Adam Truax

Mrs. Scharf

AP English

7 December 2018

Question 3 : Adversity and Character

Horace’s quote “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous

circumstances would have lain dormant “ talks about how adversity adds character to people and

helps shape who they ultimately become. Adversity depending on the situation does have an

output of who you are as a person negatively or positively. Adversity does have negative effects

on characters such as through bullying or it could have positive effects building on confidence

but ultimately adversity shapes who we are as people.

One way adversity comes into play is through mental adversity. Mental adversity could

be anything from autism to depression. If a person’s adversity is mentally it has an effect on their

character because they would have to learn how to deal with this effect shaping character. For

example, different people have phobias which can shape who they are as a person based off of

what they are scared of. This can be seen as having phobias like arachnophobia which sets them

apart from people that do not have arachnophobia or the same phobia. Another example, would

be through adhd which some people deal with and they learn to cope with their mental

challenges adding something to their character. Adhd for certain people helps them to understand

that they have to have better self control which adds to their character because they understand

that they have to have self control and not work off of impulse.

Another way adversity shapes character is through physical means. This could be having
missing limbs, having hunchback, or could come into even things as simple as having scars or

being short or tall. These certain things define what people are and people with physical

adversity tend to work harder to bypass these limitations. For example having people with

missing limbs have to work with prosthetics and must work pass their difficulty with having to

work with them. People with missing limbs also learn how to bypass their limits and work as

well as people that don’t possibly have missing limbs. Another example, is through scars, having

scars adds character as well as personal background being through war stories to something like

a transplant. This adds character because it affects their physical appearance and it’s something

that stands out and has story.

Adversity also adds character through emotional standards. Some ways people have

emotional adversity is through having depression, ptsd, bullying etc. For example being bullied

has a negative effect on character because it destroys people's confidence. This makes them less

confident in who they are and plays into the future. Having depression adds character because

people with depression usually have it due to someone close dying or feeling like they don’t have

an affect on life. This builds character in the way that they have depression and it also destroys

confidence. Anger problems is also an emotional adversity deal with, having to make sure they

don’t lose control of their anger and put it out on other people. People with anger problems adds

to character because they have to have self control and sometimes need help with it through

anger management sessions.

One last way adversity comes into effect is through financial states. This could be in

being poor vs. being rich, being homeless , losing a job, etc. This comes into effect in character

because it teaches people that they have to work harder and puts them through a hard situation
where they have to adapt. This adds character because losing a job teaches people to not make

the same mistakes and also builds a trait of hard work so they can find a new job and afford food.

Being homeless adds character because it shows that they have a problem either being mentally

or emotionally but they learn to work through it so they can eat and survive. Being poor vs.

being rich shows who we are because people that are poor might not have as nice things as rich

people have but they either deal with it or work harder so that they can buy things they want or

need. People with less money usually build a trait with being thrifty with their money instead of

wasting it on things that are not vital.

A possible rebuttal that adversity only has negative effects on character. This is only

partially true because certain adversities does have negative effects on our character such as

destroying confidence, being viable to emotions, not having a functional limb but adversities

that are negative tend to make people stronger because they must find ways to work past

difficulties and it makes them stronger as a person building traits such as being thrifty with

money, having inner self control, having self confidence. Adversity is what makes people people

and without it we would just be boring and “normal” and not have anything that sets us apart

from others.

Horace’s quote “ Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous

circumstances would have lain dominant” stand true in the fact that adversity affects character

and sets us apart as a society and who we independently are as a person. Having struggles in the

way of adversity only sets us apart and working through makes us stronger as a person building

character through our adversity.