Less - Courage
Nelson
Mandela once said, “courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over
it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers fear.”
Andrew Greer’s novel, Less, features a fearful protagonist by the name
of Arthur Less. Arthur is not initially portrayed as a brave or heroic
character. In fact, he spends a large portion of the story avoiding his
problems because he is afraid to address them. Even still, Arthur is considered
a courageous person because he chose to address his trepidations. Though he was terrified, he triumphed over his concerns.
At
the start of the novel, the man Arthur loves, Freddy Pelu, alleges that “Arthur
Less is the bravest person I know” (44). At face value, this statement seems to
be ironic. Arthur is, by his own admission, “afraid of these [daily events] and
almost anything in the world” (45). However, what stands out most from this
scene in the book is the description Arthur provides just after: “taking a trip
around the world is no more terrifying than buying a stick of gum. The daily
dose of courage” (45). Despite enumerating his many fears, Arthur continues
living anyway through the sum of small but significant actions of bravery. He
does not allow the fear of talking with people or experiencing new things
inhibit him from achieving his goals. In this way, he is courageous—not because
he is unafraid, but because he is afraid but chooses to act anyway.
This courage is demonstrated on a minute scale at the end of the book, when Arthur is stuck in a restaurant in Japan. His hosts ask him to break the wall, as it is paper and easy to repair. The narrator then juxtaposes the protagonist with his fear: “Says the bravest person I know: ‘I can’t’” (255). In this way, Arthur elucidates his hesitation. He is very afraid. Yet, despite his fear, he decides to tear down the barrier (258). Thus, he overcomes his fear by choosing to act even though he is afraid. Accordingly, while Arthur is not fearless, he is brave.
Arthur Less is a great example of someone who is brave but not fearless. The quote you included about how Arthur views world travel the same as buying a stick of gum stood out to me as well. Those words show a deeper side of Arthur’s personality and insecurities. Every day he is faced with situations that frighten him, but he finds a way to overcome the fear and complete these tasks. One thing I noticed about Arthur is that he finds small tasks like buying a stick of gum as daunting, but he meets new men and forms short-term relationships with them very quickly while on his trip. In Germany he meets Bastian and says, “It is all happening very quickly… ‘Come with me,’ the young man says. But he does not lead him to a bar. He leads him to his apartment, in Neukolln, where Less¬¬—to his surprise—spends the night” (Greer 107). Arthur is brave enough to meet new people, but it seems that smaller tasks frighten him more, which I find interesting. You also mentioned the time when Arthur tears down the wall in Japan. This is another big task that Arthur accomplishes despite an initial fear of the situation. The courage he uses to complete these larger and more daunting tasks develop Arthur’s character from someone who is afraid of basic situations, to someone who is willing to step outside their comfort zone.
ReplyDelete