The Right Stuff Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Right Stuff - Essay Example he story as seen through the eyes of the astronauts and in doing so eloquently illustrates the wide range of emotions and qualities it takes to attain the Right Stuff. By exposing the reader to the world of the astronauts, their families, the danger they faced, and their almost unlimited quiet bravado Wolfe is able to describe and define what is meant by the Right Stuff. The astronauts of the 1960s and 1970s where a study in contrast as Wolfe so aptly portrays them in his book. They were the highest public personas in America during that time. They were sought after and idolized. They were admired for their bravery and respected for their courage. Yet, they were family men with a healthy respect for religion and the values of America. The Right Stuff has often been seen as the ability to look death in the face and not blink, but it was more the ability to keep their head when the world around them had gone insane. The Right Stuff was a brotherhood of men that understood their place in history before the history was written and humbly accepted their place in it. When integrated, these characteristics became what Wolfe referred to as the Right Stuff. The Right Stuff was not the bravado and over-confidence of men doing feats of skill and daring that was right out of science fiction. The Right Stuff was the ability to remain human in the face of these s uperhuman events. Wolfe gives the reader an indication of what the Right Stuff is early in the book. Wolfe writes, "...herein the world was divided into those that had it and those that did not. This quality, this it, was never named, however, nor was it talked about in any way" (24). The Right Stuff was a special personality trait that could not be easily described. Those that had it knew it, and those that did not also knew it. They knew who belonged to each club. It could be readily recognized and noted, but definition was more elusive. The quality is known to exist, but less is known about its substance. The