Ambition And Ambition

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The fact that everyone has goals and ambitions is what makes us all similar to each other, yet we differ by our motivations and willingness to sacrifice to attain those aspirations. This concept of ambition and motivation is depicted through the conflicts of the short stories “A Wall of Fire Rising” by Danticat, and “The Birth-Mark” by Hawthorne which stem from Guy and Aylmer’s impossible desires, respectively. Although Guy and Aylmer desire for unreachable ambitions at the cost of losing something important, both protagonists have different insecurities that drive them. Aylmer and Guy wishes to achieve their goals, yet their desires come with unexpected consequences. Aylmer urges his wife Georgiana to remove the hand-shaped birthmark on her …show more content…

Guy wishes for freedom and a new beginning, an escape from a struggling lifestyle. He reveals his dreams to his wife Lili, saying that, “Sometimes, I just want to take that big balloon and ride it up in the air. I’d like to sail off somewhere and keep floating until I got to a really nice place with a nice plot of land where I could be something new” (Danticat 236). Guy struggled to support his family in his current life which lead him to view the hot air balloon as a path to a new life. He believed that the hot air balloon would fly him to new opportunities that would free him from his hardships. On the following day, Guy manages to fly the hot air balloon and everyone at the sugar mill, including Guy’s family, witnesses the spectacular event. However, Guy suddenly starts climbing over the balloon’s basket and, “Within seconds, Guy was in the air hurtling down towards the crowd… his blood immediately soaking the landing spot” (Danticat 238). After having a short taste of escape from his struggles, Guy realized that the balloon could not offer him the true freedom he desired. Instead, the hot air balloon made Guy recognize the harsh realities of life, that is, the only way to escape his stressful life is to commit suicide. Desperate to escape, Guy choose to abandon his family and his own life in exchange for this alleged

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