PROMPT - Do you think that ease does not challenge us and that we need adversity to help us discover who we are?
One can only truly understand oneself when one has suffered through several hardships and has emerged successful from all of these. Adverse situations force a person to introspect and come to terms with ones strengths and weakness. There are several historical and literary examples that illustrate this fact.
Before the British came to India, India was in a relatively peaceful state and there were few serious hardships faced by the people. Thus, there was a lack of self understanding among the people. They did not know their true purpose. It was only after the British invaded India and the people of India had to go through 100 years of subordination that they realized their true purpose. They finally understood who they really were. 100 years of introspection finally made them realize that they were actually stronger than the British and once they truly understood themselves, there was no stopping them. The revolt of 1857, one of the largest revolts mass revolts in the world is incontrovertible proof of that.
Another literary example that deals with the life of an individual is that of Ender in the novel Ender’s game. Before he was subject to the very rigorous training and the extreme pressures of commanding Earth’s entire fleet, he did not truly understand himself. He would always compare himself to his brother, who was extremely violent, and his sister, who was extremely compassionate. It was only when he finished his training that he realized he was neither of those and in fact possessed a unique blend of violence and compassion. This compassion allowed him to truly care for the alien species while this violence allowed him to do what was necessary to save Earth. Thus, in Ender’s example too, it was extreme adversity that finally allowed him to overcome his identity crisis and come to terms with himself.
Both these examples show how adversity is essential in one’s path to self realization and true understanding of oneself.
