Jesus preaches that “Man does not live by bread alone.” From Maslow’s five tiered hierarchy of needs to the Freudian notion of unconscious motivation, man is naturally driven by many varying desires. Physiological needs are only the most basic, and represent only one step on the pyramid. Security, love, ego and finally self-actualization are all other significant human motivations. External influences also add another factor in determining man’s motivation. Zora Neale Hurston wrote of the strong protagonist Janie Crawford and her quest for self-actualization and fulfillment. Mordecai Richler wrote of an incorrigibly ambitious, conniving, and sly protagonist Duddy Kravitz and his dreams of wealth and recognition. These two characters, although very different in their motives, are held back to different degrees by external influences that warp their wants and in the process impede their happiness. Bowing to external pressures and using others expectations to fuel one’s motivation often come at an inordinately high cost. Generational differences encumber the success and satisfaction of the protagonists by altering their motivations and dreams in Zora Neale Hurston’s novel of self discovery Their Eyes Were Watching God, and M
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“’Tain’t Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, baby, it’s protection. The song illustrates the dismal effects that following a parent's, a grandparent's or a family member's dream can have on someone. This concern for only basic and superficial necessities occupied the scope of Nanny’s belief. An ideal love for Janie is found when a man could give her things that she does not have, and when she could reciprocate and offer men things that they do not possess. When Janie leaves Logan for Jody, she successfully breaks away from the grip of her grandmother’s slave mentality, dreams and ambitions.
In marrying Logan, a relatively wealthy middle-aged black man, Janie submits to the dreams and advice of her grandmother.
The Dave Mathews Band wrote about the fruitlessness of pursuing someone else’s dreams in their song “The Dreams of our Fathers”.
Duddy took a quick look at Virgil’s bank balance, whistled, noted his account number and ripped out two cheques. The tragic element is that Duddy is steered awry by pursuing his grandfathers life long dream at all cost. Janie comes to the realization that she has deep resentment harboured within her towards Nanny. The values instilled within Duddy since childhood by his grandfather produce a dream that is not his own. He forged the signature by holding the cheque and a letter Virgil had signed up to the window and tracing slowly. A goal must not be entirely the pursuit one’s inward desire for that poses the risk of becoming a slave to one’s own self imposed needs. As Rousseau teaches in the Social Contract a man who acts solely in his own self-interest is a slave; for he is a slave to his own uninhibited desires. Janie while pursuing her grandmother’s dreams is never able to blossom and achieve the balance and sexual fulfillment that the pear tree of her youth had offered.
Approximate Word count =
1460
Approximate Pages =
6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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