Theme of Dream in Literature Essay Example

There are approximately 7.9 billion people on this planet we call home. Of these 7.9 billion people, some will set goals for themselves, and others won’t. Of those who do set goals, 92% will fail, and only about 8% will achieve them. Dreams are a common part of everyone’s life, but they are different depending on the person. Many will give up on their dreams from hardships that it brought upon them, but some will persevere because they deem it worth the extra work. Three examples of this can be found in the texts “The Joy Luck Club,” “The Necklace,” and “Of Mice and Men.” Ambitions are lengthy, grueling tasks that people fulfill when they believe it will benefit them significantly, and when they anticipate that it won’t bring much work, pain, and more.

People have different aspirations, and their motivations for them can be personal or materialistic. The Necklace is a story about a lady named Madame Loisel who constantly grieves over not being wealthy and not being able to afford much. Her husband on the other hand is very content with his life and wants to make her happy, too. To do so he gets her an invite to a royal dance, but Madame Loisel says she can’t go due to her not having the proper attire. She gets a necklace from her friend Madame Forestier, buys a nice dress, and is a success at the dance. However, she loses the necklace, costing her tons of money that she would have to work for and pay back. “researchers asked university students to perform two activities...Some of the students were paid to do these activities...The extrinsic reward of payment, it seemed, interfered with the intrinsic reward of the activity itself.” This quote comes from a psychological study, and it shows that oftentimes people are motivated by extrinsic rewards instead of intrinsic ones. They believe it is worth the work because of money or other articles instead of being satisfied by the personal feeling of accomplishment. Using extrinsic motivation as the factor that makes you deem it worthy to pursue makes the success possibility less when compared to intrinsic motivation, which is shown in The Necklace. (Guy de Maupassant, quote taken from paragraphs 3 and 4) “Mathilde suffered ceaselessly, feeling born to enjoy all delicacies and all luxuries...opposite her husband, who uncovered the soup tureen and declared with a delighted air…” This quote shows that Mathilde constantly grieved to have the luxuries and blessings of those who are wealthy, giving her a materialistic goal. However, instead of working hard and chasing the dream, she just sat there and didn’t even try. If she had some sort of intrinsic motivator, she might’ve been able to chase her dreams and maybe even accomplish them. (Think of a better closing sentence) 

Oftentimes people set goals for themselves but do not go through with them due to the fact that they deem it unworthy, harmful, or feeling that it is affecting their relationships. The Joy Luck Club is a story about a Chinese family who immigrated to the United States. The mother of the family has dreams for her daughter to become famous and fulfill her perception of the American Dream. She uses many techniques, but mainly to attempt to make her daughter exactly like the stories she read and saw of other kids. (Amy Tan, quotes taken from paragraphs 9, 11, 14)  “in the beginning, I was just as excited as my mother...She would present new tests...now when my mother presented her tests...I played a game with myself, seeing if my mother would give up on me before eight bellows...At last she was beginning to give up hope.” This quote shows that the tests were becoming very difficult to deal with in the daughter’s head, but not for the mother. The daughter didn’t think her mother cared about her and thought that her mother didn’t care about her and had given up hope. She would see her mother disappointed in her, and it would deeply affect her self-esteem, as well as their relationship. “And after seeing, once again, my mother's disappointed face, something inside me began to die. I hated the tests, the raised hopes and failed expectations...I began to cry.” This quote encompasses the pain and torcher that the daughter felt during the whole experience, and how it ruined their relationship. She began to think that her mother didn’t care about her, and it made her quit, as she didn’t feel it was worth pursuing anymore. It also most likely affected their relationship in the long run, as the daughter wouldn’t trust her mother as much, and the mother wouldn’t be able to get much through to her daughter. (Think about a better closing sentence).

When it comes to these aspirations, some qualities make it seem possible and worth pursuing. Of Mice and Men features two main characters by the names of George and Lennie, and they have a very unique relationship. They go around as migrant workers working on ranches, and Lennie constantly gets them in trouble. This leads them to this ranch, where they meet Curley, Slim, Candy, and more. They worked for three days until Lennie once again got them in trouble, ruining their dream. Their dream was to own a small ranch to themselves and own livestock- especially rabbits. (John Steinbeck, page 59) “S’pose I went in with you guys. Tha’s three hunderd an’ fifty bucks I’d put in...How’d that be?...If me an’ Lennie work a month an’ don’t spen’ nothing, we’ll have a hundred bucks. That’d be four fifty. I bet we could swing her for that.” This quote shows that George was very unconfident about the dream and that he thought it was too outlandish, but he received some money from Candy, putting him was closer to the target. George, Lennie, and Candy deem it worthy to pursue because they know it’s best for them, and that they won’t have to be bossed around. However, some qualities make a dream seem unattainable. “You an’ me can get that little place, can’t we, George?... George said softly, “---I think I knowed from the very first. I think I knowed we’d never do her…”Then---it’s all off?”  Candy asked sulkily.” This quote shows that once something goes wrong and a significant loss occurs, people, in this case, Candy and George, start to give up hope and say that their dream will never happen. (Better closing sentence). 

Dreams and aspirations are very common among us humans, but many different factors prevent us from achieving them. These dreams can either be personal/intrinsic, materialistic/extrinsic or for someone else (e.g. a dead family member). When pursuing these dreams for the listed motivations, we may experience negatives that harm us or positives that enlighten us. Along with the pursuit, there must be something to motivate us. These motivations stem from the reason your want to start the company, or the qualities that you find make it worth chasing. Dreams and aspirations are important goals for everyone to have, but there are times to know whether to pursue them or to let go.