Question

Answer the following question in 100-120 words:

How does the contrast between the pilot’s fear in ‘The Black Aeroplane’ and Custard’s initial cowardice in “The Tale of Custard the Dragon’ highlight that courage can be found in the most unexpected characters when circumstances demand it? Discuss with reference to the two.

Answer 1

In Ogden Nash’s “The Tale of Custard the Dragon,” Custard is mocked for cowardice yet, confronted with a pirate, he surges into fierce protection an abrupt reversal that reveals latent courage in an unlikely figure. Liam O’Flaherty’s “The Black Aeroplane” similarly presents a pilot overwhelmed by fear amid storm clouds whose survival instinct and encounter with the mysterious black aeroplane elicit calm resolve under extreme pressure. Together these texts contrast public reputation and private resource: one character’s timidity becomes heroism when danger demands action, the other’s panic yields to composed competence, showing that courage often appears unexpectedly when circumstances force it.