Jesus preaches that man does not live by bread alone. From Maslow's five-level hierarchy of needs to Freud's notion of unconscious motivation, man is naturally driven by many different desires. Physiological needs are only the most basic and represent only one step of the pyramid. Security, love, ego, and ultimately self-fulfillment are all other significant human motivations. External influences also add another factor in determining man's motivation. Zora Neale Hurston wrote about the strong protagonist Janie Crawford and her search for self-realization and fulfillment. Mordecai Richler wrote about an incorrigibly ambitious, conniving, and cunning protagonist, Duddy Kravitz, and his dreams of wealth and recognition. These two characters, while very different in their motivations, are held back to varying degrees by external influences that distort their desires and in the process impede their happiness. Bowing to external pressures and using the expectations of others to fuel one's motivation often comes at an excessively high cost. Generational differences hinder the protagonists' success and satisfaction, altering their motivations and dreams in Zora Neale Hurston's novel of self-discovery, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and in Mordecai Richler's tale of coming of age in The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Janie leaves her grandmother and now that she is alone, she begins to appreciate and acknowledge her feelings. Janie realizes that she harbors a deep resentment towards her nanny. Once alone in the real world, she is able to realize and detest the values ​​that her grandmother had ingrained in her since childhood. Honey, the white man is the ruler of everything, as far as I can find out. Then the white man throws the load down and tells the black man to pick it up. He picks it up because he has to, but he doesn't take it with him. He hands it over to his women. (Hurston:14) The nanny had didactically taught her niece to seek rewards of a superficial nature; wealth, security and status. This concern only for basic and superficial needs occupied the scope of the nanny's belief. The nanny's slave mentality and dreams were imposed on her granddaughter; however, Janie was not emancipated or freed from the dreams and desires of an older generation. The young woman had never experienced the terror of slavery and her childhood and adolescence were in stark contrast to what her grandmother had known. This imposition of foreign and outdated beliefs prevents Janie from pursuing her dream and realizing her success. By marrying Logan, a relatively wealthy middle-aged black man, Janie submits to her grandmother's dreams and advice. Taint Logan Killicks Ah wants you to have, darling, his protection. (Hurston:15) This marriage was destined to fail as the relationship was not built on a foundation of love or trust, but rather was nothing more than a function of necessity and practicality. Janie, despite chasing her grandmother's dreams, never manages to blossom and achieve the balance and sexual fulfillment that the pear tree of her youth had offered her. The pear tree was a manifestation of Janie's symbiotic vision of love; however the grandmother saw this love as a vice and an obstacle. This is really the point that all of us Black women are stuck with. Dislove! (Hurston:23) Janie sees men and women as fundamentally different, and her research arises from this difference. An ideal love for Janie is found when a man can give her things that she does not have, and when she can reciprocate and offerto men things they do not possess. This idea of ​​mutual codependency is one of Janie's dreams. However, thoughts and desires like these are diametrically opposed to those of the nanny. When Janie leaves Logan for Jody, she successfully breaks free from the grip of her grandmother's mindset, dreams, and ambitions. Janie overcomes her difficulty; however, up to this point his potential for fulfillment and happiness is hindered by the nanny's influence and dreams. This is because Janie is not allowed to live her own life and make her own decisions, but rather is trapped in her grandmother's dreams. Only when Janie discards the legacy of her grandmother's conventional wisdom can she appreciate the imagined ideal relationship similar to that between the buzzing bees and the pear tree forever present in her heart and mind. The story of Duddy Kravitz presents a very similar situation of generational conflict. The values ​​instilled in Duddy from childhood by his grandfather produce a dream that is not his own. Duddy is constantly searching, seeking, and hungering for an end that does not elicit feelings of fulfillment, but rather elicits disappointment and heartache. A man without land is nobody. This phrase becomes a mantra for the boy. Although the realization of his dreams alleviates his destitution, it causes nothing but pain and comes at the price of respect and friendship. Eventually Duddy has acres of land surrounding a large Laurentien Lake; however, he has no one to share this land with. Even though Duddy has some land, he remains a loser. The quest to acquire the land surrounding a beautiful lake north of Montreal has forced the young protagonist to scheme and sometimes act immorally to succeed. Duddy's most despicable act was forging Virgil's signature on a check to purchase the last plot of his coveted land. Duddy took a quick look at Virgil's bank balance, whistled, wrote down his account number, and tore up two checks. He forged the signature by holding the check and a letter that Virgil had signed at the window and slowly tracing it. (Richler: 296) This despicable act is the culmination of Duddy's descent into total dissolution. Duddy has isolated himself and now risks being demoted by all those he had previously loved and who had loved him back. Although this young protagonist is absolutely repulsive, he somehow elicits a certain sense of pity and tragedy. The tragic element is that Duddy is led astray in pursuing his grandfather's lifelong dream at all costs. Following his grandfather's advice as gospel proved to be Duddy's undoing and was his end. The lesson learned is that dreams rarely stand the test of time. Dreams and goals should not be left to posterity as part of one's legacy; rather, dreams, ambitions, desires, goals, are all internally derived. The Dave Mathews Band wrote about the futility of pursuing someone else's dreams in their song The Dreams of our Fathers. The song illustrates the eerie effects that a dream about a parent, grandparent, or family member can have on someone. Oh, I'm choking, I'm choking In the smoke of this burning house Claw and scrape But I can't get out But who then, who is this who's scraping from the earth? Oh, it's my world too But whose gold is this I'm digging out? Living the dreams of our fathers prevents the possibility of achieving feelings of accomplishment and achievement. Where and what you are fighting for, who you are looking for gold for, what you are trying to accomplish; these are all questions that arise when you follow someone else's ambitions and dreams. I don't want to wake up/Lost in our fathers' dreams/Oh, he's such a wasted child/Living and dying for our fathers' dreams. Yes it can.