Have you ever been stuck between a rock and a hard place and survived to find yourself a better person afterward. Survivors have common traits that help them get through unfortunate events in their lives. Traits rooted in one’s emotional, mental and physical state such as calmness, perseverance, and physical strength are portrayed in both fictional and nonfictional stories. For example, characters in “A Boy and A Man”, “Into Thin Air” and “Soul Surfer”all have characteristics of a survivor. There are three main similarities between Bethany Hamilton’s survivor traits and those of Captain Winter, Rudy, and the mountain trekkers.

In spite of being attacked by a Great White Shark, Bethany remained calm and collected throughout all the chaos. Similarly, despite falling down and 20 foot crevice, Captain Winter remained calm. This is an emotional survival skill. To be calm is probably one of the most important trait someone can have. In the article “Boy and a Man” Captian Winter had to remain calm when he was freezing to death in a 20 foot crevice. He had no idea if someone or something would come and help him out. In the same way, Bethany Hamilton had to stay calm when a Great White Shark bite off the majority of her left arm. She was bleeding continuously and was …show more content…
From the article “A Boy and A Man” Rudy is only 16 years of age and is trekking up mountain summits that even most adults can't conquer. Rudy’s ‘never give up’ spirit is similar to Bethany, who even after the depressing shark attack she still pursued her passion, which is surfing. Furthermore, it was impossible for Rudy to reach Captain Winter in the crevice, but he persevered and removed his garments one by one until he successfully reached him. In the same way, Bethany never gave up and persevered until she was able to surf with the champions again. Perseverance is being able to go beyond what is reasonable, and both Bethany and Rudy were full of