Aspen Kortmeyer

Professor Ditch

English 115

November 6, 2020

Project Text Essay

March Book One​ by John Lewis and the article “The Alchemy of Suffering” by

Matthieu Ricard share personal stories about the authors’ experiences with happiness and

suffering. John Lewis was a strong-willed and courageous man of color who was willing to

sacrifice his safety and well-being to fight for justice and equality during the Civil Rights

Movement. In the graphic novel ​March Book One​, John Lewis transforms his suffering into

nonviolent, peaceful protests.

Matthieu Ricard, a scholar and Buddhist monk, believed that one could not truly feel

happiness without first experiencing suffering and that we must choose to rise from our

despair.

In the beginning of the novel, Lewis stated, “Going to school was a luxury my family

couldn't afford” (Lewis 50). This quote shows that Lewis knew the importance and value of

an education, but he also knew his family found it unnecessary and they needed him at home

working on their farm. His family was also concerned about his safety and they felt that

attending school could bring him trouble. Despite all of his struggles, Lewis being the

strong-willed boy he was, snuck out of his safe place to get onto the school bus so that he

could get an education. John Lewis’ had a special relationship with his uncle Otis. Together

they drove through the south and witnessed the suffering that segregation caused for people

of color. They had to carefully plan bathroom breaks on their trip because there were places

that did not offer “colored” bathrooms (Lewis 38). Although Lewis encountered a lot of fear

while on the road trip, he did not allow this to hold him back.
 As Lewis got older he grew a better understanding of what was happening around him

and he began to realize that fighting for equality from a place of peace was the best option.

Violence, racism, and social injustice against people of color was happening on a daily basis.

In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and move to the back of a bus in Alabama,

which led the police to arrest her (Lewis 58). In the article “The Alchemy of Suffering”,

Ricard states “It’s not the magnitude of the task that matters, it's the magnitude of our

courage” (Ricard 38).​ ​ Rosa Parks’ bravery and courageousness inspired her community to

organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott which was the largest protest of its time; 50,000

people participated in the boycott and it lasted an entire year (Lewis 59). In 1956, bus

segregation was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court and Rosa Parks became a

national symbol of strength. This sparked inspiration in Lewis and he began to believe that he

could inspire people in the same way as Rosa Parks. He became a leader in engaging others

in peaceful protest, sit-ins, and rallies. People who were being oppressed wanted peace and

equality and there is evidence that shows that violence leads to more violence (Mazumder

924).

Lewis turned his fear and suffering into will-power, and he was not going to allow

racial segregation to keep him from reaching his goals and creating change for all the people

affected by the racism in America. Over time, Lewis was ready to move forward with a new

philosophy “the way of peace, the way of love, the way of nonviolence” (Lewis 73). This

quote leads us to Lewis and his supporters taking a different approach by disarming their

attackers by humanizing themselves and making eye contact, loving them instead of hating

them, even under an intense amount of stress and harassment (Lewis 82). They chose

peaceful protest as a way to accomplish their goals. Hate can be like a magnet that attracts

iron filings (Ricard 37). They were learning how to stand tall peacefully and to be strong so

they could participate in sit-ins at restaurants who believed in serving only white people.
After many successful sit-ins, hundreds of volunteers wanted to participate to create the

change that Lewis was working towards. Towards the end of the novel it became obvious that

Lewis had transformed his fear and suffering into courage, his dreams were coming true and

people of color were coming together to gain equality with no violence. Although Lewis

avoided violence and fought with love rather than hate he was still experiencing brutality, for

example: Lewis, was beaten by a state trooper with a billy club as authorities broke up a civil

rights voting march in Selma, Alabama in March of 1965 and he sustained a fractured skull

(Wallstreet Journal).

In conclusion, John Lewis was a major influence and leader in the Civil Rights

Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. Lewis came from very humble beginnings and was a

strong man who dedicated his life to ending the suffering caused by racial discrimination. He

turned the suffering he endured into power in order to create a much needed change across

the United States of America. Matthieu Ricard believed that the way we experience suffering

depends on our mindset and John Lewis applied this philosophy in his daily life. He was

strong in his beliefs and he never gave up on his dreams of equality. Although there was

sadness and hardship in Lewis’s journey, he did not allow it to stand in the way of his

success.
 Works Cited

Lewis, John; Aydin, Andrew. ​March: Book One. ​Illustrated by Nate Powell, IDW Publishing,

2013.

Mazumder, Soumyajit. “The Persistent Effect of U.S. Civil Rights Protests on Political

Attitudes.” ​American Journal of Political Science​, 4 Nov. 2018, pp. 922–935.

https://www-jstor-org.libproxy.csun.edu/stable/26598792?seq=1#metadata_info_t

ab_contents​. Accessed 8 November 2020.

“Remembering Civil-Rights Leader and Lawmaker John Lewis; A Champion of Civil Rights,

John Lewis's Activism Brought Him from the Bloodied Streets of Selma, Ala., to the

Marble Halls of Congress.” ​The Wall Street Journal. Eastern Edition​, 17 July 2020,

https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.csun.edu/docview/2424572267?pq-origsite=sum

mon​. Accessed 8 November 2020.

Ricard, Matthieu. “The Alchemy of Suffering.” ​Pursuing Happiness,​ Matthew Parfitt, Dawn

Skorczewski, 2016, pp. 34-42. Accessed October 2020.