The idea that hardships may bring out of someone something they did not know they had within them is something that many people believe. American culture is one that admires resolve in the face of hardship as we believe that is when someone shines that most. However adversity does not always bring out something that was not being shown before but rather gives a new direction to talents that someone already has. Adversity may push some to recognize talents they did not they had, like for example taking an advance class in a subject they did not like but finding they are talented in understanding the subject. While adversity may help people discover a talent or build their character, adversity just mostly puts their talents to use in a different way or showcases people’s character.
The mathematicians that were able to help decode the German enigma machine in WW2 were brilliant mathematicians before the war, they just put their talent to work in a different manner than before. The challenge they faced from foreign threat made them use the abilities and talents they had in a different way or at least for different purposes. The talent they had in mathematics was already there before the war but the war changed how they used that talent. Adversity pushes resourcefulness in human beings and that means either creating something new to get around the obstacle or using the tools we have to overcome the obstacle. It was with racial discrimination and prejudice that Langston Hughes was