Courage

Courage is something all individuals have, but only a select few show it.  The others 
 live in fear, hoping their fear would eventually end.  A good example of how fear can take over someone is The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks.  Omri, the main character of the book, receives a magic cupboard that makes toys come to life when locked into it, and also reverses the effect when they are alive.  He decides to bring his favorite toy, an Iroquois Indian, to life.  When the Indian, Little Bear, is brought to life, he starts shooting Omri with his mini arrows and trying to stab him with his even smaller knife.  Little Bear’s fear of Omri when he is first living makes him think irrationally, which could be dangerous.  Little Bear eventually stops becoming fearful of Omri, and they manage to live with each other until Little Bear wants to be a toy again.

Fear is an overwhelming feeling that everybody has sometime or another, and can often take over people’s lives.  It makes them think about doing anything they can to get away from the scary subject.  Only those with true courage, though, can see past the fear and be optimistic about the future, even if it means risking their life.  In the words of Mark Twain, “Courage is resistance of fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear” (Famous Quotes).  Courage can not exist without fear, because without fear nobody could overcome it and nobody could do courageous acts.

The two coexist, as shown in Shake Hands With the Devil, Thieves of Heaven, and Night.  Courage is not just an act, though.   As said by Sir Winston Churchill, “Courage is the first of human qualities, because it is the quality which includes all others” (Famous Quotes).  That quote is most likely the one that describes courage the best.  If people have courage and
show it, then they will believe that they can overcome anything, and the other qualities of life will come to them.