1

Patel
Aakash Patel

Mr. Leland

AP English 11

October 16, 2015

Adversity Essay

Many people in our society have dealt with adversity, which has

led them to be who they are. People such as Steve Jobs, Nelson

Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr. and many others have all faced

adversity and it has led them to become who they are in todays

society. The Roman poet Horace once said, adversity has the effect

of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain

dormant. In other words Horace meant, that when one faces

adversity their true qualities come out, whereas in a prosperous

situation those qualities wouldve stayed within the person. Horace

says, that adversity has a role in developing a persons character.

During hardships the true side of human character is revealed. The

Great Depression in the 1900s, the novel Grapes of Wrath, and

others all involved facing adversity and how they succeeded from it.

Adversities are basically inescapable during life. There will

always be adversity in ones life and, the result of it will show the

person you really are. When these problems occur people are normally

astound at the response to the situation. Adversity is something that

people respond differently to and, most people do it inadequately.

 2
Patel
Peoples ability to respond under a prosperous circumstance would be

much easier. An example of adversity is in John Steinbecks, Grapes of

Wrath, the human response to the adversity is shown through the

story of the Joad family. For the Joad family, life was stationed in

Oklahoma where the circumstances in which they lived under proved

many adversities. They had to face vehicle problems, death in their

family, and they received low wages. The 1930s dust bowl brought

about a great time of suffering for a number of individuals and, showed

many peoples way of responding to adversity. The Joad family lived in

the south during the dust bowl and, they had to move west because of

it. Adversities bring out a new obstacle for people to face when

adversity needs to be dealt with.

When one finds themself in a time facing adversity its their

decisions that can make the adversity seem less difficult on them.

When somebody is facing adversity its then that they realize that its

hard to face the adversity and, to be able to get passed it completely.

There are many challenges that come with adversity, such as not

letting it get the better of someone. Once one starts to realize theyre

facing adversity, they also realize that change is also going to occur

and you will have to let it occur. An example of this is the Great

Depression. In the 1930s everyone was upset because the market

had crashed and many people did not have any jobs. The people of

that time had faced great adversity because they needed to find ways
 3
Patel
to get jobs and money in order to keep their old living ways. The way

people reacted to the adversity showed their true character, and the

people were able to move on from all that they faced during the Great

Depression. Franklin Roosevelt had a plan for the United States to get

out of the Depression, and it was called the new plan. His idea was

called the New Deal and many people didnt like it because it required

a lot of money, which America didnt have. Once the New Deal showed

that it worked many people supported it. It was so successful that

Roosevelt was elected for a total of four terms, which is the most in U.S

presidency. If these people were put into a prosperous situation then

the people wouldnt have dealt with adversity. Many people faced

adversity throughout the Great Depression, but America overcame it

and thrived the economy the years following.

Furthermore, Ben Franklin had to come past major adversity that

he faced. At the age of 10 Ben Franklin had to drop out of school

because his parents didnt have enough money to keep him in school

for any longer. Ben Franklin had to teach himself everything that he

knew, and he did that through prodigious reading. Ben Franklin was

anxious to learn and, when he had to drop out of school to work it

became a lot harder for him to learn how to work. Ben Franklin had to

come through a lot of adversity, but he did get through it and he

flourished. He faced so much from having to drop out of school at a

 4
Patel
young age and learning everything on his own to facing the adversity

when he was creating the lightning rod.. He went on to invent the

lightning rod, and he is one of the founding fathers of The United

States of America. Horace was right when he said adversity has the

effect of eliciting talents. Ben Franklin faced a lot of adversity

throughout his life, but it went on to shape him into whom he is today.

In conclusion, dealing with adversity is much harder than having

to deal with a prosperous circumstance. Many are able to deal with

adversity and move passed it easily, but others have to face it and

most of the time it brings out the true nature of that person. The Joad

Family had faced serious adversity during the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

Almost all American citizens faced adversity during the Great

Depression and Ben Franklin also faced a lot of adversity once he

dropped out of school. All in all, the Roman poet Horaces quote about

adversity was very accurate and being in those prosperous situations

rather that dealing with adversity can make some stay normal.