Ordinary Virtue By David Schmidt: Character Analysis

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Scotlin Young Senior Experience April 4, 2023 David Schmidt Reflection I have taken many of Dr. Schmidt’s classes and have gathered bits and pieces of his story due to such, but I am incredibly grateful that I was finally able to hear it in whole. He has been through much. I knew he was not fond of his father, but now I understand why. What he had to endure as a child is terrible. He suffered his father’s wrath and had to become a parental figure for his siblings. It’s a lot of weight to put on a child in forcing them to be responsible for their siblings. Dr. Schmidt should have been able to focus on his own childhood and development but instead, he had to take on an adult role and put his own focus on the back burner. I’m glad he found respite through track. It’s important to find support, especially when going through such difficult abuse at home. I think there are several points in his story that are reflected in the book Tolkien’s Ordinary …show more content…

Schmidt was given a second chance. His plan to kill his father was halted when Dr. Schmidt was shot in an accident. Following this accident his parents relinqushed care of him and kicked him out of the house. While all of this may have seemed horrible at the time, it saved Dr. Schmidt. Had he not gotten shot, he very well could have gone through with his plan and killed his father. Along with this, when he was force to leave his home, he was also given the chance to get further away from his father’s abuse. The book makes mention of something very important. It says, “Evile twists good things to evil purposes, and good twists evil into greater good” (85). Evil was trying to twist Dr. Schmidt to kill his father, but God used the accident to spare Dr. Schmidt. God used the anger and evil from Dr. Schmidt’s father to help get him out of that house and environment. Not only did he use that evil, but he brought forth a community to support Dr. Schmidt in