Response to Poison by Roald Dahl

“No pressure, no diamonds.” This amazing quote was once stated by Thomas Carlyle. It emphasizes the importance of the challenges and difficulties life puts us through, as without these hurdles, humankind would not have advanced this far. These adversities and hardships often bring out the mental strengths in people, and can even bolster their will to elevate or propel themselves to success. Heroic and exceptional human beings people are strengthened through the demanding struggles, bringing about their large mental capacities and high morale and thereby resulting in one’s development of hope and resilience and graciousness. Unfortunately, hardships can also cause the downfall of people. Some just cannot handle the stress, and they crumble underneath the pressure, causing mental breakdowns, and therefore cause them to concede. This is one theme Roald Dahl explores in his clever short story, “Poison.” Thus, Dahl examines the idea that the mounting pressure of some hardships can fully reveal the true qualities of an human’s individual’s personality and spirit – his sense of integrity – meaning he is , either self-respecting and affectionate or bitter and detestable.

In our society, the reality is that W while some people are courageous and helpful to others under extreme stressful situations, others may act in a cruel and unpleasant manner. In other words, a person’s true colors tend to emerge while being in a situation filled with stress. This is because people instinctively act in a manner that helps them to survive, which may prevent them from behaving rationally or ethically. It overpowers their will to be kind to others and unleashes the natural instinct to put themselves over others. Therefore it shows that adversities like this can bring out the strengths or weaknesses in people. Some can defeat their own inner demons, while others fail to, and reveal their own poisonous traits. These ideas are explored in this compelling short story, “Poison”.

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