Apollo 13 Movie Character Sketch (Jim Novell) Essay, Research Paper

“Houston, we have a problem,” came the laconic words from thousands of miles away. Across the vast distance of the space, those words were the last thing that the engineers, scientists and mathematicians in the Mission Control wanted to hear. The crew of Apollo 13, Jim Lovell, Fred Hayes, and Jack Swigert, was almost to the moon, and an explosion in space was causing them to lose oxygen, power and guidance. On Apollo 13 now, death was what the three men had to face. However, what they showed was not fear or frustration, but extreme determination, calmness, intelligence and courage, especially Jim Lovell, the leader of this mission. “Gentleman, what are your intentions? I want to go home.” Determination is the one word to describe this quote from Jim Lovell. Throughout the movie, Jim Lovell had been showing determination and triumph in things he wanted to get done. At the night of party with his friends at his house, Lovell sat in the yard, putting his hand over and off on the moon back and forth, symbolizing that moon is his goal. He was able to go to the moon. While on the mission, a problem occurred, and again, Lovell put his hand back and forth, not on the moon this time, but on Earth. This determination Lovell showed motivated and affected all other members of the crew to try their best to go back to Earth, which in turn gave everyone the power and will to keep on. It’s also this faith in surviving that made Lovell such a hero.Being calm and intelligent in an emergency situation concerning people lives isn’t easy, but Lovell still managed to do it. As soon as the problem occurred, Lovell reacted to the situation quickly and precisely. He did exactly what the Mission Control had told him to do without any mistakes. On the other hand, cooperated with other crewmember to do the jobs they need to do in order to get back home, solving the problem of increasing carbon dioxide level. Calmness was also shown when he stopped the meaningless argue between Fred and Jack. With someone calm and intelligent in a situation like this would always be helpful.

Despite the many good qualities Lovell had got, Lovell was selfish. One week before the launch, Ken Mattingly was exposed to the measles, and was scrubbed from the mission. Jack, as a backup, took Ken’s place. At first, Lovell disagreed with this decision, but after he heard that the mission would be delayed and that he wouldn’t be able to go on the mission if he insisted, he changed his mind. Lovell’s wife, Marilyn, had a bad dream about Lovell’s mission to the moon, and she sensed that something bad would happen. However, Lovell wouldn’t listen to his wife, but persisted on going to the moon, which might had hurt his wife’s feelings. I always think that family exceeds all other things, and to be hurting someone you love is not forgivable. Also, because of Lovell’s strong leadership, he liked people to do things his way, which created a self-centered and selfish character. Sometimes good things may bring some side effects to it.Jim Lovell was someone who was very determined, calm and intelligent, but also a little selfish. However, what were special about him weren’t these attributes, but the courage he possessed. Facing death wasn’t an easy thing to do, especially when you had a family you love. No one would ever want to leave the people you love forever, creating fears from your innermost soul. To overcome these fears, someone has to have a great deal of courage, and this was what Lovell and his crew had.