True Grit-Jan Baalsrud: The Greatest Escape

Bear Grylls

Short Story

Jan Baalsrud: The Greatest Escape This story follows the story of a Norwegien commando, who had to fight against all odds to survive. His undercover team was found and the rest of his squadron was killed by the Nazis. He is left to fight through the unimaginable circumstances to reach the safety of neutral Sweden. He is forced to go across mountains though snow in conditions almost impossible to survive.

Jan Baalsrud faced many challenges while he struggled to survive the harsh conditions while fleeing from the Nazis. A big challenge Jan faced was the harsh freezing conditions. Jan was left for weeks wrapped in blankets in the snowy mountaintops hardly able to move. His feet were frozen and his toes began to rott, he was determined to make it to Sweden. While sitting in the snow he decided the only way he would be able to keep his legs if he survived was if he cut off his rotten toes to stop it spreading this showed the determination and the lengths he was willing to go to survive. This made me feel that anything is possible if you do not lose hope and do not give up if something is not going your way.

This short story gives readers the message to never lose hope no matter the circumstances. Jan Baalsrud could have so easily given up hope on the shore when he saw his squadron dead on the shore and the Nazi forces closing in on him. He knew that without a shoe and his big toe blown off it would be almost impossible to escape but he didn’t let this stop him and he didn’t give up. It would be so easy to give up after everything goes wrong and you have seen your friends killed in front of you but this story shows that even when things get tough, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. 

A character I found interesting was Marius. He lived in a small town that Jan stumbled upon almost dead, Marius was quick to give help and hide Jan even though he knew the risks of helping an allied commando in Nazi territory. Marius showed bravery for what he knew was right and helped a man who was injured and sick no matter what the consequences, this is a very difficult thing to do when the stakes are so great. This is a great lesson to readers for today’s society as it teaches them that if you know something is wrong stand up and act for what is right don’t give in to the pressure of others around you. Another example of Marius’ actions for what was right was when he and a friend hauled Jans nearly lifeless body up 3000 feet. “It was a measure of just how deep their endeavour was that they should have felt relief at reaching the plateau 3000 feet up in the mountains.” This quote outlines the difficulty of the task marius had taken on to try to save Jan and shows how difficult the task was that they found relief by reaching one of the most derelict areas. This is an act of pure determination for what is right in which almost any other person would not have the courage or determination to perform.

I would recommend this story to all students as it is a very inspirational story and shows that if you do not give up hope and continue to drive toward your goal you can achieve the impossible. I think this book gives important messages that can be used in today’s society that would help students achieve their dreams no matter how hard or impossible they may seem.