'Grit' By Angela Lee Duckworth: An Analysis

To people’s shock, it took Thomas Edison more than 1,000 attempts until he could successfully invent the lightbulb. In the TEDTalk, “The key to success? Grit”, Angela Lee Duckworth discusses, “Grit is sticking with your future, day in and day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years; and working really hard to make that future a reality…” (Duckworth). As shown, grit is defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals; Edison exemplifies being gritty because he does not quit no matter the complications and difficulties. Instead, he worked on achieving his goal for months at a time; it takes perseverance and resilience for someone to work for months on end and fail countless times, and still manage to proceed;

Finally, a real-life being that has demonstrated what it means to be gritty is Elie Wiesel, because he was one of the few survivors of the Holocaust. Wiesel was only fifteen years old when his family and he were first deported to concentration camps. He was separated from his three sisters and his mother. Wiesel and his father suffered indescribable hardships and suffering for the next several months, moving from one concentration camp to another. Wiesel’s father had suffered unbearable pain; he fought endlessly, hovering between life and death for days. On January 29th, 1945, his illness took his life. In his novel Night, Elie Wiesel describes his traumatic experiences, one of which being that him and his other fellow Jews had to run twenty kilometers, and if anyone stopped, even for a moment to catch his or her breath, they would be shot instantly. According to the book, “An icy wind was blowing violently. But we marched without faltering. The SS made us increase our pace. ‘Faster, … you flea-ridden dogs!’” … “Near me, men were collapsing into the dirty snow. Gunshots, A young boy from Poland was marching beside me. His name was Zalman. … But while running, he … yelled to me: ‘I can’t go on. My stomach is bursting.’ [Wiesel:] ‘Make an effort, Zalman. Try.’ [Zalman:] ‘I can’t go on,’ he groaned. He lowered his pants and fell to ground. That is the last image I have of him,” (Wiesel, 85 & 86). As shown, Wiesel has undergone inhumane events that no being should ever go

Nevertheless, it is essential to consider what life would be like if human beings did not portray being gritty. Analyze every single invention that you have in your home or your school: cell phones, microwaves, computers, the lightbulb as mentioned before, even teapots, and so on. All of these inventions were created by a gritty person who perseveres for a long period of time in order to make history. Without grit, many individuals would not have the willpower and strength to pursue their aspirations which would heavily affect our future and our society. If people did not have grit, they would be give up on their goals very easily, and they would not better the society because of it; it is because humans have grit that we have become this advanced of a species. In conclusion, grit, to me, means persevering and following your passion for long-term goals no matter how laborious it is; grit can be connected in my personal life, the arts such as the movie, The Karate Kid, and the world around me including real-world individuals such as Elie Wiesel. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you hadn’t given up on that long-term goal? You could have bettered society or at least bettered yourself. Have you ever wondered what life would be like if Edison or Wiesel had given up? It is frightening to think about, but fortunately, they did not. So, the next time you think about quitting, just remember Edison and Wiesel, and how they overcame their situations and how their