"The test of a courageous person is the ability to bear defeat without losing heart." In many literary works there are brave characters that are put to the test. Sometimes, however, the character does not always come out on top. Although they may not win, they are not discouraged but instead learn to keep trying and not lose heart. I agree with this statement because there are two works of literature, which prove that this quote is true. Two literary works which support this quote are A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry and The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne. By using different literary elements, the authors of these two works prove this quote to be true.
In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, there is a character named Walter Lee. Walter Lee is a thirty-six-year-old black man who is living with his wife, son, mother and sister in a small apartment. Recently, Walter Lee's mother receives a large amount of money through an insurance check she gets in the mail. Each character has a different opinion of what the money should go towards. Since it was the mother's check, she decides she wants to move into a house in a nicer neighborhood. In this story, the theme of racism is shown. Since the new neighborhood is mostly white, a man on the city welcoming committee, Karl Linder, tries to offer them a different moving option with more money. In this way he figures that they will not move in to the predominantly white neighborhood. Despite these actions, Walter Lee and his family are not discouraged. They do not lose heart despite this small defeat. Walter Lee stands up to Karl Linder in front of his son, and does not accept his offer. He showed his son that by being strong, .
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this small defeat will not affect him and he will not lose heart despite what happened. A second example showing how a courageous person can bear defeat without losing heart in this story is when Walter Lee's friend, Willy Harris runs off with a big part of mother's money that Walter had given him for business reasons.