Ones definition of courage could be another’s definition of cowardice. The definition of courage differs by who defines it. Everyone has a different definition of courage, what you think is courage is not the overall meaning, it’s what it means to you. What you believe to be courageous is your sole opinion, others might agree, but some might disagree. Some definitions might be complex, while some might be very simple. Everyone has courage, but they might just convey it in different ways.

In the novel The Things They Carry, author Tim O’Brien writes in the fourth chapter of the book – “On the Rainy River” –  on page 38: “Courage, I seemed to think, comes to us in finite quantities, like an inheritance, and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn interest, we steadily increase our moral capital in  preparation for the day when the account must be drawn down.” O’Brien’s definition is one of those complex ones. The way he defines courage is not easy to understand, so let’s break it down.

First, O’Brien states that courage comes to us in “finite quantities.” What he’s saying here is that we only get courage in a limited amount. Second, he says that its “like an inheritance.” Meaning that we inherit this limited amount of courage that is given to us. But when he says “inherit” I interpret it as not inheriting genes that’s passed down from parent to child, but inherit as in growing up and seeing courage being displayed around you. Watching your parents, your siblings, or other people you’re close to, and seeing what they display as courage. You inherit what you see to help define what you think courage is. He then goes on to say, “and by being frugal and stashing it away and letting it earn interest.” I interpret what O’Brien is saying here as over time you learn more and more about what you believe courage to be, and over that time your definition of courage builds up to become your final definition. Lastly O’Brien says, “we steadily increase our moral capital in preparation for the day when the account must be drawn.” Now that you finally know what you believe courage to be, you increase that feeling within you to prepare for the time when that courage must come into use.

The way I define courage is very similar to what O’Brien uses as his definition in the chapter. Although my definition isn’t exactly like his, and mine doesn’t include all the parts and complexity of O’Brien’s, they are similar.

I believe that someone’s definition of courage is based off of your surroundings when you grow up. The courage that is displayed around you when you’re growing up, by people you trust and care about, is often times what you believe courage to be. It’s almost like shadowing a sibling. When a little kid sees their sibling do something, they do the same thing, or at least try to. That’s because they’re seeing someone that they look up to do something, so they want to do it too. The same goes for courage. When someone you look up to does something that you interpret as courageous you use that to help define your courage. Although I don’t agree with what O’Brien says about people having a limited amount of courage, I do agree with him that you “inherit” courage from those around you. O’Brien believes that since we get only a finite amount of courage, all of our “bothersome little acts of daily courage” don’t mean anything. But I think that’s wrong. I believe that somehow, everyone displays a little bit of courage everyday, and those little acts shouldn’t be looked at as not mattering, I think every act of courage is important to someone’s life.

Now I ask you to try to define what you believe courage to be. You can think back to when you were growing up, and think about the people you looked up to, and what those people did. But remember everyone’s definition should be different, so your definition shouldn’t be fully based off of others, it should include your own beliefs too. So now think about your definition, did others help influence it? Is it complex, or simple? How does what you believe to be courage help define who you are?