Last Name 1 Student Name Mr. Patterson Acc. English III 24 May 2010 Barriers Influencing American Dreams Do obstacles in one’s life change one’s aspirations? If something hard or even
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:49 PM Comment: TITLE SHOULD REFLECT OVERALL THEME OF ESSAYß Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:35 PM Comment: Attention Getter
unexpected occurs, does one turn his or her back on all that has been worked for? In an American society, there is an idea of a dream. Most people have dreams that differ from one another. Dreams are not limited only to society. Countless numbers of times in American literature, there are moments when an obstacle slows or possibly halts progression. Dreams can also be found in American literature; however, like the reality of society, barriers can be a component of having aspirations. Barriers create obstacles, whether emotional or physical, that make achieving a dream difficult or even appear to be impossible. In American literature dreams seem to be unattainable because of barriers. In all the years of literature, dreams, goals, and aspirations come in contact
with a conflict. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby has a dream to be with Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby has a passion for his dream so fierce that he pursues Daisy no matter what the barrier. “No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his . . . heart” (Fitzgerald 101). One barrier that Gatsby encounters is he has not money. Daisy is a girl of wealth and vanity. In order to catch the attention of Daisy and come closer to his dream, Jay Gatsby goes to great lengths to acquire money. Nick Carraway, one of Gatsby’s new acquaintances, questions his
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:44 PM Comment: Name of AUTHOR AND LITERATURE PIECE. If you are not using the books as paragraphs approach, Only mention the AUTHOR/BOOK the first time you use the quote. From then on out, just introduce quote with the name of a character or something. Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:36 PM Comment: Correct use of ellipsis
Last Name 2 money when he says, “’I thought you inherited your money’” (95). To reply, Gatsby states, “’I did, Old Sport, but I lost most of it in the big panic – the panic of the war’” (95). After giving an inappropriate reply to Nick’s later question concerning Gatsby’s business, he clarifies that he “was in the drug business and then . . . in the oil business” (95). Gatsby’s obstruction, the lack of money, did not stop him in his quest for Daisy. Another obstacle Gatsby faced is that, upon returning from the war, he finds out Daisy is married. “Daisy was [Nick’s] cousin . . . and [he’d] known Tom in college. . . . Her husband . . . had been one of the most powerful ends” (10). Tom Buchanan was young, charming, charismatic, and wealthy. Daisy “had a debut after the Armistice, and in February she was presumable engaged to a man from New Orleans” (80). This seemingly impossible barrier does not stop Jay Gatsby from continuing his quest for Daisy. In addition to being in love with a married woman, Gatsby faces the obstacle that Tom Buchanan will not give Daisy up. Gatsby and Daisy have come forth with their feelings for one another and their growing relationship. Tom and Gatsby argue over Daisy’s loyalty to the other. Tom disagrees with Gatsby when he says, “’Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now. And what’s more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree and make a fool of myself, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time’” (138). Gatsby states otherwise that Daisy’s heart was never loyal to Tom and she never loved him. Tom says, “’Even that’s a lie. . . . I want to speak to Daisy alone”” (140). Daisy admits in a pitiful voice, “’Even alone I can’t say I never loved Tom. It wouldn’t be true’” (140). Tragically for Gatsby, barriers of love and money keep him from attaining his dream to be with Daisy.
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:51 PM Comment: Explanation of combined quote from above, and it relates to the THEME OF BARRIERS. Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:39 PM Comment: This PARAGRAPH has just a little too much retelling of the novel. Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:38 PM Comment: Only the page number is required since The Great Gatsby quotes haven’t been separated by another quote. Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:38 PM Comment: Single quote inside a double quote to indicate a quote in the passage was quoted in the essay.
Last Name 3 Not all dreams deal with love and money together. The dream of Lennie and
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:41 PM Comment: Passive statement. It should read as follows: Lennie and George’s dream in . . .
George in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is to own land and animals of their own. They are so passionate about their dream; Lennie asks George many times to tell him again of their goals and pursuits. Just like The Great Gatsby, there are obstacles that accompany their dream. A barrier that occurs early on in their aspirations is that Lennie gets in trouble, and he and George have to leave Weed. Lennie grabbed a woman’s dress because he thought it was pretty and he wanted to touch it. She Screams. “‘By that time Lennie’s so scared all he can think to do is just hold on’” (Steinbeck 41). This upsets many people. Consequently, George and Lennie leave their job to relocate to a new place for work. This is a struggle financially for them, having to abandon work, because it slows their progression in fulfilling their dream. The lack of money is a significant barrier for Lenie and George. In order to live out their dream, they need to have the money to purchase the land and animals. George explains the circumstance to a fellow ranch hand, Candy. Candy asks how much it would cost to fulfill their dream. Suspiciously, George replies, “[he] could get it for six hundred bucks” (59). Candy offers financial help to them if they will include him in their dream. George tells him, “’We got ten bucks between us. If me and Lennie work a month, . . . we’ll have a hundred bucks’” (59). Lenie’s strength, ironically, also creates a barrier to their dream. He has strength beyond his comprehension. Like the experience in Weed, Lennie got them in to a state of turmoil. While he is sitting on haystacks and visiting with Curley’s wife, he strokes her hair. He becomes too rough because he is not mentally aware of his own barrier to their dream. Lennie panics and puts his strong hand over her mouth and nose. “From under Lennie’s
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:50 PM Comment: Relating overall opinion of thesis statement to Of Mice and Men
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:42 PM Comment: Transition word
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:42 PM Comment: Brackets used to indicate the original quote has been changed.
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:52 PM Comment: Notice correct comma usage with ellipses. First clause is dependent, the second clause is independent.
Last Name 4 hand came a muffled screaming. Lenie began to cry with fright. . . . She continued to struggle and her eyes were wild with terror. He shook her then, and . . . she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck” (91). Death, money, and strength created barriers for George and Lennie in pursuit for their dream that was unattained. Perseverance is a strong quality that is needed for pursuing and attaining
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:53 PM Comment: Don’t forget to include PERSONAL characteristics/values in your essay. Winston Patterson 5/17/10 1:50 PM Comment: Don’t have to mention all three aspects of paragraph. Just summarize and slightly introduce next paragraph.
dreams. In Rudy, Rudy Ruettiger has a dream of playing football for a Catholic university, Notre Dame. Like other dreams, Rudy encounters obstacles that make achieving his dream difficult. One barrier he has is that his size is too small for football and is a disadvantage. In his young childhood years, his is teased and singled out because his small size does not benefit either of the teams playing. When Rudy gets older and plays more intense football, his bigger teammates pound him. After beating the odds of becoming a Notre Dame walk‐on, Rudy begins practices with the university team. His is in the lowest of ranks. He is used as a target and a dummy for tackling. The older, bigger men charge into him hard and because he is small he struggles at every practice. Not only is size a challenge that Rudy faces, but he also struggles with the support of his family, friends, and teachers. From his youth he has been discouraged of his dream from his father. When he was young, Rudy told his family about his dream to play football for Notre Dame. In response to his statement, his father laughs at him. In an attempt to make Rudy reconsider, Rudy’s father says, “’Chasing a stupid dream causes nothing but you and everyone around you heart ache’” (Rudy movie). His own father expresses disappointment and doubt to Rudy for having an impossible dream. While attending high school, Rudy’s teacher makes several comments to him that dampens his spirit. The teacher
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 2:47 PM Comment: His what? What is the lowest of ranks?
Last Name 5 indicated ”’If I were giving out grades for day dreaming, you’d be getting an A. . . . The problem with dreamers is that they are not doers.’” Rudy’s support from his high school football coach is similar to that of his father and teacher. On the last day of practice, the coach gathers the team for a talk. He says, “’Tomorrow night will be the last time you put on a football uniform.’” Lack of support from important people in his life creates a major barrier for Rudy. Although physical and emotional opposition creates obstacles, Rudy faces yet another barrier. Before playing for Notre Dame, Rudy has to be accepted into the university. After graduating high school, Rudy faces the horrifying reality that his grades are not qualifying for the university’s standards. In strenuous efforts to raise his grades, he goes to Holy Cross, another Catholic school, before applying for Notre Dame. While there, he works hard and befriends a tutor who helps him overcome this burdening barrier. In spite of this challenge, Rudy perservers and continues to say to himself, “I can’t wait to get there.” He would not let barriers dilute his ability and motivation in fulfilling his dream. Ability and accessibility dictate dreams. In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:55 PM Comment: Needs single quote. Remember, a quote within a quote looks like this: “’jfkdla;fjdkal;’” Winston Patterson 5/17/10 2:54 PM Comment: High school team? College team?
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:54 PM Comment: Explanation of reference to thesis statement.
Emily,” Emily Grierson had a dream of obtaining true love. At the same time, she was met with barriers. A barrier that challenged Emily’s ability to accomplish her goal was that her father had driven away and [they] knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her” (Faulkner 650) . Her father was not easy in selecting a possible man to be with Emily. “None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss Emily. . . . So, when she got to be thirty and was single, we were . . . vindicated; even with insanity in the family, she would not have turned
Last Name 6 down all of her chances if they had really materialized“ (649). Equally important, Emily encounters another obstacle on her own path of success: loneliness. After her father died and left her with the house, “she went out very little” (652). She kept herself isolated from social contact and the public. “For almost six months she did not appear on the streets. Then [the town members] knew that this was to be expected” (652). Emily was so much out of contact with the world outside of her home. When city authorities came to collect her taxes, she argued that she had none and she told them to go see Colonel Sartoris. The authorities persisted and Emily finally said, “’see Colonel Sartoris. (Colonel Sartoris had been dead almost ten years) I have not taxes’” (647). She kept reserved to the extreme that she was unaware of a death that she was nearly a decade ago. A shocking barrier, but a barrier nonetheless for Emily, is that her lover Homer like hanging around youner men. Even though this barrier defeats her purposes for having a dream, Emily still pursues. The townspeople believed that “she [would] persuade him yet, because Homer himself had remarked – he liked men, and it was know that he drank with the younger men in the Elk’s Club – that he was not a marrying man” (651). With the barriers that she faced, Emily Grierson’s dream was consequently unachievable. Dreams, despite barriers, give motivation to achieve something that gives
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:47 PM Comment: First person narrative paragraph explaining your dreams/ambitions. Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:43 PM Comment: Transition word.
meaning to life. My dream is to always have happiness and look back on my life with no regrets. I dream of being happily married forever and having a beautiful family to share my life with. I aspire to be active and prepared. I dream of being an influence for good in the world. To fulfill my dream, I will seize every opportunity to live life to the fullest. I will make smart decisions, but learn from every mistake. From
Last Name 7 examples in literature – specifically Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, “A Rose for Emily,” and Rudy – I have learned perseverance, sacrifice, the importance of hard work, and to begin with the end in mind. In addition, the lyrics from the song “The Impossible Dream” from the Broadway musical The Man of La Mancha, inspire me to pursue my dream in spite of barriers I might encounter: THIS STUDENT INSERTED THE LYRICS INTO HIS OR HER ESSAY RIGHT THROUGH HERE. I will persevere no matter how hopeless is may seem to be, work hard when my arms are too weary, and be willing to sacrifice for a heavenly cause. I dream to do all this to influence the world so the world will be better because I still strove with my last ounce of courage to achieve my dream. Having to work for a destination can make overcoming obstacles easier than
they may seem. Examples from American literature show that with dreams come challenges. Some have proven that barriers discontinue progression. Others have proven that anything is possible if the heart is truly yearning for achievement. Perseverance, sacrifice, hard work, and a set view on the goal make the American dream possible. Barriers are challenges, whether emotional or physical, that test one’s ability to dream no matter how difficult or even impossible dreams may appear.
Winston Patterson 5/17/10 9:48 PM Comment: TRY TO AVOID ENDING YOUR ESSAY WITH YOUR RESTATED THESIS. END WITH A PROFOUND THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR OVERALL OPINION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.
Last Name 8 Works Cited Faulkner, William, “A Rose for Emily.” Holt: Elements of Literature. 5th Course. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2005. Page # goes here.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Simon & Schester, Inc., 1925. Rudy. Tristar Pictures, 1993. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, USA Inc., 1937. Wasserman, Dale. “The Impossible Dream.” The Man of La Mancha. Original Broadway Production, 1965.
