Notes

The narrative, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” has a significant life lesson. This skilled story, by Hans Christian Andersen, starts out with a little boy, opening his present of twenty-five tin soldiers on his birthday. All the twenty-five soldiers were exactly alike, except for one of them. This abandoned soldier had only one leg, but he still stood very proudly. In the plot, the conflict for the soldier is that, he verily liked a ballerina, but he hadn’t had a chance to actually find out if she felt the same way. The unique tin soldier went through all these experiences, before he was back with the little maid he adored. This piece has taught us a very important moral. My interpretation of the short story, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier” by Hans Christian Andersen, is that you should follow your dreams to be happy, no matter what comes in your way. You should persevere to achieve them. So, if you have a dream to do something that will bring out the happiness in you, you shouldn’t let it go, no matter how many or what things may stop you.

The first reason I think, the story teaches us about following your dreams, is because the tin soldier’s dream is to be present with the ballerina. That would make him joyful and he tries very hard to make it come true, like you should too. To illustrate, one day, the tin soldier saw the little maid and found love at first sight. He said, “That would be the very wife for me!” (Page, Line). One of the other quotes include, “ ‘Tin soldier!’...‘have the goodness to keep your eyes to yourself.’ But the tin soldier feigned not to hear.“ (Page, Line). In other words, a goblin had tried to tell the tin soldier not to stare at the ballerina, however since the tin soldier had liked the ballerina a lot, he faked not to hear what the goblin had told him, because he didn’t want to obey what the goblin had to say to him. He wanted to love the ballerina (the soldier would be melancholy without her) and that was what he shall do. In the text it also says, “She took the soldier up by the waist…where every one wanted to see the wonderful man, who had traveled about in the stomach of a fish; but the tin soldier was not at all proud...he found himself in the very same room that he had been in before...as well as the beautiful castle with the pretty little dancer.” (Page, Line). To enumerate, after all that adventure, the tin soldier still wanted to effectuate his dream. He was glad to go about his day, but at the end of it, he would be back home with the ballerina.

The second reason I think that, is because, to achieve what he wanted, the tin soldier didn’t allow small things to come in between. That’s the right thing to do. In particular, the barriers that will occur that will obstruct you from moving on, you shouldn’t make it a big deal, like the tin soldier with one leg didn’t (make it a big deal). A piece of evidence will include, “He looked at the little maiden, and she looked at him; and he felt that he was melting away, but he still managed to keep himself erect, shouldering his gun bravely.” (Page, Line). Thus, he did love the maiden a lot, and even when he knew what was in his way (him melting) of his happiness with her, he didn’t stop. He wanted to be determined to achieve his dream. According to the text, “All the soldiers were exactly alike with one exception...differed from the rest in having only one leg. For he was made last...However, he stood just as well on his one leg as the others on two,” (Page, Line). Specifically, the tin soldier faced a problem, but he was fine with it and was just as good. He didn’t bother too much about these type of ‘small things’. The third piece of evidence for Reason two is, “ ‘but she is much too grand; she lives in a palace, while I only have a box, and there are five and twenty of us to share it. No, that would be no place for her! But I must try to make her acquaintaince!’ “ (Line, Page). Therefore, the difference of the luxury was a barrier between the maid and the soldier, but he still didn’t let that affect the way he thought.

In sum, what the author was trying to tell us in this story, is that you should follow your dreams and even if something comes in the way, persevere to accomplish what you want. This read clearly shows hows the tin soldier didn’t take a ‘no’ for an answer. Next time, you find someone who has a big dream, but something that got in their way of pulling it off, encourage them to be tenacious and not give up.