Page 168 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 168
šolsko polje, letnik xxviii, številka 3–4
from underground freestyle rapper to mainstream music mogul [Trans-
figuration]. This example points towards the notion of reoccurring func-
tions that can be linked into causal chain, but do not rigorously follow the
narrative structure, proposed by Propp. Functions, however, remain pres-
ent in the story.
The next example is a life story of an American businessman and mo-
tivational speaker Chris Gardner. Like other characters, Chris also had a
difficult childhood. Growing up without a father [Absentation] he was
forced to rely on his mother, who spent most of her time in state peniten-
tiaries [Absentation], so young Chris spent his childhood moving from
one foster home to another [Departure].17 In his early adolescence, he be-
gan to experiment with drugs [Violation of Interdiction]. His early adult-
hood was marked with a series of low-payed jobs that caused an existential
crisis of his own family [Lack, a5]. At the time, Chris had a crucial encoun-
ter with a wealthy man, who told him he accumulated wealth through
stock broking and that he can do the same [Mediation, the Connective in-
cident – The hero is dispatched directly by promises]. Chris later claimed
on many occasions, that this situation presented a turning point in his life
– it was that encounter that influenced his decision to become a stockbro-
ker [Beginning counteraction]. The decision was followed by concrete ac-
tion; he attended unpaid training programs to be able to master his trad-
ing skills [The first function of the Donor]. Soon after he got accepted to
the program, his supervisor lost his position, which affected his training.
The lost opportunity left him with a substantial debt and he had to spend
several days in prison. In addition, his girlfriend moved out of the apart-
ment, taking their son with her [Absentation, β3]. Chris applied to anoth-
er unpaid program [Difficult task – Task of endurance]. Soon afterwards,
his girlfriend left their son with Chris, who took the full custody of the
child [Difficult task – Test of strength, adroitness, fortitude]. Earning be-
low the level of survival, Chris was forced to choose between shelter and
food for his son [Difficult task – Ordeal of choice]. He chose food, so he
spent months leaving from shelter to shelter with his son, literally strug-
gling with destitution [Struggle]. To get them both out of despair, he re-
lied on optimism and hard work [Liquidation – K6)]. It is worth pointing
out, that this part constitutes two core values of the American Dream: an
enthusiasm and work ethic. Both values represented in this example can
be aligned with the Proppian lower level order of the Liquidation func-
tion, namely the K6)], described as “The use of a magical agent overcomes
poverty” (Propp, 1968: p. 54). In this particular case, the magical agent
17 http://www.chrisgardnermedia.com/chris-gardner-biography.html
166
from underground freestyle rapper to mainstream music mogul [Trans-
figuration]. This example points towards the notion of reoccurring func-
tions that can be linked into causal chain, but do not rigorously follow the
narrative structure, proposed by Propp. Functions, however, remain pres-
ent in the story.
The next example is a life story of an American businessman and mo-
tivational speaker Chris Gardner. Like other characters, Chris also had a
difficult childhood. Growing up without a father [Absentation] he was
forced to rely on his mother, who spent most of her time in state peniten-
tiaries [Absentation], so young Chris spent his childhood moving from
one foster home to another [Departure].17 In his early adolescence, he be-
gan to experiment with drugs [Violation of Interdiction]. His early adult-
hood was marked with a series of low-payed jobs that caused an existential
crisis of his own family [Lack, a5]. At the time, Chris had a crucial encoun-
ter with a wealthy man, who told him he accumulated wealth through
stock broking and that he can do the same [Mediation, the Connective in-
cident – The hero is dispatched directly by promises]. Chris later claimed
on many occasions, that this situation presented a turning point in his life
– it was that encounter that influenced his decision to become a stockbro-
ker [Beginning counteraction]. The decision was followed by concrete ac-
tion; he attended unpaid training programs to be able to master his trad-
ing skills [The first function of the Donor]. Soon after he got accepted to
the program, his supervisor lost his position, which affected his training.
The lost opportunity left him with a substantial debt and he had to spend
several days in prison. In addition, his girlfriend moved out of the apart-
ment, taking their son with her [Absentation, β3]. Chris applied to anoth-
er unpaid program [Difficult task – Task of endurance]. Soon afterwards,
his girlfriend left their son with Chris, who took the full custody of the
child [Difficult task – Test of strength, adroitness, fortitude]. Earning be-
low the level of survival, Chris was forced to choose between shelter and
food for his son [Difficult task – Ordeal of choice]. He chose food, so he
spent months leaving from shelter to shelter with his son, literally strug-
gling with destitution [Struggle]. To get them both out of despair, he re-
lied on optimism and hard work [Liquidation – K6)]. It is worth pointing
out, that this part constitutes two core values of the American Dream: an
enthusiasm and work ethic. Both values represented in this example can
be aligned with the Proppian lower level order of the Liquidation func-
tion, namely the K6)], described as “The use of a magical agent overcomes
poverty” (Propp, 1968: p. 54). In this particular case, the magical agent
17 http://www.chrisgardnermedia.com/chris-gardner-biography.html
166
