 
THIRD PLACE WINNER
Joël Quenneville
WHAT CAN TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY BOYS and GIRLS LEARN about DUTY, HONOR, and COURAGE from the WRITINGS OF G.A. HENTY?
Do heroes still exist today? Can one be courageous, honorable and dutiful in the twenty-first century just as many of Henty’s characters were centuries ago? Henty’s heroes can still teach us lessons if we examine their good deeds.
The Reader’s Digest Illustrated Dictionary’s definition for courage is “The state or quality of mind or spirit that enables to face danger and overcome fear.” But the line must be drawn between courage and rashness. As Francis Vere in By England’s Aid said to his pages, the heroes of the book, “Make it a rule, my boys, never to shirk your duty, however great the risk to life may be; but, on the other hand, never risk your lives unless it is your duty to do so. What is gallantry in one case is foolishness in another.”[1] Heroes in Henty do many brave things, but the most heroic are, in my opinion, in those instances where they endanger their own lives to save someone else’s. This is because human life is one of the most valuable things to God since he made us in his image. One we see saving others’ lives at a risk to his own is the young British chieftain, Beric. He and his faithful friend Boduoc are journeying through a forest when they hear a woman scream. They hasten towards the sound, and notice that her hut is besieged by wolves. Should they help the woman defend the hut and risk being devoured by wolves, or should they speed on to the safety of their village? Beric determines to save the desperate family. There ensues a vicious struggle in which the wolves tear off most of the roof and seem certain to succeed in their fiendish desires. “For hours the fight went on. Gradually the holes, in spite of the defenders, were enlarged, and the position became more and more critical. At least twenty of the wolves were slain; but as the attack was kept up as vigorously as at first, it was evident that fresh reinforcement had arrived to the assailants.”[2] Fortunately for the valiant party inside the hut, a group of friends from Beric’s village suddenly arrives on the scene, and at their sight the wolves flee into the darkness of the forest.
Saving other people’s lives is one way to show courage. It is not likely that 21st century children will have the opportunity to do that, but they can still show courage in other ways such as obeying their parents even if their friends laugh at them, playing with someone that no one else wants to play with, or standing up for Jesus even if it makes them unpopular. There are many ways of showing courage, but what is important is that when God wants us to do something we must do it courageously whatever the cost.
What honorable traits do Henty’s heroes display that 21st century children should imitate? The Reader’s Digest Illustrated Dictionary’s definition for Honor is: “Nobility of mind, probity, personal integrity.” Let us see how Henty’s heroes fare in this respect. Heroes in Henty’s novels do not seek revenge, but they are willing to forgive their worst enemies. In With Lee in Virginia, the hero, Vincent, who is an officer in the confederate army during the Civil War, has been captured and sent to a prison at Elmira. To his astonishment, he learns that a wicked schoolmate named Jackson is also imprisoned there. Once, as Vincent had come upon Jackson in the act of cruelly beating a slave and his wife, Vincent had felt it his duty to come to the defense of the innocent couple and a fight was begun. Vincent won the fight easily and from that instant on Jackson plots revenge. What a surprise then when Vincent finds out that he, Jackson and several others are to share the same cell. What is his reaction? “Presently he turned around, and Vincent recognized with surprise his old opponent Jackson. After a moment’s hesitation he walked across the room to him. ‘Jackson,’ he said, ‘We have not been friends lately, but I don’t see why we should keep up our quarrel any longer; we got on alright at school together; and now we are prisoners together here it would be foolish to continue our quarrel.’”[3] And so Vincent and Jackson shake hands, but Vincent doesn’t know that Jackson is not sincere. A few weeks later, Vincent finds a way to escape and he invites Jackson to come with him. Once out of the walls of the prison, Jackson calls the prison authorities and tells them Vincent’s direction and disguise. Despite his companion’s treachery, Vincent ingeniously escapes through the hands of his pursuers and crosses the border to safety.
Another honorable trait that characterizes Henty’s heroes is that they are not willing to do anything for money and don’t accept bribes. Beric the Briton, who was high in the Roman emperor, Nero’s, favor showed that he had this quality. “Large sums of money had sometimes been offered him for his good offices, but he steadily refused to accept any presents whatever, or to mingle in the affaires of others.”[4]
To try to resemble the model hero of Henty’s books we should also pay close attention to their treatment of women and others weaker than themselves. Ned, the main character in Under Drake’s Flag, is on Francis Drake’s ship during the capture of a Spanish ship. Afterwards, Ned notices that a young Spanish woman has fallen into the water. “Suddenly he heard below him a scream followed by a splash; looking over he saw the head of a woman appear above the water, and without hesitation dived at once from the side. For a moment the girl, for she was little more, struggled with him as if she would have sunk, but Ned grasping her firmly, in a few strokes swam with her along the ship to the boat, and two or three sailors running down assisted him to pull her into it...Captain Drake assured her courteously, that, rough as his men might be, they would, none of them, lay a finger upon a woman.”[5]
Even though we may live ordinary lives, we can still be honorable children. We too can forgive those who have wronged us, we can be honest, and we can respect, protect and help women, especially our mothers and sisters. Honorable children can make a difference in this world by their Christ-like character.
What lessons about duty can children of today learn from Henty’s books? The Reader’s Digest Illustrated Dictionary’s definition for duty is: “Moral Obligation”. But we must not confuse pride with duty as Sgt. Wilkes did in With Wolfe in Canada. This is the story: Sgt. Wilkes, runs a boarding house with his beautiful daughter named Agnes. One day a handsome young man, Herbert, the son of a rich squire, comes to board at their house. Of course he falls in love with Agnes and asks Sgt. Wilkes permission to marry her. Sgt. Wilkes says he can’t without the consent of Herbert’s father. The squire doesn’t believe in people marrying “beneath” themselves so he refuses. Herbert, then runs off with Agnes and marries her anyway. When Sgt. Wilkes receives a letter from Agnes saying she and Herbert are married, he refuses to visit them, thinking that it is his duty, even though it gives him much pain. But as he says later on, “I thought it was my duty, but now I think it was pride”[6]
In the above paragraph, I’ve demonstrated that we must not confuse duty with pride, because they are two completely different things. Duty is not pride. But what then is duty? Ned, the hero in By Pike and Dyke, displays this very quality. During Holland’s war of independence, Ned is charged by the Prince of Orange to deliver a pack of important letters to the Prince’s secret adherents in the Spanish-held town of Brussels. While in Brussels, Ned is captured by the Spaniards and is sentenced to death for carrying treasonous information. However, the Spaniards mistakenly give him back the pack of letters. Ned manages to escape and instead of hurrying back to safety he feels it is his duty to go on and deliver the letters despite the fact that he might be recognized any moment and dragged back into jail.[7] Children today can learn that they too should try to discharge whatever duties they’ve been given to the utmost of their capacities. In other words they should not shirk or cover up their mistakes, but they should persevere until their task is completed, doing it “as unto the Lord”.
Even though courage, honor and duty are different traits, all three are related. To do our duty honorably often requires courage. Let’s remember that even though we might try hard, we can never be truly courageous, honorable or dutiful unless we let God work through us. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4.13
Endnotes
[1] G.A. Henty, By England’s Aid (Mill Hall, Pennsylvania: Preston Speed Publications, 2000) 56.
[2] G.A. Henty, Beric the Briton (Mill Hall, Pennsylvania: Preston Speed Publications, 1996) 33.
[3] G. A. Henty, With Lee in Virginia (Mill Hall, Pennsylvania: Preston Speed Publications, 1997) 144-5.
[4] Henty, Beric the Briton 300.
[5] G.A. Henty, Under Drake’s Flag (Mill Hall, Pennsylvania: Preston Speed Publications, 1998) 51.
[6] G.A. Henty, With Wolfe in Canada (Mill Hall, Pennsylvania: Preston Speed Publications, 1999) 66.
[7] G.A. Henty, By Pike and Dyke (Mill Hall, Pennsylvania: Preston Speed Publications, 1996)
ABOUT JOËL QUENNEVILLE
My name is Joël Quenneville and I am thirteen years old. I live in the little town of Orford nestled in the Appalachian Mountains in Quebec, Canada. My father is French Canadian and my mother is American so we speak French and English at home. I have three younger sisters, one younger brother, and a new baby to come in April. History is my favorite subject and I love to read, so of course I am a great fan of Henty. I already own a grand total of fifteen of his works. They are so fascinating that I’ve read them three or four times each. When I’m not reading I enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, berry-picking, running, sledding, and ice-skating.
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