Page 170 - Šolsko polje, XXVIII, 2017, no. 3-4: Education and the American Dream, ed. Mitja Sardoč
P. 170
šolsko polje, letnik xxviii, številka 3–4
flies through the air (G1)], to prove his abilities, but he lost his first com-
petition. The States in this case represent the Donor [The First Function
of the Donor – The Donor tests the Hero (D1)], and the lost competition
can be applied to [The Hero’s Reaction – The hero withstands (or does not
withstand) a test (E1)]. Arnold then accepted another invitation to move
to California, where he started training at the Gold’s Gym – the body-
building epicentre. This period of his life is marked with hard work at the
gym, late night studies and painstaking adaptation to American culture.
Once more, the United States in general and the Gold’s Gym in particu-
lar, exemplify the Donor [The first Function of the Donor – (D1)]. Dur-
ing that period, Arnold was attending numerous competitions [Difficult
task – Test of endurance]. Work ethic, combined with the use of steroids
[Provision or Receipt of a Magical Agent – The agent is eaten or drunk,
(F7)] brought Arnold a much desired recognition. Embarking on an act-
ing career, which was Arnold’s primary goal, brought him another set of
difficulties. Agents saw his body as disproportional and his accent as too
thick. Arnold was at the very beginning of conquering the movie industry,
which at that point, was his enemy [Struggle].21 He again used work eth-
ics to overcome the obstacles and his first commercial success came with
the movie Conan the Barbarian [Solution]. A series of other notable roles
soon followed [Victory]. The use of steroids caused public disapproval in
a form of a German doctor, who publicly predicted Arnold’s early death
[Unfounded Claims]. After a legal fight [Struggle] against the doctor, he
won the lawsuit [Victory]. Championship wins and prominent film roles
brought him numerous awards and honours [Recognition]. Not surpris-
ingly, one can find Proppian functions in Schwarzenegger’s political life as
well. A detailed narrative analysis of his political career path would be be-
yond the scope of this paper, however, it is worth noting that it followed a
similar pattern. As the results of the analysis suggest, the main motive be-
hind Schwarzenegger’s achievements can be detected in enthusiasm, will
and work ethics. As already discussed, all three aspects form an ideologi-
cal fabric of the American Dream.
The fifth exemplification of the American Dream is shown in a sto-
ry about South-African actress Charlize Theron. Her teenage years were
marked with traumatic event; as a 16-year old girl, Charlize witnessed the
death of her father, being shot by her mother in a self-defense act [Me-
diation, the Connective Incident – Misfortune is announced (B4)]. The
incident left Charlize in a single-parent family [Absentation]. With the
help of her mother, Charlize soon won a contract with modeling agen-
cy [Beginning Counteraction], so she and her mother left South Africa
21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger, see section Steroid use.
168
flies through the air (G1)], to prove his abilities, but he lost his first com-
petition. The States in this case represent the Donor [The First Function
of the Donor – The Donor tests the Hero (D1)], and the lost competition
can be applied to [The Hero’s Reaction – The hero withstands (or does not
withstand) a test (E1)]. Arnold then accepted another invitation to move
to California, where he started training at the Gold’s Gym – the body-
building epicentre. This period of his life is marked with hard work at the
gym, late night studies and painstaking adaptation to American culture.
Once more, the United States in general and the Gold’s Gym in particu-
lar, exemplify the Donor [The first Function of the Donor – (D1)]. Dur-
ing that period, Arnold was attending numerous competitions [Difficult
task – Test of endurance]. Work ethic, combined with the use of steroids
[Provision or Receipt of a Magical Agent – The agent is eaten or drunk,
(F7)] brought Arnold a much desired recognition. Embarking on an act-
ing career, which was Arnold’s primary goal, brought him another set of
difficulties. Agents saw his body as disproportional and his accent as too
thick. Arnold was at the very beginning of conquering the movie industry,
which at that point, was his enemy [Struggle].21 He again used work eth-
ics to overcome the obstacles and his first commercial success came with
the movie Conan the Barbarian [Solution]. A series of other notable roles
soon followed [Victory]. The use of steroids caused public disapproval in
a form of a German doctor, who publicly predicted Arnold’s early death
[Unfounded Claims]. After a legal fight [Struggle] against the doctor, he
won the lawsuit [Victory]. Championship wins and prominent film roles
brought him numerous awards and honours [Recognition]. Not surpris-
ingly, one can find Proppian functions in Schwarzenegger’s political life as
well. A detailed narrative analysis of his political career path would be be-
yond the scope of this paper, however, it is worth noting that it followed a
similar pattern. As the results of the analysis suggest, the main motive be-
hind Schwarzenegger’s achievements can be detected in enthusiasm, will
and work ethics. As already discussed, all three aspects form an ideologi-
cal fabric of the American Dream.
The fifth exemplification of the American Dream is shown in a sto-
ry about South-African actress Charlize Theron. Her teenage years were
marked with traumatic event; as a 16-year old girl, Charlize witnessed the
death of her father, being shot by her mother in a self-defense act [Me-
diation, the Connective Incident – Misfortune is announced (B4)]. The
incident left Charlize in a single-parent family [Absentation]. With the
help of her mother, Charlize soon won a contract with modeling agen-
cy [Beginning Counteraction], so she and her mother left South Africa
21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Schwarzenegger, see section Steroid use.
168
