Hannah Moore
Form IV 2020
Overcoming Adversity
Texts:
Clara’s War, by Clara Kramer
The Help, by Kathryn Stockett
The Voice In The Wind, by Francine Rivers
Wonder, by R.J. Palacio
Film:
The Shawshank Redemption, directed by Frank
Darabont
1
, Many people are faced with major adversity, which affects their lives significantly. C.S. Lewis
once said that “hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.” 1While
some prevail by defeating the misfortune or growing through it, others sadly succumb and are
destroyed by it. The memoir, Clara’s War by Clara Kramer, and the novels, The Help by
Kathryn Stockett; The Voice in The Wind by Francine Rivers ; the film, Shawshank Redemption
directed by Frank Darabont and Wonder by R.J. Palacio, all demonstrate the diverse responses
of individuals to significant life challenges. Clara’s War explores the power of Clara’s diary and
her personal relationships, which enable her to survive and even triumph as a Jewish teenager
during the holocaust. In The Help, Aibileen, Minnie and Miss Skeeter demonstrate their ability
to conquer the adversity of racial injustice through courage, storytelling and friendship. In
The Voice in The Wind , Hadassah clings to faith in Christ to overcome the adversity of
religious persecution, cruelty and slavery in first century Rome. The film, Shawshank
Redemption highlights Andy’s hope and resilience, as well as his friendship with Red, which
enable both prisoners to endure Shawshank prison and to attain their freedom. Wonder
illustrates the importance of courage and relationships in a child with a facial defect. In these
texts and film, different adversities are explored, while evaluating the value of character traits
and coping mechanisms in overcoming adversity.
In the face of uncontrollable suffering and calamity, the ability to conquer adversity is greatly
determined by the response and character of an individual. In the memoir Clara’s War, Clara
Kramer describes her extreme distress as a Jewish teenager in Poland in World War Two.
Clara’s courage, willpower, faith and hope are character traits that enabled her to survive for
four years while she silently hid, together with 18 other Jews, beneath the suffocating
floorboards of the Beck’s house, where they “couldn’t do anything but wait.” 2
Clara’s family and the other Jews demonstrated extreme self-control and faith by entrusting
their lives to an ethnic German alcoholic, Valentin Beck, who posed as a Nazi supporter and
even entertained SS officers in his home to appear authentic. Through no fault of their own,
1
Lewis, Clive Staples. ‘Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny’. Pass It On, 20
October 2016. Available URL:
https://assets.passiton.com/quotes/quote_artwork/6940/original/20200316_monday_quote_alternate.jpg?
1584125137 , 20 July 2020
2
Clara Kramer, Clara’s War, London, Edbury Publishing, 2009, p.41
2
