hardships in school, along with depression due to his disability. Lastly, Oskar Schindler, German industrialist, risked his and his wife’s life in order to rescue Jews from the Nazis during the Holocaust. Although these people endured contrasting adversities, they overcame their hardships through courage determination, and finding strength and hope in their various beliefs.

The author of The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass, was a slave who escaped slavery in 1838. Although Douglass, eventually, became a free man, he faced adversity as a child during his time as a slave. This is evident in his relationship with his mother and father. Douglass has a distant relationship with his mother. When he was an infant, he was separated from his mother; therefore, he had a lack of affection in the relationship. Their distance was also caused by her death when Douglass was a child. When describing his mother, Douglass describes, “I never saw my mother, to know her as such, more of these times was very short in duration.”

Also, Douglass did not have a relationship with his father. This is because he was never informed about who his father might be; however, Douglass has heard rumors that claim his father was his old slave master. Douglass explains that his mother, “Called thus suddenly away, she left me without the slightest information of who my father was. The whisper that my master was my father.” Because Douglass did not have good relationships with his parents, he endured many hardships alone. For example, Douglass reveals how the slaves were given small amounts of food for their monthly allowance and very few clothing items for their yearly allowance. Children were also given barely any clothes; if their clothing failed them, they were forced to go naked and “there were no beds given the slaves, unless one coarse blanket be considered such.” Even as a child, Douglass had to persist through various adversities: having little food, clothing, and no bed, while living alone on a plantation.

Even though Douglass was forced to endure unfair circumstances; it is evident that Douglass used his determination to assist him through these hardships. For example, although Mrs. Auld Douglass’s master, stopped teaching Douglass to read, Douglass persevered by finding methods to teach himself to become literate. Douglass explains, “The plan which I adopted, and the one by which I was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom I met in the street.” Douglass would become friends with the white boys, and he gave them bread in exchange for reading lessons. Once Douglass learned to read, he understood and was aware of freedom, which made him detest his masters and himself. Although Douglass wanted to commit suicide, he used his determination in order to persevere and teach himself to write, despite his cruel masters. Douglass describes, “The idea as to how I might learn to write was suggested to me by being in Durgin and Bailey’s shipyard, and frequently seeing the ship carpenters, after hewing, and getting a piece of timber ready for use, write on the timber the name of that part of the ship for which it was intended.” By watching ship carpenters, Douglass learned to write letters and, eventually, form words. Douglass also advanced his writing by having writing competitions with the local boys. Through his determination to become literate, Douglass was able to prove his masters wrong and overcome his unfair circumstances.

Throughout Douglass’s life as a youth, he faced many adversities while living with different slave owners. This is apparent when Douglass describes, “Upon this he rushed at me with fierceness of a tiger, tore off my clothes, and lashed me till he had worn out his switches.” In the quote, Douglass was severely whipped by his master, Mr. Covey, because he was unable to control the oxen. This was one of the many lashings Douglass received while living with Mr. Covey. Another example of the hardships Douglass endured is when he describes, “I broke down; my strength failed me; I was seized with a violent aching of the head, attended with extreme dizziness.” Since Douglass was forced to work all day in the heat, he collapsed from heat exhaustion, but Mr. Covey ordered him back to work. However, when Douglass did not stand up immediately, Mr. Covey brutally beat him. Douglass then ran away to seek medical assistance, several miles to Master Thomas, his previous master, to request to leave Mr. Covey’s plantation, but Master Thomas denied the request. Douglass explains, “Should he do so, he would lose the whole year’s wages; that I belonged to Mr. Covey for one year, and that I must go back to him.” Even though Frederick Douglass, eventually, left Mr. Covey’s plantation and went to Baltimore, a city, he continued to face adversities. Douglass worked on a shipyard with many other white men. Being a colored person, he was constantly oppressed and physically attacked. During a fight, Douglass describes, “I fell, and with this they all ran upon me, and fell to beating me with their fists. I let them lay on for a while, gathering my strength.” Since Frederick Douglass is a slave, he is constantly forced to endure brutal beatings and unfair masters as his adversities.

Throughout his life, Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner and an American World War II veteran, was faced with various adversities, similar to Frederick Douglass; however, he used his determination and focus on survival to overcome these hardships. After his career as an Olympic runner ended, Louis Zamperini joined the World War II army as a bombardier. Zamperini and his crewmen boarded a plane in order to find a missing bomber; however, during their search, the plane exploded, spiraling down into the Pacific Ocean. Zamperini and two other men were the only survivors. Despite surviving the crash, the men were trapped on a raft in the ocean with little food and water. As days went by, Zamperini and the other men continued to stay afloat, but when a plane flew by and did not rescue the men, they began to lose hope. After being on the raft for several weeks, Louis Zamperini heard gunshots, and he spotted a Japanese imperial air force plane. Since Zamperini’s crewmen were weak, they pretended to be dead, while Zamperini began treading water in order to avoid the bullets; however, because of a miracle, the men avoided being killed, and the Japanese plane flew away. After forty-seven days on the ocean and the death of one of the crewman, Zamperini and the other man finally reached land, which was a Pacific island inhabited by the Japanese army. Through Louis Zamperini’s perseverance and goal to survive, he overcame death and horrific circumstances while living on the raft.

Although Louis Zamperini no longer lived on the raft, he would continue to undergo adversities as a prisoner to the Japanese army. For example, once he reached the island, known as the Marshall Islands, he came into contact with the Japanese army. The Japanese immediately took Louis Zamperini and his crew mate as hostages in the prison camp and began torturing them. Zamperini was in a constant state of fear. For instance, Zamperini was blindfolded and taken to a Japanese doctor to be used as a “guinea pig.” The doctor injected unknown substances into Zamperini in order to record how the substances affected him. After living on the island, Zamperini was sent to a prisoner of war camp in Japan. In the camp, he endured many hardships, especially with the sadistic sergeant, Mutsuhiro Watanabe, which the men called “The Bird.” The prisoners and guards of the camps were frightened by Watanabe’s violent punishment tactics. Although Louis Zamperini was constantly punished physically and mentally, he overcame his sufferings through endurance. Louis Zamperini was later sent to north by train because he did not follow the guidelines while being interviewed on a radio show. Zamperini was relieved to escape Watanabe; however, when Zamperini arrived at the new camp, Watanabe, a cruel surprise, awaited him there. Zamperini continued to endure cruel punishments and a fear of death. An example of these punishments were when Zamperini held a wood plank for thirty-seven minutes. Through perseverance and strength, Zamperini defied the Japanese and began to gain hope. Finally, the Americans rescued him once the war ended. Although Louis Zamperini was no longer living under the threat of death, the brutal adversities he faced created a new obstacle for him. Zamperini now lived with the painful, ineluctable memories of the cruel treatment he received in the prison camps. He desired revenge against “The Bird” after experiencing many nightmares with the sergeant in his recurring dreams; however, Zamperini’s plans for revenge were forgotten when he discovered the word of God. Louis Zamperini spread the word to the people of Japan, and he finally forgave his cruel oppressors. By discovering the word of God, Louis Zamperini learned how to overcome his brutal experiences in Japan and forgive the people who harmed him.

Although Nick Vujicic was born without limbs, he overcame these hardships through determination and finding strength in God. As a child, Nick Vujicic not only experienced the typically challenges of school, such as bullying and a lack of self-confidence, but he also dealt with depression and loneliness. The bullying Vujicic endured led him to believe that he was not good enough. He constantly questioned why he was born different from other children, and if he had a purpose in life; however, over time, Nick Vujicic learned to cope with his disability and surmount various challenges on his own. Eventually, Vujicic found his passion and strength for life through his faith in Jesus Christ. Even though Vujicic continues to endure daily hardships as a disabled person, he discovered a way to minister and inspire other children from his experiences. Nick Vujicic became a motivational speaker in order to spread his story and to teach others how to conquer their struggles. Through his hardships, Nick Vujicic discovered his strength and purpose in God, and how he can influence people, unable to overcome their adversities, to find their aspiration as well.

Although Nick Vujicic and the other men were forced to endure their adversities, Oskar Schindler, a German businessman, knew that his methods of saving the Jews would cause many hardships among himself and his wife, Emilie. In October 1939, Oskar Schindler acquired an enamelware factory which once belonged to a Jew in Poland. Blinded by a reckless lifestyle, Schindler was very similar to the other Germans; however, the one difference between him and the other men was his kind treatment towards the working Jews. After witnessing the Nazi persecution of the innocent Jews, Oskar Schindler began to become horrified at the senseless brutality of the Nazis. This caused Schindler to develop a desire to rescue as many Jews as possible in order to save them from their oppressors; therefore, Oskar Schindler would risk his life so that he may save others. For example, when the Nazis threatened to send Schindler’s Jewish workers to Auschwitz, Schindler would argue that the workers were essential to keep up production for the war efforts. Although Oskar Schindler was arrested and interrogated by the Gestapo multiple times for favoring the Jews, he refused to cease assisting them. In March 1943, when a ghetto was being terminated and remaining Jews were moved to labor camp of Plaszow, Schindler had an SS, a military organization in Nazi Germany, camp commander permit him to create a sub-camp for Schindler’s Jewish workers; therefore, Schindler would be able to keep the Jews under a tolerable condition, which saved the Jews from living in the brutal Plaszow camp. In 1944, Plaszow and the sub-camps were evacuated, and more than twenty thousand men, women, and children were sent to extermination camps. Schindler managed to secure the safety of men from the Gross-Rosen camp, and, eventually, he sent his German secretary to negotiate the release of the women from the Auschwitz camp. Oskar and Emilie Schindler rescued over a thousand Jews, sparing them from the cruelty of living in the concentration camps. Throughout their lives, it is evident that Oskar and Emilie Schindler used their courage to overcome the Nazi’s resistance and help rescue thousands of Jews, despite the chance that they might lose their lives.

Even though Frederick Douglass, Louis Zamperini, Nick Vujicic, and Oskar and Emilie Schindler encountered horrific adversities throughout their lives, it is apparent that their use of perseverance, resilience, and hope allowed them to conquer their overwhelming hardships. As a slave, Frederick Douglass experienced countless cruelties from his oppressors; however, through his diligence and courage, Douglass succeed in accomplishing his dream of escaping slavery. By finding hope and strength in his faith, Douglass describes, “From my earliest recollection, I date the entertainment of a deep conviction that slavery would not always be able to hold me within its foul embrace; and in the darkest hours of my career in slavery, this living word of faith and spirit of hope departed not from me.” In addition to Frederick Douglass, Louis Zamperini overcame the adversities he endured by using strength to survive and discovering his faith in God. Even though Zamperini was faced with the threat of death several times, such as living on the raft and in the Japanese prison camps, he maintained a remarkable sense of hope throughout all that he encountered. Nick Vujicic also used his faith in God to overcome his circumstances. Because Vujicic’s hardships are inevitable, he shares how he discovered his aspirations and beliefs with other people, so that they may overcome their adversities as well. Lastly, Oskar Schindler chose to rise above his nation’s cruel leaders and act upon what he believed was honorable. Although he was belittled for favoring the Jews, his willingness to risk his life daily portrays his strength and determination to protect others. These people serve as a way to inspire others to overcome adversity. When people identify their courage and hope in their own lives, it will act as a way to conquer hardships. Even though adversity appears in contrasting ways, it is evident that using determination, courage, and faith in one’s beliefs will allow people to overcome their adversities.