Motivation In A Pair Of Silk Stockings

In the story The Chase by Annie Dillard, Dillard gives us a memory from her past about a pursuit she was involved with in the winter time as a little girl of seven years old. The purpose of the short story was to give motivation to people about never giving up in life and to always pursue one’s goals. She conveyed the purpose through the use of imagery and diction. These helped support the purpose by giving the audience a clear idea of what’s happening in the story.

Furthermore, the theme of the story is that persistence pays off. Doris was persistent and it payed off. Doris was persistent because because she did not give up on feeding the dog. The main character also did not give up on asking her parents to keep the gentle stray. Doris’s persistence payed off because

      Her children is the only thing that has consumed her mind in several years until the unexpected sum of cash shows up. Even before Mrs. Mallard starts upon her shopping spree, she prioritizes what to buy in her mind for her children, a dollar...(321). She knows exactly what to buy and how much to spend on each since she knows the value of a bargain.

After reading 80 pages of, “Skud,” by Dennis Foon, I felt motivated by the actions and determination shown by the main characters of the story, especially Andy. In the book, all the characters had a goal or objective and worked hard to reach that goal. Although most people would not advise someone to center their life around one certain thing, I think that when one finds a purpose or objective in life they should always do their best to reach this goal regardless of what others say or thinks of it. In the book, Andy dream was to become a popular actor.Although the possibility of getting cast is low and although he was hurt and unwell, Andy still went to the audition because of that small possibility. After reading about this, I felt determined and motivated by actions like this.

In the short story “Shopping” by Joyce Oates, we experience the mother, Mrs. Dietrich, doing multiple things for her daughter, Nola, such as buying her expensive clothing. The author agrees when she writes, “...though the sweater by Sergio Valente, even ‘drastically reduced,’ is certainly not cheap. Mrs. Dietrich feels the motherly obligation to register a mild

What drives you? What keeps your motivation flowing? The gripping story of Chris Gardner will surely spark a fire to the success you desire. “The Pursuit of Happyness” is a book that also inspired the self-titled movie. These two works have the ultimate story of triumph and self-perseverance. With both works being released in 2006, both number one seller for their respective audiences; they did carry many similarities and differences. Discussing each work, I will compare and contrast both works with the theme, settings, and characters and navigate the overall message they provide.

A common theme we see in the two stories, “Two Kinds” by Amy Tan, and “The Rocking Horse-Winner” by D.H Lawrence is the detrimental effects that a forcing a bar of success can have on developing adolescents. Recognizing that the product of success is generally good, clouds the notion that there is in fact a wide range of effects that chasing success can bring about. Some of these effects have positive repercussions, teaching adolescents discipline and work ethic. However, some of the effects are quite negative, especially in those that are too young to truly care for themselves. Forcing a cusp of success on adolescents indirectly in “The Rocking Horse-Winner” or directly in “Two Kinds” pushes the children to achieve the impossible resulting in a breaking point in the adolescent characters.

She thinks that because her friend is rich and beautiful, that her material items would extend with that wealth. Instead, it shows Madame that even the richest of people do not always have to have genuine items. Madame realizes that she does have fun at the party even if she is not wearing all authentic things, the opposite of what she thinks she is wearing. A third ironic happening, is when she has been working to pay off the money for the necklace for a decade. Madame clearly admits to her friend on page 196 how she loses the necklace, and has been paying it back for ten years. As someone is reading the story, they will find it silly how Mme. is working for something when she is usually having people, mostly her husband, do things for her. Instead, she is working to pay off the money that she has spent on a replacement necklace. The turnout of the story changes Madame’s views on how silly, textile items, are not always needed for someone to be happy.

Once inside the store, Sylvia can no longer ignore the blinding imparity between the rich and the poor. Her discovery of an overly priced toy clown prompts her to consider what could be bought for its price: "Thirty-five dollars could buy new bunk beds for Junior and Gretchen’s boy. Thirty-five dollars and the whole household could go visit Granddaddy Nelson in the country. Thirty-five dollars would pay for the rent and the piano bill too" (605). Sylvia is forced to finally address the socioeconomic inequality that works against her while simultaneously conferring certain luxuries on the rich: "Who are these people that spend that much for performing clowns and $1000 for toy sailboats? What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it?" (605).

When her husband gave her the invitation to the ball, which was a perfect place to meet the rich people, Mathilde got mad and cried. It was a shame since she has nothing to wear. Mr Loisel gave his money to Mathilde and she got an elegance dress. But she didn’t stop and wanted to have jewels. Mathilde met her friend, Madame Forestier and chose an gorgeous diamond necklace. Of course, she became the prettiest woman in the ball, with everyone stared at her, as if she was the most attractive woman ever. She felt fascinated, just like her dream came true. But then a tragic came to her. She lost the necklace! Mathilde and her husband tried to find the necklace, but they found nothing. Mathilde lost her hope and had aged five years. The Loisels finally decided to replace the diamonds for 36 000 Francs, spent all of their money and accepted to pay the debts. It was such an unfortunate situation. After Mathilde lost the necklace, she was described as “ And, clad like a poor woman, she went to the fruiterer, to the grocer, to the butcher, a basket on her arm, haggling, insulted, fighting for every wretched halfpenny of her money”. (Maupassant 8). The family was suffering from poverty and have to pay the debts continuously. Mathilde changed immediately and did everything. They have worked so hard to earn every single penny for their life, to survive and pay all those debts. The third person limited

(Hook) Motivation, when used to push a person to their highest potential, can cause both greatness and disappointment. (Bridge) In James Hurst’s story, “The Scarlet Ibis,” Brother pushes Doodle to the limit teaching Doodle activities that he would have never had the opportunity to do without the motivation and determination to reach greatness. (FS1) Throughout the journey of learning to walk, swim, and run, Brother motivates Doodle to keep pushing so that he could be like the other kids before he started school. (FS2) Doodle, born physically impaired, tries his best to follow his brother’s orders and make him happy, but this leads him to his death. (FS3) The motivation in this short story is represented by three symbols: the scarlet ibis, the wagon, and the coffin, which all demonstrate the motivation Doodle and Brother have to use to overcome the obstacles they face. (Thesis) Motivation can be used as a compelling force to strive for greatness, but can lead to upsetting results when it is used to the extent as it is in the “Scarlet Ibis,” by James Hurst, which is demonstrated by the symbols of (I) the scarlet ibis, (II) the wagon, (III) and the coffin.

The author of A Pair of Silk Stockings explores female roles based on what other people believe due to stereotypes. In this short story Mrs. Sommers finds $15 which is a sizable about of money to her in New York. She and her family are on the poorer side of New York. At first Mrs. Sommers has no clue on what she should do the money she had just come to. She is thinking about her children and that they could use new skirls because she had seen a beautiful new pattern in a market window, or caps for her boys and sailor-caps for her girls (Chopin 1). She thought of them due to the fact that that is what mothers and wives do in the 1800’s, they but their children and husband before thinking of themselves. She thought back to the time when she wasn’t

Madame Loisel’s pride demands more: “It annoys me not to have a single jewel, not a single stone, nothing to put on. I shall look like distress” (Maupassant 2). Ironically, it is Monsieur Loisel who suggests that his wife borrow jewelry from Madame Forestier, and subsequently has to spend the next ten years borrowing money to replace it. As May puts it, “Her husband exhausts his meager inheritance and then borrows the rest, mortgaging their life away to buy a replacement for the necklace” (May 7). Monsieur Loisel sacrifices everything to salvage his wife’s pride.

Malthide dreams of being with the rich people. Her minor husband brings home an invitation to a prestigious dinner for the rich one day. Instead of being ecstatic, as he thought she would be, Malthide breaks down. Malthide believed that she was in a situation in which she could not spend her time at the dinner. She had no expensive dress or jewelry to wear so that she could like the others, but she possessed beauty and grace. Her husband offered her the dress she had, but she could not accept it, as it was cheap. Her false value of what one “should evaluate themself” (Cummings), only caused her more grief. In the end, she bought a dress and borrowed a necklace from a rich friend of hers. However, after the dinner party, she was missing the necklace that she borrowed. Malthide and her husband bought a replacement for it, which costed a fortune for them. They had to suffer the consequences of

The concept of motivation is what directs an individual through particular courses of actions and is what humanity is based off of. While the requirement and need for a motivation in life is significant towards having goals, succeeding in life and learning as a person, through that management differentiates individual's courses of actions from other individuals. Doris May Lessing an author for several diverse short stories, including a short story called “Flight” that demonstrates an excellent depiction of how the bond and connection between an old man and his favourite granddaughter, Alice is significant towards the perception that “letting go isn't easy for others either”. “Flight” is a short story that illustrates how strong symbolism can be to build a protagonist's character through the development of the story with the inclusion of the actions and gestures described by the way the characters within the story use self perception. Furthermore, prominent symbols include nature, birds, gates, bird cages, a beautifully described garden using distinct word choices and imagery. Motivation impacts an individual ambitions, decisions, future, personal beliefs and behaviour through the means of having a desire to fulfill a goal. Doris May Lessing used just a couple pages to develop a well written story while still incorporating the establishment of the old man that is represented through external with the addition of internal motivations by directing the protagonist towards a specific course of actions that is both educational and insightful.