How our Expectations Influence Us

The expectations that we set, change how we might perceive an event. There are many characters we can look at to help us understand that this is true. Characters within Of Mice of Men, The Great Gatsby, and “Richard Cory” all exhibit similarities within the dream and expectations that they set. Each character has their own goal and path to achieve their success. The goals and expectations that are set for them can change the outcome. There are similarities and differences between the goal, expectation, and there outcome in all of these stories.

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck are about two friends, George and Lennie. George wants to own a farm and gain freedom. George describes his dream, “Sure, we’d have a little house an’ a room to ourself. Little fat iron stove, an’ in the winter we’d keep a fire goin’ in it. It ain’t enough land so we’d have to work too hard” (Steinbeck). He emphasizes his dream by telling Lennie what he wants. George doesn’t have enough money to buy it yet, “I could get it for six hundred bucks” (Steinbeck). George needs to raise six hundred dollars to buy the farm. George sets the expectation that he will be able to raise enough money to buy the farm. In the end, George isn’t able to make enough money because the conflict between him and the other characters prevents him from making enough money.

In The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is a character who sets expectations to achieve his goal. He has the dream of marrying Daisy. He sets the expectation that one day he will be able to find her again and that she will accept him. Gatsby tried looking for her. He would have large parties where people would come and he would ask them if they had seen Daisy, “Miss Baker?” he inquired. ‘I beg your pardon, but Mr. Gatsby would like to speak to you alone” (Fitzgerald). In this instance, he was asking if Jordan Baker would come to talk with him so that he could ask her if she knew Daisy. Daisy has been his dream for many years. He is able to reconnect with Daisy through Jordan Baker. He had plans to get her away from Tom, her husband, and marry her, “[A]fter she was free, they were to go back to Louisville and be married from her house-” just as if it were five years ago” (Fitzgerald). He wants her to know that he loves her. He tries to win Daisy over by showing her that he has enough money for her. Gatsby wants to show Daisy that he has more money than he did when they were together he wants her to understand he is willing to do whatever it takes to have her as his wife. “I’m going to fix everything just the way it was before,” he said, nodding determinedly. “She’ll see” (Fitzgerald). Gatsby tries to make everything perfect for Daisy. He is truly willing to put in whatever effort it takes to make his dream come true.

The poem “Richard Cory” is about Richard, who lived in a town where everyone was jealous of him. He would walk the streets and everyone around would wish they had as much as him. He wanted to be happy in life. He expected that having everything he wanted would make him happy. “And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head” (Robinson). Richard didn’t love his life. He wasn’t happy with how it had turned out. Others thought that he was living the best life and things were going well for him but it wasn’t. He killed himself and his dreams didn’t work out.

Everyone sets expectations for their future. Whether they work out or not is dependable on the choices they make. In the instances of Gatsby, Richard, and George’s expectations don’t lead to them becoming successful or achieving their dream. None of these characters ever achieved their dreams. In conclusion, the expectations that are set influence us to try to achieve them. The texts read in this unit helped solidify the opinion that our expectations won’t always help us achieve our goals. Our expectations will almost always influence how we perceive what is going on around us.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. 1925

Robinson, Edwin. Richard Cory

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice of Men