Honor's voice, written by Douglas L. Wilson, is an auto-biography about Abraham Lincoln and the transformation he went through from an early age. Many people, when they think of Abraham Lincoln, think about the success of his presidency, his brown beard, or his tall top hat, but what is more interesting is the path Lincoln traveled in becoming a great president. Wilson stresses the importance of Lincoln's early life and the struggles he went through. He says, "Lincoln's early life and the circumstances that brought about his emergence as a man of consequence constitute an important part of the Lincoln story and, it can be argued, are in need of particular attention" (Wilson 4). For much of the lengthy introduction, Wilson makes this clear. From his repeating this, it becomes apparant to us that even if a person has achieved prestige or high-standing, there being in that position is not important. What is important is the path one takes to achieve that standing. What is important is what one endures on the road to bettering oneself. In Lincoln's case, his path wasn't as easy as it would seem: "He struggled with doubts and fears who he was and what he could become" (Wilson 14).
The first glimpse we get of Lincoln as a boy shows us how he may struggled with himself. When he was wrestling with a boy named Jack Armstrong, he finally decided to end the fight saying, "Jack let's quit. I can't throw you - you can't throw me" (Wilson 47). This does not directly tell us that Lincoln struggled at all, but as the author later explains, we see the fights significance. This was the first time in his life where he had dealt with a difficult situation. In the past, he had been unable to do so. According to Wilson, "Lincoln had even more difficulties to surmount then this...periods of deep depression...and moments of suicidal depression" (Wilson 51). From this, as I have not even begun to get into the meat of the story, I assume that Lincoln went through some rough patches. He did come out of, though. No matter how difficult something is, it is important to overcome those difficulties.
The first glimpse we get of Lincoln as a boy shows us how he may struggled with himself. When he was wrestling with a boy named Jack Armstrong, he finally decided to end the fight saying, "Jack let's quit. I can't throw you - you can't throw me" (Wilson 47). This does not directly tell us that Lincoln struggled at all, but as the author later explains, we see the fights significance. This was the first time in his life where he had dealt with a difficult situation. In the past, he had been unable to do so. According to Wilson, "Lincoln had even more difficulties to surmount then this...periods of deep depression...and moments of suicidal depression" (Wilson 51). From this, as I have not even begun to get into the meat of the story, I assume that Lincoln went through some rough patches. He did come out of, though. No matter how difficult something is, it is important to overcome those difficulties.
5 comments:
I definitely understand what Wilson is saying. It is not about who the person is now so much as it is about what that person went through growing up and the path that made them who they are today. Sometimes we seem to focus on here and now, seemingly thinking that the person was born and zapped into that position. Yet sometimes it is the little things that no one takes the time to mention that made the biggest impacts on the persons life now. I found this very interesting because I have learned about Lincoln in the past but you never hear about what in his life made him so opposed to slavery in a time when it was widely accepted. Perhaps as we learn about his childhood we will be able to understand this better.
The book sounds interesting. I never knew that Lincoln suffered through depressions, but it shows that even the most important men in history struggles through hard times.
I think history proves that most presidents end up having somewhat rougher starts. Also, a lot of presidents usually have the tendency to have previously fought in some kind of situation. I didn't know that Lincoln had a tough problem, though.
Honest Abe, probably my most favorite president ever. This kind of reflects our new president, Barack Obama, who had a difficult childhood but was still able to become the preisdent, just like Lincoln. It seems like a very intersting book.
I thought that it was interesting that the author brought out the fact that just because someone is successful later on in life doesn't mean that they were perfect at an early age. Abraham Lincoln's ability to strive for peace was shown at an early age, as the quote tells us. But then we find out that he was very depressed, but he did eventually get out of it.
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