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Jayde Boyd
Professor Ditch
English 113B
April 2, 2015
Bravery at its best
Between the times around June 1940 through May 1945 on the Guernsey Island there was
an occupation that took place. This occupation was caused by World War II. The German army
took rule of the Guernsey Island, this caused major upset on the island, it affected its
surroundings by changing everything the people in Guernsey were used to and most importantly
the people on the island. The occupation brought in new rules and eating habits for all who
remained on the island. There were things such as new curfews and food was limited which
means there was a major cutback in their lifestyle on the island. Any food, animals, jewelry or
anything worth value were either given or taken by German soldiers. The Germans were now the
new rulers; they separated families and evacuated those who they felt did not need to remain on
the island. The Germans brought in heavy infantry and bunkers; this day was when the German
flag was raised on the island of Guernsey.
These events also caused some of the townspeople in Guernsey to come together to help
survive and deal with the new laws and regulations that were now in place. In the book Guernsey
Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, it took place during this occupation in Guernsey. This book
club was thought of one night when several characters were out past curfew and were caught by

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German soldiers, in need of an excuse to not be punished, one of the characters named Elizabeth
McKenna told one of the guards that they had lost track of the time during their book club, and
this is where the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society was created. It turned into a book
club that these characters could come and discuss their thoughts and forget about the troubles of
life outside. There were specific characters that stood out in the novel that were in the book club
.These characters were Elizabeth McKenna and Juliet Ashton. Even though Guernsey Island was
occupied with German soldiers during the post war, the oppression that was caused did not
internally have a negative effect on Juliet and Elizabeth. Some might say that the book club was
solely the only reason why they were able to get through the post war occupation as strong as
they did, but this was not the case. Elizabeth and Juliet kept moving forward because those were
the kind of people they were born to be, the book club was only one of the contributing factors
along with their strength, bravery and willingness to carry on and remain themselves during the
war. They were able to overcome the oppression and still carry the strength within them and go
on in the society.
A lot of oppression was caused during these major setbacks in Guernsey, this affected
most people both internally and externally, but these two characters were very outspoken, brave
and courageous, who throughout the novel never gave in or gave up. Quoting Juliet with one of
the comments out of many that showed her personality in the book was during a conversation
with a friend who she told "You're probably right, but even so, I'm going to Guernsey tomorrow
and you can't stop me. I'm sorry I can't give you the answer you want. I want to" (Shaffer 154)
Juliet is a very strong character emotionally, when she puts her mind to something, it is indeed

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something that she plans on carrying out, this is a personality trait that was carried out in her
character throughout the novel. She is very brave and is not scared to speak her mind.
A long side Juliet, Elizabeth was a prime character that represented brave and
courageousness also, she was very upset and fed up with this whole occupation business and the
way she was being treated by the German soldiers. She was ready to stand up for herself even if
she was going to do it by herself. In a conversation between Elizabeth and a friend she expresses
herself. "Then Elizabeth gathered herself up, "come on" she says "I'm not going to sit inside
waiting for them. Im going to town to seek out my enemy" "and what are you going to do after
youve found him?" I ask sort of snappish. "Im going to look at him she says. Were not
animals in a cage- they are. They're stuck on this island with us, same as were stuck with them.
Come on lets go stare" (140). Elizabeth is being very brave, courageous and aggressive in these
comments. She is showing that she is not ready to give up because of the occupation but willing
to fight for what she thinks is right, she still has the strength to pursue what she thinks is right.
Elizabeth understood that in order for there to be some type of change in the way the
people of Guernsey were being treated by the German soldiers, someone needed to take a stand.
At that time, that was the only solution in order to put a stop to the abuse from the soldiers. In the
book Rhetoric for Radicals it was said To change the world has thus meant to change the
conditions in which we live (Del Gandio 2) This is explaining that yes, to change the condition
in which you are in, there has to be a start in that movement caused by one of the people in
Guernsey or in any society. In this case Elizabeth was the person to step up to the plate. In the
quote above, Elizabeth is showing and telling that she is willing to make a change even if it is

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radical behavior to do whats necessary to make a change for the better, even if it is standing up
to the German guards.
The way these two characters were able to remain the same internally shows how strong
they are, in studying oppression; a prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. It is where you
are subjected to ill-treatment abuse, mal-treatment and freedom. Knowing that their lives have
been changed dramatically and they still manage to stay the same internally with each other
shows the internal strength. In the article "Outcomes of Oppression: Sociocultural Influences on
Women's Mental Health" it speaks on how not being in a situation alone can help bring positivity
within your life in any situation. "Furthermore, attachment to group members with shared
identities can facilitate one's ability to attribute negative events to prejudice and foster ongoing
development"(Green ,Enns 2) This quote is saying that the fact that the group member have
shared identities, that makes it easier to cope with negative events that externally cover their
lives. Being involved in some sort of group or collaboration of other people who share the same
similarities or who are In the same situation as you can help push away the negativity that is
externally affecting them and surrounding there life.
A last example from "Outcomes of Oppression: Sociocultural Influences on Women's
Mental Health" that shows that being in a group is considerably helpful is "These guidelines by
being attentive to diversity and offering a strength perspective by considering the manner in
which being a member of a diverse group may offer increased social support and other coping
benefits"(2). This quote relates to the book because it is saying by being in a group such as
Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, for women, can provide social support and

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coping benefits. This could have contributed to the reason why Elizabeth and Juliet were able to
be strong through this occupation.
Some may say that being a part of the book club is what mostly caused Juliet and
Elizabeth to be able to move on as themselves in the occupation and fight, that without the club
they would be internally affected by the occupation as well as the others. However this is not the
case, being in the book club surrounded by people who care and are possibly in the same
situation is a contributing factor to Elizabeths and Juliets willingness and bravery, but in fact it
was specifically their willingness strength and bravery that is innate in them, that got them
through the post war occupation as heroes carrying out valiant acts.
The internal will, bravery and strength that came with both Juliet and Elizabeth is not something
that came from within the book club, but something that theyve always had in them from the
beginning .In this case bravery was not adopted but, adapted. In the article The hero concept:
Self, family and friends who are brave, honest and helpful it is said that Quantitative results
suggest that individuals high on Heroism scores are more hopeful and cope better than
individuals low on Heroism scores (Staats,Wallace,Anderson,Gresey,Hupp,Weiss 1) Which is
saying that people whove always had brave ness imbedded in them are better at coping with bad
situations and dealing with them. When necessary they pull out the strength from within them
and are able to express themselves and do what they think is right. Then there are the other types
of people, who are capable of this same act, but it makes it harder because they then have to find
strength and bravery in a bad situation rather than to have already been imbedded with these
strengths. Not having already come with these traits could make it harder to cope with bad

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situations. The others in the book club show to might not have had these innate strengths and
traits causing the post war occupation to be harder and to build on them internally.
The book club, through this whole process have not seemed very anxious to stand up for
anything that was right and to put a stop to anything that was wrong, specifically the other book
club members. They were not as courageous and brave as Juliet and Elizabeth were. in Self
Identity and Culture it is said that Those with lower self-efficacy may not think they can
perform as well or avoid certain tasks(Jackson,Glenn,Williams121) . This could be why the
other townspeople did not do much, when it came to standing up for what was right. From
reading the book, Elizabeth and Juliet show to have high self-esteem and believe in themselves
which is why they try to take a stand. People with higher self-efficacy believe they have the
ability to perform well and master certain tasks(121).This would describe Juliet and Elizabeth
and how they carry out courageous acts.
During the World War II occupation the war affected everyone externally with all the
changes being made, from severing food, the separation of loved ones and the new rules that
were being applied for the people on Guernsey. With all these things going on however it could
not affect Juliet Ashton and Elizabeth McKenna internally due to the strong will and bravery
they came with throughout the post war occupation. They remained themselves, fought and stood
up for what they thought was right, they showed natural heroic acts that were imbedded in them
from the start. Theyre were contributing factors such as the members of the book club itself, it
did help them get through these hard times, but overall it was solely the fact they they were truly
brave characters and had the strength in them to carry out these heroic acts from the beginning
till then end. This book told the story through many letters of how tragic life was, but Elizabeth

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and Juliet did an exceptional job at remaining the same throughout all the madness and
oppression from the people around them, they are true heroes.

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Works Cited
Carolyn Zerbe Enns and Melinda A. Green. Outcomes of Oppression: Sociocultural Influences
on Womens Mental Health. Sex Roles2012 : 510513.
Del Gandio Rhetoric for Radicals: Canada: New Society, 2008. print
Jackson,Glenn,Williams Self Identity and Culture.Penn State Berks, University of North
Carolina at Greensboro Universirty of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Staats, Sara, et al. "The Hero Concept: Self, Family, And Friends Who Are Brave, Honest, And
Hopeful." Psychological Reports104.3 (2009): 820-832. PsycINFO. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.