Ashley Tyson
Mrs. Cowling
AP Language and Composition: B2
October 5, 2015
What Influences One's Character?
Helen Keller once said, “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” By analyzing Helen Keller’s quote, one may infer that character is developed through experiences; and only people themselves can determine what they will experience and what situations they will go through. Therefore, people indirectly determine their character based on their choice of what situations they put themselves into.
Although most situations people put themselves into are chosen by the individual themselves, some situations are forced upon them. Some situations, such as child and/or domestic abuse, rape, and kidnapping, are not chosen to be experience by the individual; therefore the change in their character is not chosen by them. However, everyone who has a bad experience is still able to choose if they allow it to affect them in a positive or negative way. Everyone has a choice if they want to learn from the experience and allow it to have…show more content… Children develop character traits at a young age due to their parents influence on their lives, then mold their initial traits into more concrete traits throughout their young adulthood and beyond. Many parents who are not involved in a child’s life leave negative opinions about parental involvement in a child’s mind. Now, these opinions are given to the child so that they may determine how it may affect them. Some children may choose to allow it to define their lives in a negative way such as, allowing the experience to fuel hatred in them; and some children may choose to let it positively help them grow as a person and choose to be involved in their future child’s