Since the beginning of time, humans have worked hard to improve their overall quality of life. In every area and in every field, ambition has driven many people to explore, to think, and to discover; it has led to remarkable inventions, cures, and ideas that have transformed the way that we live. Without ambition, there would be no achievement. Sometimes, however, when a person becomes obsessed over a particular aspiration, ambition can be rather detrimental. By focusing exclusively on one thing, a person often sacrifices something perhaps much greater.
Looking at ambition as “going somewhere,” I decided to portray my message by embedding Han Christian Andersen’s “The Red Shoes” in an old book entitled Think Small, which is filled with imagery and phrases relating to travel. Andersen’s “The Red Shoes,” a story about a young girl named Karen whose fixation over a pair of red shoes leads to disastrous consequences, helped me to extend this travel theme. When Karen puts on the red shoes, she begins dancing and cannot stop. She travels all around town, finding no rest from her dancing feet. It is from this story that I obtain the title of my altered book: “Shall We Dance?” The purpose of the book is to consider when it is appropriate to follow your ambitions and “put on your shoes to dance,” and when it is better to “sit back and enjoy the show.”
The altered book is divided into three parts. The first section contains the actual text of “The Red Shoes” and introduces the theme of ardent desires. From the very moment she first sees the red shoes, Karen can think of nothing else. Because of her obsession over the red shoes, Karen ultimately misses out on important events, such as her confirmation and her mother’s death and funeral. The price that Karen really pays for wearing the shoes is life – not only her literal life, but also the significant moments that define life.
Two images that repeatedly show up in the altered book are shoes and footprints, both of which can be associated with movement. These illustrations are meant to represent ambition, or the movement towards a particular goal. For example, at the end of the first section, there is a collage of different shoes splattered in red. The shoes, varying in size, shape, and color, represent the diversity of goals that one may possess. Though different, the shoes are all covered in red, signifying that regardless of the aspiration, if taken too far, the goal can become “splattered” or tainted as sacrifices must be made.
The final two sections take on a more general approach as ambition is analyzed as both a blessing and a curse. Ambition is first viewed in a positive manner in the section entitled “Oh the Places You May Go.” This part of the altered book begins with an excerpt of the children’s story, “Oh the Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss. In this excerpt, Dr. Seuss wisely exclaims, “Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away! You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose” (Seuss 1-2). This passage emphasizes the power of ambition and what can be accomplished when we set our minds to something.
To further illustrate this, the second section continues with a description of the harsh life of Sir Isaac Newton, arguably the most influential theorist in the history of science. Born prematurely, fatherless, and abandoned by his mother, Newton had a less than perfect life and encountered many hardships as he struggled to obtain a college degree and a career. Newton persevered, however, and against all odds, he ultimately made several remarkable contributions to science and mathematics. By letting nothing stand in the way of his ambitious endeavors, Newton achieved not only his original goals but much more.
The final section of the altered book, however, entitled “Oh the Places You May Miss,” examines what can happen when an ambition is taken too far and becomes an obsession. This section also includes an excerpt from Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” which says, “You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace, and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space, headed, I fear, toward a most useless place” (Seuss 23). In this passage, Seuss warns readers that sometimes when working towards a goal, we can find ourselves stuck in an unwanted position or place. The section stresses that just as Karen misses significant events while dancing in “The Red Shoes,” we must be careful not to become so enraptured by our goals or so “stuck” on an idea that we miss the defining moments of life.
The final page in the book contains a picture of a mirror. This mirror is a reminder that people must continually evaluate themselves and their reflections. People need to have ambition, but they should never let their aspirations control their lives. We must all ask ourselves what we are willing to sacrifice to achieve our goals, and when we know this, we can also answer the question, “Shall We Dance?”
Works Cited
Dr. Seuss. Oh, The Places You’ll Go!. New York: Random House, 1990.
