Lee | Page 1

Jim Lee
UWRT 1100-100
Miss Jamie B.
December 2, 2014
Courage
Once upon a time, in the far, far kingdom of Mushroom Land, there lived a fair and
beautiful princess by the name of Peach. Princess Peach had an unnatural habit of being
kidnapped by Bowser, an evil snapping turtle that had an unrequited crush on the poor princess.
But, the princess' cries of distress were not disregarded; unbeknownst to Bowser was a teeny,
tiny man whose courage was as large as Goliath. With the power of personified flowers and
mushrooms, Mario easily topples Bowser's castles and pummels him and his underlings into a
pulp. Rescuing the kingdom of Mushroom Land was so easy! As young as 4-years-old I can
recall that iconic sound and tune that Mario made when he hopped or fainted, especially that
catchy opening theme whenever you were in the select menu. One enemy that proved to be
annoyingly memorable were the Koopa Troopa tortoises that threw hammers at Mario's face;
they seemed to know where and when Mario was going to move! As such, video games similar
to those in the Mario Franchise are deeply rooted in my nature. You could even say my
individualism stems from those classic video games. In saying so, I would desperately like to
share with you the video games that have created my identity.
At the age of 4, you can't really do much except stay locked up in your house. My mother
had a full time job and my siblings all attended school. Staying home alone was a common
practice and allowed me the role of Overseer until my brothers or sisters came back. I was alone
but never desperate enough to seek friends nor venture the open world. Why? Because, my house

Literacy Narrative

Lee | Page 2
was unique; it was less of a cage and more of a playhouse. Our household had the earliest
versions of game consoles - the Atari 2000 and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) - all the
way up to the most current ones - the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation 2. Variety was such
bliss. Thusly, Boredom rarely visited, and when it did stop by, I heeded Boredom no attention.
One particular day, my older brother had been playing a video game on his Nintendo GameBoy
Color, a handheld console, and had forgotten to hide it from my curious eyes. The moment my
brother opened the door, closed it, and locked it, I slithered my way to that glistening, new piece
of toy (I remember calling it a toy because I did not know its designation was a video game).
To my astonishment, the video game was quite a thrill. That video game was called Dragon
Warrior Monsters: Terry's Wonderland and constructed the foundations of my nature.
Terry's Wonderland focuses on a young man Terry who desperately tries to rescue his
twin sister Milayou (mill-uh-yoo) from a parallel universe where humans, monsters, and magic
coexist. In the prologue, Milayou is kidnapped by a mysterious, black monster and teleported
away into an unknown parallel universe. Sequentially, Terry is kidnapped and teleported away by
a white monster into a different universe. As the story progresses and Terry evolves, he gains
monster comrades who aid him on his rescue mission. And, I loved this video game! In fact, I
have replayed and beaten Terrys Wonderland numerous times over my lifespan. Repetition
generated a certain skillset within me that allowed me to easily conquer video games of similar
genre.
Now, you must realize that this was during the years of 1999-2000, and I was but a child.
I did not know what a parallel universe was, but I did understand the concept of courage and its
importance in the video game. Without courage Terry would have fell to his knees at the mercy

Literacy Narrative

Lee | Page 3
of dragons, demons, giants, and ghosts. If Terry was an actual person, he would probably tell me,
"courage is your compass; you lose it and your universe disappears."
At the age of 11, I made an unlikely acquaintance. It was violent and bloody but had its
good sides as well. Its name was Call of Duty 2, an action video game. Its history included the
entirety of the Second World War and its main battles and skirmishes that occurred throughout
Russia, France, and Germany. There is no set main character because your perspective is
constantly transitioning from one stage to another; however, you must fight to survive regardless
of who you are, where you are, who you are fighting, and which side you are on. The will to
fight, struggle and continue is a crucial factor in every aspect of life.
The video game was completely new to me, in that the character was controlled in firstperson view. Because I was accustomed to traditional handheld platforms, Call of Duty 2
required much more effort to conquer than Terrys Wonderland. For example, to move the
character, and shoot and reload a gun in Call of Duty 2 required the cohesion of the entire hand
whereas the handheld platform only required two thumbs. Though, because I had gained a
skillset from Terrys Wonderland, mastering the controls and mechanics of Call of Duty 2
required only a week.
At the age of 13, I was pretty much an addict of video games. I spent every single waking
hour sacrificing my limited time to the gods that governed over video gaming. It was during this
phase, where I was transitioning from a pre-teen into an adolescent, that I met my best friend
Link, the hero of The Legend of Zelda series. If Terry is the foundation of my identity, then Link
is who I aim to become. There are numerous titles under the Legend of Zelda franchise, but the
one I stand to gain most out of is the thirteenth title Twilight Princess. Twilight Princess is set in

Literacy Narrative

Lee | Page 4
the fictional kingdom of Hyrule and governed by a matriarch. It focuses on Link as he washes
away the thick blanket of evil that has descended over Hyrule and blighted out its light.
Links lives his life peacefully in a small unnamed village down in the south borders of
Hyrule. One particular day as Link is making the usual rounds around the village, a mysterious
black fog descends from above the clouds and envelopes him, transforming him into a feral wolf.
When he has awoken, his transformation frightens and startles him. He has no idea where he is
and what has happened. Along his frantic search for answers, he meets a female imp-like
creature who goes by the name of Midna and befriends her. Together, Link and Midna
courageously combat the contagious darkness that has spread all over the kingdom of Hyrule.
Buried in the roots of the Forest Temple, Link comes face-to-face with the gigantic, carnivorous
mandrake of the deep. Down in the fiery depths of the Hyrule Volcano, Link stumbles upon the
herculean golem of ancients. Up in the flying city of the heavens, Link clashes shield and sword
against the fire and claw of the sky dragon. He is Perseus reborn!
Link is the ultimate embodiment of courage. His courage is the sword that he uses to
pierce enemy defenses and slay his foes. He is unafraid of the intimidating, and unmoved by the
push. Now, how is this relevant to literacy and writing? It is more than relevant, it should be a
model. If we would allow courage to direct us, our knowledge would be limitless. We would be
unafraid of failure, and the impossible learning new tricks, skills, or languages would never
dishearten us. No risk, no gain. Channeling that knowledge onto essays, exams, resumes, or even
contests would absolutely astound readers. A life led by courage would also eliminate the need
for biased religions which prosecute the unequal. We would no longer require these superficial
structures to protect our fragility, for that structure will already lie within each and every one of

Literacy Narrative

Lee | Page 5
us. Journalists would no longer become martyrs in foreign countries. In the end, however, this is
all hypothetical. Though, if Link were everyones hero, the imaginary could become real.
At the age of 18, I was completely lost. Video games had dominated my existence up to
that point, thus I never became interested in anything else. In fact, I had even graduated fifth in
the top ten of my high school class of 200 students but had absolutely no desire to go to college.
That following month after graduation I began working in a fast food restaurant. The schedule
was horrendous: 5 or 6 days a week, 6-9 hours a day. After five to six months of employment, I
finally accepted that I was no longer the child whose life had been ruled by video games. The
work schedule was tight and inconsistent, leaving insufficient time to enjoy the little things.
Consequently, I became desperately reminiscent of the past. So, I visited the local game store,
and asked for the recommended video games. The clerk handed me Pokmon, and when I bought
it and played it at home, something something familiar clicked.
You are a young man hoping to become a professional monster tamer. In order to realize
your dream and be officially recognized, you must defeat the Elite Four, the four strongest
monster tamers. Your companions are Pokmon, or pocket monsters (this designation is due to
the fact that they are encapsulated in a magical ball and kept inside ones pocket). As you venture
further into the storyline of Pokmon, your monsters become increasingly powerful allowing you
to capture more Pokmon and retain an offensively powerful team. The strong, parental bonds
that have formed between the tamer and his Pokmon grant you the courage to challenge and
defeat the Elite Four.
When I defeated the Elite Four and completed Pokmon, something clicked. Imagine you
helplessly drowning in a deep lake with no one in the vicinity. You are near incapacitation, and
with your last stretch of strength you reach out and grab a floating debris. With this in mind, I

Literacy Narrative

Lee | Page 6
realized that I myself was drowning in that same lake, and the only person who could possibly
aid me was myself. I needed courage, and Pokmon granted me courage because it reminded me
of Terrys Wonderland. Courage is your compass; you lose it and your universe disappears.
Working in a fast food restaurant for the remainder of my life would utterly destroy my nature.
With this in mind and along with the small courage I gained from Terry I applied for a nearby
university and transferred in all required documentations. Three months afterwards the school
sent me an acceptance and congratulations letter.
Viewed through my own light and lens, literacy is incomplete without courage. Courage
emboldens you. It empowers you to watch, learn, absorb, and commit along your own path. As
long as its within specifications, you will write what you want. You follow the standards but
attempt to write in a way that will make you stand out from the common folk. You are formal but
your diction and vocabulary are easily understandable and comprehensible. Despite your low
level in grammar and punctuation, you contend in contests and scholarships with a bright face.
Even further, you are willing to become a martyr to present your country with crushing evidence
of inhumanity in foreign countries. All these examples constitute courage. These words
encompass courage determination, perseverance and will. Courage is everywhere, definitely
inside you. Its probably untapped, though. I need courage, too. Maybe, I can get courage if I
reach out, as far as my arms and hands allow.

Literacy Narrative