Desmond Tutu once said, “Hope is the ability to see the light despite all of the darkness.” This may be interpreted as hope is the belief that things will turn out for the best. Hope is a virtue that can be found in the book Sadako and a thousand paper cranes.
Hope should not be confused with the word faith.
Hope can be defined in many ways. As defined in the dictionary, hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
This may be accurate, but there is also much more meaning behind the word hope. Some would possibly say, hope is an optimistic attitude requiring faith and trust in someone or something. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless. Furthermore, hope is allowing people to approach problems with a mindset and strategy-set suitable to success, thereby increasing the chances they will actually accomplish their goals.
There are many instances of hope in the novel Sadako and a thousand paper cranes. For example,the book is set in Japan after World War II when Sadako is diagnosed with leukemia from the radiation due to the bombing in Hiroshima. She was told if she folded 1,000 paper cranes the gods would grant her wish and cure her cancer. Sadako tells her mother “I will start folding 1,000 paper cranes and then I will be all better! I can fly like a bird in the wind! If I fold them fast enough I can go back to running and win the race” (Coerr 79).
Sadako is trying to relief her mom and tell her not worry. She is looking for the best scenario. Instead of feeling lonely and sorry for herself, Sadako finds hope in the small things. She has hope that she can get better because she beliefs in the impossible. Another example of hope in this book, when Kenji her hospital friend has leukemia as well she is very understanding and helps him through this time period while he is struggling. She tells him “Don’t worry Kenji. You are stronger than you may think. Don’t give up now. I have enough hope for the both of us (Coerr 103). Although, Sadako’s friend is extremely ill, her hope is much greater than her fear. She believes that he will get better and doesn’t want him to give up.
Hope is often confused with the word faith. Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing. Steve Jobs didn’t always have faith in his business as a starting entrepreneur but he had hope in his company. When founder of Apple Inc. one of the largest technology companies in the world, Steve Jobs was young he most likely didn’t know that his company would be as major of an industry as it is today. He had hope that his company would work out. Obviously, he doubted himself and had many hardships and made sacrifices. Faith is having a knowing confidence and trust, but hope is believing and looking forward to something. Jobs surely would not have seen ray of hopes at several points, but he would have believed in himself that he is going to create something different. In 2011, his net worth is over 10.2 million dollars because he had hope. Another example of faith and hope is the Aesop fable tortoise and the hare.The tortoise and the hare each had hope to win the race. The Hare may have had faith and confidence that he would win. However, the tortoise had more hope and faith that he would win the race and he didn’t quit because he believed in himself and was determined to win.
In conclusion, hope is staying strong and maintaining an optimistic attitude like Sadako from Sadako and a thousand paper cranes. It is important to not confuse hope with faith. Having hope in one’s own life is crucial because having the determination and the will to look forward to something is what makes humans human. A world without hope would be a very negative and gloomy place. Nothing can be accomplished without hope. Only because we hope and believe that something is possible we are able to achieve it.
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