Right Stuff the Meaning of

Right Stuff The Meaning of 'the Right Stuff' In the 1960's, the American space program represented the pinnacle of military achievement, with those training to take human evolution to this next tier of awareness required to exhibit the best and most infallible of qualities.

As Tom Wolfe reveals in the Right Stuff, his non-fiction novel about the individuals and organizations responsible for launching America beyond the stratosphere of Earth, the pilots being trained to take those first leaps into space were informed in their actions and motives by both the cultural demands of the highly bureaucratic world forming around the program and the extremely rigorous physical, intellectual and emotional prerequisites of forging ahead thusly.

This complex tapestry of elusive qualities, found in different permutations in figures such as John Glenn, Alan Shepard and Chuck Yeager, is described variably throughout the novel as the 'right stuff.' A catchall allusion to the indefinable combination of abilities, presentation and disposition expected of that exclusive class of pilot, this term would eventually find a definition in the individuals who most embodied it. In this regard, its meaning is continually shaped by the unprecedented assurance and bravery of the astronauts in question.

Initially identified in a hazy and almost jingoistic sense, with such assertions as presented to initiating pilot students that they "might be able to join that special few at the very top, that elite who had the capacity to bring tears to men's eyes," the Right Stuff is as elusive in identification as attainment. (Wolfe, 18) Such invokes the first important characteristic of this stuff, being generally open to the formulation of its possessor.

Still, it is evident that there are a whole host of expectations presented to the aspiring astronauts in Wolfe's work. The author often remarks upon the strict impressions of these men which the space program offered to a prying media. Bringing to the forefront the military, diplomatic and patriotic implications of the race to the moon, the novel illustrates the ways in which the formula for the 'right stuff' was very much informed by these larger forces. Such is demonstrable in the psychiatric evaluation required of each potential space pilot.

As Wolfe articulates it, candidates were expected to illustrate their possession of the necessary and desired qualities through a well-conceived and carefully acted response to questions regarding motivation and risk. One would be required to portray one's self as "a rational test pilot, as concerned about safety as any sensible professional..

while at the same time getting across the idea that you had been routinely risking your life and were so used to it, had such righteous stuff, that riding a rocket seemed like a vacation by comparison." (Wofe, 76) Here, it becomes evident that the stuff of which the author often speaks is a hybrid of conformity to organizational bureaucracy and classic, even roguish American machismo. A bold undercurrent presumably aligns with a dedication to procedure, diligence and professionalism to create the perfect specimen of an astronaut.

Indeed, the American space program would be deeply implicated by its role in the Cold War. America's military security and psychological pride hinged very much on the success with which the program was executed and reflected in the media.

The role of astronaut, which placed those selected in the public eye and with a significant weight resting on their shoulders, also suggested that the 'right stuff' earning this role was something more intangible akin to terms such as the 'American Dream' and 'democracy.' As Wolfe portrays the men in question, we find that these are the antecedent to the Soviet archetype so bitterly opposed. Stellar athletes and model citizens, yet imbued with a human element allowing them to resonate as heroes with the adoring American population.

The individuals selected for this rarified and adored service were to carry not just this crucial series of missions but the very image of their nation and people into the stratosphere. Thus, the characteristics defining these men are shown to be lofty and simultaneously unassuming. Ultimately, however, the 'right stuff' earns a definition which, for all of its metaphorical haziness, comes closest to capturing the author's intent, and perhaps the conception shared by the pilots.

Cutting to the core of the calculated risk inherent in space travel, Wolfe contends that "that unmentionable stuff, after all, involved a man.