Courage in Pygmalion, Things Fall Apart and Educating Rita
I wrote this as a timed essay with a limit of 90 minutes. It got a 10 in all criteria: response to the question (A), presentation (B) and language (C).
“Courage” is a charged word with the power to induce strong feelings, and thus many strive to use it. Through constant use, though, the meaning of the word has changed. I will compare instances of courage in three literary works in an attempt to show the different kinds of courage. The works to be considered are Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion and the drama Educating Rita by Willy Russell.
Eliza in Pygmalion is offered to be taught good pronunciation for free. Her teacher, Mr. Higgins, bets that he will be able to pass her off as a duchess. Similarly to Eliza, Rita in Educating Rita takes on a private course in the University in order to become more educated about literature. During that time, she tells Frank, her teacher, about her life. In Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo lives hi entire life in the perpetual fear of becoming a failure. Even though he accidentally kills a tribesman and is exiled for seven years, he keeps going. When Christian missionaries come to the village, many – including Nwoye, Okonkwo’s son – are converted. The story ends in a failed attempt to uproar against the missionaries, leading to Okonkwo committing suicide.
In these works, we can see at least three different types of courage. Rita and Eliza are the most obvious example: they both try out something innovative and unexpected by their surroundings, but without risking too much. Rita does suffer from her choice later because of her husband, although that was not anything that she had been expecting. This is a very subtle kind of courage, which we can see almost every day in people making individual choices. This can also be seen in Nwoye, even though he puts a bit mote at stake: when he joins the Christians, his already angry father becomes infuriated. All of these actions changed the actors’ lives completely; Eliza married an upper-class man, Rita made new, more educated friends and Nwoye’s life began completely afresh, without his demanding father.
Another, much similar kind of courage is the one that Higgins displays when he bets about Eliza. Higgins is fully aware that it would be a large loss of income if he failed.. Thus, he is taking a chance along with a substantial risk. The missionaries from Things Fall Apart do just the same: they must have been aware of the risks when they embarked on their quest to enlighten the heathen. The risks are also shown in the book when one missionary is killed. This courage lies in risking something for another thing.
The third kind of courage is shown by Okonkwo when he stands out from the crowd and makes his and the whole clan’s voice heard after he returns from the exile. First, he convinces the other clan leaders to raze the church. Later, he attacks and kills one of the white messengers in an attempt to ignite the fighting-spirit in his clan. In the first event, Okonkwo shows courage because he does not conform and simply do what the rest of the clan does. In the second, he risks everything for the sake of the clan.
However, are these examples of courage? Of course they are – but whose kind of courage? According to me, none is real courage, since in every situation the ego plays a part. Rita, Eliza and Nwoye do it for their own sake, hoping for a life that is more enjoyable, be it with better understanding or without a demanding father. Higgins and the missionaries are not that courageous either, since they do it with a goal of their own in mind: Higgins wants to show off his skills, while the missionaries want to become persons of power. Not even Okonkwo handles selflessly: his goals and ambitions are all based on the survival of his clan, and being denied gradual adaption, he cannot handle it.
In my opinion, true courage is present only where ego is absent.
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