Adversity is the ultimate test for a person. Each person goes through it differently and some people struggle more than others. Some people give up, while others stay strong. One novel that perfectly shows adversity is “Letters From Rifka”. The main character, Rifka, faces a lot of adversity but is able to overcome it all. This essay will show the obstacles that people face while facing adversity, the factors to overcome adversity, and the greatest factor to overcome adversity. Firstly, there are many obstacles that people face while facing adversity. It could be physical like a broken arm or mental like the mental pain after the loss of a loved one. In the book, “Letters From Rifka”, Rifka faces many obstacles. She got ringworm, which prevented her from going to America. The text states, “ Tovah! I can’t go to America! They will let Mama and Papa and Saul and Nathan go. But they won’t let me. I cannot stay here in Warsaw without Mama and Papa! How can I live without Mama and Papa to care for me, to protect me?” (Hesse 30) This shows the huge obstacle she’s going to have to overcome. She also got typhus which also slowed things down a lot. She and her family kept on facing obstacles that were very difficult to overcome. …show more content…
Bravery, faith, perseverance, and determination are some factors that help overcome adversity. There are a lot more factors but there are too many to list. Rifka has a few factors that help her and two of them are determination and perseverance. When she got ringworm and went to Belgium, she had perseverance. When she was going through an obstacle, she was determined to get through it. When Rifka was going to Belgium, she stated, “How can I live without Mama and Papa to care for me, to protect me?” (Hesse 30) This shows her problem but then she has perseverance to get through the difficult