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Courage can Change the Fate.

by

Shangyu Wu

English-112-WB

TTh 12:00

Professor Donald Veitch

Bunker Hill Community College

13 May 2019
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Shangyu Wu

Professor Donald Veitch

English-112-WB

May 5, 2019

Courage can Change the Fate.

Samanta Schweblin short story “Toward Happy Civilization” is a fiction story. On the surface, Gruner

lost the ticket. Now, he is striving to go to the capital by train but through Pe strategies, he is unable to do so

but courage leads him and his friends to reach a destination. In the larger sense, however, Schweblin is

depicting the reality of the world that human use other people for the sake of their own benefits and don’t

concern about the cost that another person is paying for that. The schweblin motive is to show the bitter reality

of this world that is so common practice for human beings. Above all, he showed another perspective that

some people denied it and act courageously to unfollow this practice and get out of their cages to reach at their

destination so that they can live their life happily afterwards.

The first courageous act present in this story is when Gruner asks for the change from Pe to purchase

the train ticket. It implies that human try their best to reach their destination and do whatever they can do to

come out of that situation, but situation or circumstances don’t support it. After trying for many times, some

people give-up but some people don’t and those people build courage in other people those have give-up and

make them confident that they can come out of the situation and due to this belief and teamwork it works and

they come out and reach their destination.

Courage definitely help to become bold and fight for their own rights, but when you have no support in

that city and you are stranger for people, then it would be quite difficult to fight for their own rights like

Schweblin describes in the story, Gruner was new in the town and he had no change then nobody help or

support him for giving him a change that’s why Pe took advantage by using him for their own benefits like
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working in the field, even he wasn’t willing but for survival he has to do and he did. It is misfortunate that we

are living in a world where people are really not willing to help another person and if he has to break the cage

then he has to do by his/her own.

Schweblin mentions the bitter reality of this world When Gruner lost the ticket and he has no exchange

then Pe use his weakness as an opportunity and start taking advantage of him and Gruner has to accept because

he has no any other option left except accepting it. Literally, this is morally as well as ethically wrong but

human always use other weakness as their opportunity. Instead of, doing help they start taking advantage of

the cost of other person happiness and make them live like a slave. Like Fi and Pe do with Gruner.

These situation makes the person strong and courageous like Schweblin suggests through her story that

it makes the Gruner and his friends bold and courageous. It is famous saying that “If one door close then

another opens”, so it is better not to lose hope and author is also trying to give the same lesson that human

shouldn’t lose hope at any cost. If bad days have come, then good days will also come. Gruner and his friends

didn’t lose hope and make the plans to escape so that they can catch the train and reach their destinations.

Teamwork also plays an important role because most of the time due to the good team they execute their plans

and plans went successful due to good team otherwise they can be failed if the team doesn’t perform well.

Therefore as discussed in this story Schweblin suggests that they win due to the team because without that

they would be unable to execute the plan like Cho distracts Fi, bringing her over to the window and pointing

to something in the fields, Meanwhile, Gong watches the bathroom door to be sure Pe doesn’t come out. And

that’s when Gruner and Gill dissolve the sleeping pills stolen from Fi’s nightstand into Pe’s big mug of coffee.

At last, through courage, they escape and reach their destination. Here you can see the courage to make them

all reach their destination.

Courage is the key to success. People need the courage to achieve their goals or reach their destination

because most of the situation we need the courage to do a certain task and believe in oneself. No matter, if

somebody is using for the sake of their own benefits. A person can change their fate from Slavery to Freedom
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by acting courageously. Therefore, the moral of this story that one shouldn’t lose hope, so if one door close

then another opens automatically, so If people act courageously they can change anything even their fate.
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Work Cited
SCHWEBLIN, SAMANTA. Toward Happy Civilization. The Atlantic, Fiction, 2019.