Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff": defining courage and heroism

¶ … Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe was written and published during a time in American history where heroism was not contemplated for Americans. In fact, many have characterized the era featured in the book as the age of the "anti-hero." It was the time during which Nixon had left the White House in disgrace, Vietnam and its atrocities were uppermost in each American mind and Americans were held hostage by Iranian militants during 1979.

Furthermore it was also during this time that statistics are not in favor of the average pilot. Wolfe in his forward notes that almost one in four career Navy pilots die in accidents at a point as late as 1970. The fact that men were happy to risk their lives for this profession intrigued Wolfe, and he proceeded to write the novel about the NASA space program, and the pilots involved in it. Below the concept of "The Right Stuff" is considered in terms of various definitions and connections. The aim is to ultimately arrive at what Wolfe attempts this phrase to mean.

Categorizing the Concept

The most obvious category for "The Right Stuff" would probably be courage or bravery. This human quality is what intrigues Wolfe in the first place. If it takes courage to be a Navy pilot, being an Astronaut would take even more of the same quality. The early astronauts have a daunting task in front of them. They are part of an entirely new and extremely dangerous program. Space travel is in its infancy, and everything can potentially go wrong. Thus the same fortitude that inspires a man to become a Navy pilot, is increased to inspire the same kind of man to become an astronaut. In this way the pilots Chuck Yeager and Joe Walker achieve feats in the 1940's and 1950's that prove their suitability for a program that takes a large amount of courage and skill. These two men show what they are made of in terms of leadership skills and courage by piloting the first rocket planes as well as Yeager breaking the sound barrier. Thus it appears on surface that "The Right Stuff" is a synonym for the human quality of courage, skill and leadership. But many of the events in the book also call for a deeper consideration of the concept.

Forces Beyond Control

In addition to the rigorous circumstances surrounding their own and their friends' tests and flights, the astronauts with the "right stuff" are also subjected to forces beyond their control. These involve three major entities: NASA, the government and the media. A set of rigorous tests are done on each aspiring astronaut. These are described in humorous terms, not reflecting well on the doctors and psychologists involved. The early space program is focused upon putting a human being into orbit in space. Succeeding in this would help President Kennedy with his plan to reach the moon, while also helping America to beat the Russians to the same goal. This puts the astronauts at the mercy of political forces that they are perhaps not prepared for. The government uses the media to elevate the initial seven pilots to the status of heroes without their having accomplished much beyond the planning and testing phase. In this way the pilots are thrust into a media circus with which they have to cope along with all the other stressors of the job. Here the pilots need to draw on their inner resources of humor and patience to deal with invasive media coverage. The "right stuff" here calls for interpersonal skills.

The Women

Sharing all of the above-mentioned stress with their men, are the women who remain behind when their loved ones risk their lives in flights for space. The beginning of Wolfe's book gives a vivid description of the horror that could befall a pilot's wife. This, along with the subsequent descriptions of the relationships that the women share with their pilots give insight into the special kind of "right stuff" required to be an astronaut's wife. This is a different kind of fortitude and courage than called for from the astronauts themselves. The wives need understanding, patience and a remarkable amount of resilience to remain psychologically balanced during the trials forced upon them not only by their husbands, but also by NASA, the government and the media. The astronauts receive glory when a mission is successful. The wives who support them are often forgotten in the fanfare. Here the "right stuff" becomes an emotional quality. Emotional strength is needed when dealing with callous questions by the press and the dismissive attitudes of NASA and the government.

The Right Stuff - A Definition

The "right stuff" is therefore a special kind of courage and fortitude, needed by all the role players in the book. It involves physical, psychological and emotional strength beyond the call of everyday life. While the focus is the men who are sent into space, their women need emotional fortitude to make up for the long hours without support from their absent husbands. The men need psychological fortitude while dealing with death, stress and abuse from many sources on a daily basis. Even the government and NASA need it in persevering in their race to remain ahead of the Russians, who are as strong as they. The "right stuff" then is whatever is beyond the extraordinary, which the seven astronauts have certainly proved.