Free Custom «Right Stuff» Essay Paper

"Right Staff" is the right book to read when you need to be motivated. Through authors analysis we learnt that barriers are virtue for people who possesses the right stuff qualities. To compile this assignment I had to peruse through the entire book to ensure every aspect of the 'right stuff' was well represented; this was hectic because the assignment had to be completed on time. The concept of the "right stuff" challenged me to work even harder to ensure that time did not catch up with me.Wolfe's praise for the astronaut that made it to the final list is exaggerated, human being are know to adopt to their new environments very quickly; the courage to perform some of the perilous maneuvers might be as a result of over indulgence into this activities and thus making them even more used to risking their lives. The concept is brought out as a brilliant way of dealing with unique challenges the individuals with the "right stuff". My view is that the astronauts are just normal individuals are have perfected their flying skills and are used to flying under extreme conditions, due to this, they were able to perform stunts that looked impossible to other citizens. Many people believe that our characters are determined by the environment through which we grow up in and inherited traits. The inherited traits are shaped by the environment; this then is what determines the skills and expertise that we possess. What determine whether we are good enough for any challenge is the level to which we work towards establishing our expertise. Some people are good enough to defeat challenge along their lines of expertise but there are those who manages to go a notch high and are super good in what they profess, these people possess a intuitive character that is exceeds courage that makes them ready to take on any challenge that comes along their ways.As the title implies the book Right Stuff is founded on the concept of right stuff. The Author uses descriptions and comparisons to deriver the idea and show how it relates to the persons who participated in the mercury program. In the first chapter, the author tries to distinguish between simple bravery and what he calls the right staff. He argues that someone who possesses the right staff can not just risk his life but should be ready to bet his life and face the worst challenges in the universe. He, "should have the ability to go up in a hurtling piece of machinery and put his hide on the line and then have the moxie, the reflexes, the experience, the coolness, to pull it back in the last yawning moment" (19).

 

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However, critics think that the concept is over exaggerated in this book. The author argues that flying career is equivalent to climbing a ziggurat (this is a pyramid that is very steep and high). The possessor of the right stuff would climb the ziggurat without looking back and his every step is aimed at proving to the world that he belongs to different strata and is among the few anointed few that have the right staff and can even climb high to join the Right stuff brotherhood. The author divides the world into two categories; those that have the right stuff and those that do not have the right stuff.People who have the right stuff do not interact well with those that do not possess the right stuff. The pilots had a problem associating with other people but were very comfortable with each other. The author is careful to indicate that only the regular pilots can understand their daring and death prone lifestyles. In their dialogues, the pilots do not use such terms as bravery, fear or danger, but they apply codes and examples in their conversations (23).

When courage goes beyond the imagination of the general public, an individual is no longer regarded as a hero but a fool. This perception did not affect the mission of the dedicated astronauts from doing what they thought a justified course. The perception of people with the right stuff is different from that of other people; indeed they value their lives and that of other people but they would do what other would never dare do but would want to see the results. At first the Soviet seemed to be better in the game, but the Americans were first to learn new and more intricate stunts that even overwhelmed themselves (305). The move was necessary to overturn the soviet superiority, in the battle for superiority between soviet and America the government would not allow the soviet to dominate in anything especially the space technology. It took the extemporary and extra ordinary performance of the astronaut with the "right stuff" to restore the pride of the American government.It was stunning to observe the reactions of the pilots after a member of group 20 perished during the practice sessions; they thought it was a shame to die at that level instead he should have died long before he acquired the unique stunts. This occurrence did not deter their determination to be the number one astronauts in the globe; it was an exceptional conduct to courageously progress with their activities even after receiving losing an experienced pilot, which would have inflicted some fear in people and may result in suspension of activities for sometime to give members sometime to recover from the shock but this was not the case with people with the right stuff.The author emphasis the concept of the 'Right Stuff' from the very initial stages of his work, he describes the dangerous stunts that the pilots had to perform to prove they possessed the right stuff. His argument is that other pilots can only have an idea of what they experienced but can not take part. He describes deaths of pilots and the accidents that took their lives, but for the gifted pilots that possessed the right stuff, there was no looking back. Wolfe describes the dangers encountered by the astronaut in their life duty and concludes that calling what they possess courage, is an understatement. Men who took place in this mission did not do so for money or fame but they partook to be astronaut because they had the right stuff running in their spines.In conclusion, Right Stuff was everyone's dream with pilots at the top of the list. Only a few pilots who demonstrated right stuff were included in this astronaut program. The non-fiction narration is done in a prolific manner that leave the reader with no doubts in his/her mind that these were really truly natural pilot where they possesses the right stuff or the author over rated them. The author is able to sufficient prove of the existence of a character in some people called the right staff. People who possess this character are able to face all sorts of challenges that nature offers without fear but the pride of defeating yet another challenge.Annotated bibliographyTom Wolfe took approximately six years to complete writing 'The Right Staff'. This book is a composition of post World War II space exploration and experimentation. The space mission was aimed at putting the pilot's psychologies into taste and giving them an opportunity to complete amongst themselves far fro earth's stratosphere. The book was a great success; it was America's Book of the year in the non fiction category. It also won the Columbia Journalism Award, Letters Harold Vursell Award for prose style and the National Institute of Arts.