Risk Taking Essay Final Autosaved 
Bryan Steller
Lauren Schmidberger
English 11 CP
21 September 2014
“Worth”
A risk’s “worth” is impossible to identify because the result will always initially be uncertain; however, the definition of “worth” is all relative to the risk taker. The stories of Beowulf, Frankenstein, and the Challenger all demonstrate the three possible outcomes of being presented with a risk. The outcome could be one of three things: positive, negative, or not taken at all. A risks worth is not a result of success or failure of one’s risk.
The best case scenario for a risk is for it to pay off the way that you had hoped. That is the case in the heroic tale of Beowulf. In the story, the main character, Beowulf, is called upon to slay the monster that has been tormenting a town. He had a lot of confidence in himself and knew that he could defeat said monster. He said, “I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I.” (line 165-169). Beowulf was successful in his endeavors and defeated the monster. His risk proved to be “worth it” because he was successful and received glory and fame for his victory. Beowulf thoroughly believed in himself so in his eyes there was no way that this risk could go wrong. However the “worth” wasn’t a result of his success of killing the monster, it came from the gratification of doing something he thought was right.
Many would think that a risk wouldn’t be “worth it” if the risk taker doesn’t get their desired goal. However, onee reason people take risks is to move forward or to advance society. That was the case when NASA launched the challenger. The Challenger was the first majorly unsuccessful space exploration and it resulted in the death of seven individuals. Reagan stated, “They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths” (19-30), he had a belief in the cause and felt that their risk was noble.
Lauren Schmidberger
English 11 CP
21 September 2014
“Worth”
A risk’s “worth” is impossible to identify because the result will always initially be uncertain; however, the definition of “worth” is all relative to the risk taker. The stories of Beowulf, Frankenstein, and the Challenger all demonstrate the three possible outcomes of being presented with a risk. The outcome could be one of three things: positive, negative, or not taken at all. A risks worth is not a result of success or failure of one’s risk.
The best case scenario for a risk is for it to pay off the way that you had hoped. That is the case in the heroic tale of Beowulf. In the story, the main character, Beowulf, is called upon to slay the monster that has been tormenting a town. He had a lot of confidence in himself and knew that he could defeat said monster. He said, “I, alone and with the help of my men, may purge all evil from this hall. I have heard, too, that the monster’s scorn of men is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none. Nor will I.” (line 165-169). Beowulf was successful in his endeavors and defeated the monster. His risk proved to be “worth it” because he was successful and received glory and fame for his victory. Beowulf thoroughly believed in himself so in his eyes there was no way that this risk could go wrong. However the “worth” wasn’t a result of his success of killing the monster, it came from the gratification of doing something he thought was right.
Many would think that a risk wouldn’t be “worth it” if the risk taker doesn’t get their desired goal. However, onee reason people take risks is to move forward or to advance society. That was the case when NASA launched the challenger. The Challenger was the first majorly unsuccessful space exploration and it resulted in the death of seven individuals. Reagan stated, “They had a hunger to explore the universe and discover its truths” (19-30), he had a belief in the cause and felt that their risk was noble.