The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe, is an entertaining book dedicated to capturing the heart and soul of early American astronauts. The story starts by characterizing the intense environment astronauts like Chuck Yeager and John Glenn faced as military fighter pilots prior to the space race days. It then takes us through the Apollo space missions.
             Throughout the narration, Wolfe uses the words, "the right stuff" to ambiguously describe a human virtue which he never formally defines. Instead he leaves it up to the reader to draw his or her own understanding of "the right stuff". It might be impossible for every one to agree "the right stuff" is an embodiment of a single human virtue, most people will agree, the characteristic of courage is the strongest influence. The quality of courage is expressed in a non-traditional sense by Wolfe as seen in the following four paragraphs.
             The kind of courage found in "the right stuff" epitomizes fearlessness. For example, Wolfe tells of the ease Navy pilots have landing on the deck of an aircraft carrier for the first time; "the most difficult routine in military flying." (18) "Many young candidates looked like terrific aviators up to that very point-and it was not until they were actually standing on the carrier deck that... [they noticed how it heaved up and down and pitched side to side and] they first began to wonder if they had the proper stuff," Wolfe wrote. (19) Only the most fearless do not develop some form of physical or mental ailment that grounds them from flight.
             To be of "the right stuff", one must feel courageously superior to all others. A person must also ensure everyone else knows they are not of "the right stuff". Wolfe put this into perspective when he illustrated only "fighter jocks" were in the "fraternity". A fighter jock was only a fighter jock so
             ...