Hazards Of Ambition

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One of the hazards of ambition is the way it causes an individual’s self-esteem to drop severely when the wrong kind of ambition is developed. In the excerpt from Elizabeth Hay’s novel, Late Nights on Air, she illustrates this theme when the main character suffers emotional issues related to overriding ambitions. Hay shows how a person, such as Gwen, can become trapped in their own ambitions and lose sight of what they are doing to others and themselves. In my own experience, I understand how ambition can change the life of others physically, socially, and mentally. Ambition has the ability to push people to great heights, but many people do not take time to understand the consequences of it. Often times, ambition pushes an individual away from others, makes one lose sight of what is actually important to them, and fills them with thoughts of failure. In Late Nights on the Air, Gwen is one of the two new announcers in a radio station. Of the two, Gwen is the most ambitious, yet, at the same time, she did not realize that her ambitions are slowly eating her soberness. Her drive to become a great announcer like her trainer, Abe Lamont, has caused her to become bitter and caustic with her co-workers, which has brought up comments like “She’s so judgmental,” and “But compared to you she’s inexperienced and unsure of herself. She’s shy.” These comments made Gwen feel wounded and doubtful of her choices. Gwen has not realized how to control her ambition to …show more content…

In the excerpt from Hay’s novel, Late Night on the Air, Gwen has become trapped in her own ambition and lost sight of what it is doing to herself and those around her. I understand how dangerous ambition can be, especially when it leads to depression, and unbalanced social lives. Ambition is an amazing thing, but only when it is used properly and

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