Spy Camp

Spy Camp develops the idea of courage as taking action despite fear, not as the absence of fear. While many may consider a brave person to be someone who is not afraid, this book shows that brave people do scary things even when they are afraid. Courage is a significant character trait of Ben’s; despite his insecurities about his spy skills, he has the remarkable courage and strength to walk into a dangerous situation even when he is very afraid.

In Spy Camp, as in the previous novel, Ben is forced to walk alone into a life-threatening situation. His courage despite self-doubt links two themes in the novel while foregrounding the motif of valuing individual strengths, as Ben’s recognition of his value helps him stop the missile launch. Before he walks alone into that situation, he takes a moment to gather his courage:

I had to lean against the wall for a moment to catch my breath. My hands were trembling. I wanted nothing more than to run away. But I couldn’t. SPYDER was about to launch a missile, and there was no one to stop it but me (298).

Despite his fear, Ben knows he must feign confidence to survive the situation.