Sometimes in life, it’s good to take risks and face your fears.

Sometimes in life, it’s good to take risks and face your fears. In the short story “ The Hiking Trip”, the main protagonist Jeff is faced with a dilemma to either cower with discontent or be a hero and save his brother’s life. Since Jeff is young and ignorant, he is challenged with an internal conflict that eventually drives him forward with the words of his father as fuel, and the external conflict of the ragged environment that he struggles to navigate through. Jeff is incredibly scared of the situation he was faced with; his brother was hurt by a snake bite, his father was old and slow, and the seemingly lovely hiking trip turned into a complete nightmare. Jeff complained to his father as they were making their way through the dangerously ragged canyon, whining behind him, “ I’m scared! I don’t even want to have courage! ” (Par 3). He says this because his father is attempting to urge him forward by telling him, “…have enough love for your brother to think this through! ” (Par 4). With these inspiring and pressing words, Jeff manages to oppress his fears and get ahead of his father, and he finally ignores the problem with the canyon beating him down. As Jeff is pumping with adrenaline, he gets further and further ahead of his lagging father, and, soon enough, he finds his father’s car parked where he was told it’d be. Because Jeff is now excited and proud, he runs to the road, using all his energy, and attempts to find someone to hitch-hike off of. Fortunately for Jeff, a tow truck lets him in, and gives him a ride to get help in a town called Flint. Although he seemed to be pumped with energy, the second Jeff had a chance to relax in the seat of the truck, he faints from exhaustion. Jeff woke up in a Flint hotel with his father, and the first thing he remembers was his brother. “ Where’s Mark? Is he OK? ” (Par 18). He was worried for his brother, who, in the end, was really the reason he was finally able to undergo his paradigm shift. His father says to him with pride, “ You’re a hero, son! ” (Par 14), and “ I’m so proud of you! ” (Par 17). In conclusion, Jeff was then able to face his fears and conquer the rough environment of the canyon. His brother was fine, thanks to Jeff, and his father got out thanks to the same tow truck that picked up Jeff. Overall, Jeff’s changes were life saving, and he was now a man. Toggle screen reader support