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Analysis Of `` Booker T. Washington

Decent Essays
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.”
Booker T. Washington

Success, through society’s critical eye, is typically defined by one’s occupation and annual income. This story of success takes the road less traveled; Jeannette Walls begins her story describing her motivation for writing it. Prompted by her mother’s urgings to no long live in shame of her past, Jeannette initiates her memoir by narrating what gave her the courage to write it down. Accumulated struggles create a heavy burden, and Walls proves they may be conquered. With Wall’s story as evidence, I agree with Washington’s stance that obstacles overcome define success. When young, an alcoholic, stealing father figure overpowered Walls. She was poverty-struck, due to parents who preferred to “search for gold” and “go on adventures” than make an income for their family. Threatened with a lack of educational and social opportunities; she was able to unearth the good in her desperate situation.

Parents shape a child’s future and sense of self; but, with a father who prefers intoxication over making a steady income and a hopeless artist as a mother, it can be hard to survive, not to mention succeed. Walls, despite the many instances in which her father failed to protect his children, refused to take responsibility for them, and even stole from them, loved him until his dying day. His never-ending source of inspiration and his
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