War Dance Argumentative Essay

Every day, more or less, is the same for the average person. We rise, work, and return home to start over. The only reason anyone would succumb to a seemingly dreary existence is because there is a light inside that tells us everyday we get through is another day closer to that thing we want most for ourselves. This is seen in “War Dance”, a documentary about the yet to be mitigated Uganda, and the wondrous film “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”. One could even see it in the classic novella “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck.nThis is because this light is inherent within all of us, giving us the push that is needed in order to go through every day. This light is our hopes and dreams. Our hopes, dreams, and goals are the things that provide …show more content…
We’re willing to overcome any obstacle that we happen upon when we have a hope for the future. “Whether measured as a trait or a state, hope is related to positive outcomes” (Scott 1). If you look at the boy named Dominic filmed in “War Dance”, you can see that despite his past captivity and the loss of his brother and parents he is filled with hope to become the best xylophone player that he can be. This hope is what gave Dominic the passion to practice his xylophone, as well as dancing and singing everyday. This hope is what gave Dominic the passion to brave his way all the way to the national school music competition in Kampala and win. Passion is the part of hope that drives people through the tough times. It’s the part of hope that picks us up when the world is dragging us through the mud. So when we have hope, we have the will to make life better for ourselves. This is because “Hope is not just a feel good emotion, but a dynamic cognitive motivational system”(Scott 1). If you were to look at the three kids from the documentary you could see that this is true. Despite the loss of parents, homes, siblings, and innocence, they still cling to their hope. It’s because of the way they cling to the hope that they can win the national music competition. They have the passion to go despite all the things in their lives trying to drag them down. But passion is only one of the things …show more content…
Two men, wandering from city to city, job to job, with a dream in their heads. Their one simple dream to live on a plot of land that belongs to them, with animals and crops, and where they’ll be in charge. However, one man didn’t truly believe that dream was in his reach. In the novella “Of Mice and Men”, George was only ever thinking about the paycheck at the end of the week, and getting his partner Lennie out of trouble. This continued until he lost his hope for the bright future he once dreamed about. He stayed victim to this dark path until eventually he lost all hope. “Those lacking hope...tend to adopt mastery goals. People with mastery goals tend to choose easy tasks the don’t offer a challenge or opportunity for growth” (Barry 1). With the loss of his hope, George only saw one way to live through each day. Work everyday, and keep Lennie out of trouble. The lack of hope in George’s life kept him from doing anything that’ll get him towards his dream, and forced him to make mastery goals. He had no desire to work for the farm he wanted because he didn’t think he could get to it, so instead, all he chose to do were the things he could do easily. The things that he always did. Work, and look after Lennie, which offered no growth for him or anything in the vicinity of his dream. It wasn’t until a coworker offered to pool in a substantial amount of money towards a farm did George regain his hope, and he began to work for that dream. “People