"Greatness lies not in being strong, but in the right using of strength" - Henry Ward Beecher
This quotation is saying that good things cannot come out of brute and physical strength, but being efficient with the strength you have and getting the full value of your strength. This quotation is almost perfectly made for the main character, Alex Rider, in Ark Angel.
Alex Rider is a 14 year old kid. But he is not your average 14 year old, he is a special operations spy for MI6, the British Intelligence agency. He was chosen because he is mentally strong and can often outsmart his enemies. Alex has completed many difficult missions for MI6.
The situation which showcases Alex demonstrating the quotation is when Alex is in the St. Dominic's hospital. A sniper had attempted to murder Alex a few days before...unsuccessfully. He was being treated in the hospital when he snuck out of his room to get some fresh air. He was about to open the door into the main lobby of the hospital when he saw several men in leather coats. He stayed and watched through the window. They shot the receptionist. He heard the men talking and they were looking for a boy named Paul Drevin. Alex's eyes widened as he realized that Paul Drevin was the awkward boy in the next room. He quickly ran up the stairs back to his room. It's in the middle of the night so Paul is still asleep. Something inside of Alex just made him want to help the boy, even if it would endanger himself. Alex switched the room numbers and names of the two rooms as a plan was formulating inside of his head. The men came up to the Alex's floor and Alex opened the door of his room and stood down the hall. When the men asked if Alex was Paul, he nodded. Alex ("Paul") turned and ran. Now Alex had 4 armed and dangerous men after him and Alex was a 14 year old injured spy with nothing to defend himself. But Alex had some tricks up his sleeve... Alex ran and hid behind a large machine. The men had split up so Alex could hear one man's footsteps racing toward him. When he passed, Alex slammed two large pads into the neck of the person. That machine was a 300 defibrillator and it know sent electricity through the man's body. He was unconscious. 1 down. Alex went back into hiding. When the next man came, Alex hit him, full force, with an oxygen tank. He dropped to the ground. Alex ran to the physical therapy department. 40 seconds later, when another man came, Alex was ready. Alex had made a makeshift catapult using an elastic exercise band and 10 pound medicine ball. He tied the exercise band across the corridor. He released and another man was unconscious. The last man came chasing after Alex and Alex strategically led him into a room labeled MAGNETOM. The man was face to face with Alex and he said to come with him or Alex dies. The man took a step forward and his gun was stripped out of his hand. Next the man went flying into a large cylindrical machine. The man was wearing a metal watch and the machine was an MRI scanner. It was over.
This scene clearly shows Alex using his strength efficiently and wisely. Alex was an injured boy and he was able to take down 4 professional kidnappers. It just goes to show that greatness is not in being strong but in using strength wisely.
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