The Life of Nicholas Gage

Nicholas Gage in his autobiography tells us a powerful emotional story of his eventful life in America and home country Greece where the tragedy happened which would eventually change his life forever. Life as an immigrant to the new country is never easy and it was the same for Nicholas. He had to adjust to the completely new environment, learn the language and find his passion in life. Besides that he had a great burden on his soul for loosing his mother at such young age. If it wasn’t for Mrs. Hurd we would’ve never knew about Nicholas and his tragic story of life.
He was only nine years old unprepared and with no hope left inside when he and his young sisters came America in the spring of 1949. His mother was tortured and killed by the communist guerillas while trying to get her kids out of the land that once was dear and close. She wanted a better future for her children and the only way was living the country that became a place where the laws were no longer obeyed. Nicholas and his sisters were met by his father whom he no longer could recognize. At first, he was a stranger and Nicholas thought that it was his fault of what happened to his mother. However, Nicholas would appreciate what his father did and eventually will love him because he only wanted well for his children and what happened to Eleni was in no way his fault.
America was very unfamiliar and distant place for Nicholas and perhaps very exciting at the same time. In a way it helped him forget about what happened back in his home country and helped him find a so needed fresh start in life. Even though, he was placed in the class for the mentally retarded which was perhaps the usual place where principles would’ve put immigrant children, Nicholas didn’t lose his hope and in four years he was ready to be placed in regular class with the same age classmates. It was a tough period for him because now he was in the class he suppose to be but he still felt out of order because of his unusually accent and clothes.
However, it all changed when Nicholas met Marjorie Hurd, the woman who eventually changed his life. She was the leader of “Newspaper Club” as well as English teacher; but not just an ordinary teacher that he had in his mind but rather a demanding and strict person that wanted students to be either interested or not at all. She became not only Nicholas’s teacher but also a mentor, a supernatural human being that he looked up to. This is where Nicholas love for language was established for the rest of his life. Later, Nicholas was transferred to Mrs. Hurd’s English class where he begun to learn proper use of language. It wasn’t just the grammar that Nicholas learned, they had to read and discuss different stories of people that became well known by some unfortunate events in their lives. In a way these stories were directly related to Nicholas but it was his life and his struggle that were captured in these lines.
One day Mrs. Hurd asked the class to write a story from their own experience and she encouraged Nicholas to write about what happened to him back at his home country. For Nicholas it was a nightmare to bring all these painful memories and feeling back again which he tried to avoid the most but somehow he managed to do it. Nicholas wrote every single detail of his experience and hardships he had to face at his home country of Greece. The next day he found out that his story was published in the school paper. At first Nicholas felt very ashamed and dissatisfied with what happened but when he saw positive and supportive reaction of his classmates he was proud of his accomplishment.
This was the moment when Nicholas realized the true potentials of the word and how it can change people feelings and believes. He knew that writing was his future and gift as well as responsibility to share the story of his mother with the world. He managed to attended college where he wrote an award winning essay about his friend who lost his life by trying to help people in need. The award was presented by the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy. It was a great honor for an immigrant that had the ability to make people feel sympathetic about things that may have never been appreciated. All these accomplishments would have never been possible if it wasn’t for Mrs. Hurd.
Nicholas accomplishments made not only him proud but his father as well. Mr. Gage was a man that came from a poor family who never imagined that his son would stand next to the president of the big and powerful country. It would’ve been a great honor for his mother as well because this was partly the reason why she risked her life and lost it to make it possible. Unfortunately, Nicholas’s mother couldn’t come to the graduation of her son but instead Mrs. Hurd was there to cheer him up on one of the most important days of his life. Even after the death of his father, she was always there with Nicholas which made him feel happy because she was that sparkle that made him shine like bright star in the sky.
Nicholas lost many dear people to him but perhaps the dearest person in his life he had to lose was his teacher Mrs. Hurd. She wasn’t just a woman who taught him the basics of reading and writing but also made him love the language and appreciate the power of the word. For Mrs. Hurd Nicholas was just like a son because she chose him to read the final words before her death. She knew that it would be very tough task for Nicholas but he was the right person to do it.