Life is full of obstacles – there is no doubt about it. Deciphering why people have certain obstacles and how they can overcome such obstacles is often just as burdening as the obstacles themselves. It is evident everywhere that people are struggling with their obstacles. From books, to movies, to everyday interaction, people are constantly being challenged to overcome. Marie De France's “Lanval,” the hard life of an underprivileged child, and a CBS sitcom all relate this idea, that life is full of obstacles.
[...] He gets a job with a great company. He gets married. He has kids. He does it right. His parents never cared what happened to him. They were drunk half of the time, and stayed gone the other half. They never came to his football games; they never came to his concerts or award ceremonies. They missed his graduation from high school and from college. They missed his wedding. They missed his life. How can Roger overcome his obstacles? With the help of a caring community, a child like this can survive. [...]
[...] Because Lanval vowed to keep their relationship a secret, his lover will not respond to his desperate cries for her help. his room alone he languished, Sadly thoughtful, madly anguished; Time after time he called her name, But his dear friend never came” (De France XXX). While the jury of men decides on Lanval's fate, his dear lover's maids come into town, two at a time. Each time new girls arrive, Lanval explains that none of them are his lover, yet the knights are so overcome by the maids' beauty that they must start over in judging Lanval. [...]
[...] A specific example of a real life obstacle is a scenario where child is raised in a low-income, under-educated home. Two high school dropouts bring a child into the world. Let's call him Roger. They struggle to make ends meet. They survive on government assistance alone. It is questionable whether the child will even survive life much less grow to be a successful, hardworking provider. But he does. Roger takes the school bus each morning to school, in kindergarten, 1st grade, 5th grade, 10th grade, 12th grade. [...]
[...] In reality, Greg has far more obstacles as an educated man than Jimmy does as a good for nothing mooch. The fact that all people are affected by life's obstacles is widely known and blatantly clear. Unfortunately, sometimes people are affected by larger-than-life types of obstacles, rather than everyday obstacles. A mere bounced check or a flat tire don't constitute life changing events, nor do a scraped knee or a bad hair day. These kinds of problems affect everyone, young or old, rich or poor. [...]
[...] He has an acceptable job as a security guard, but it took him quite a while to obtain that job after moving to L.A. Other instances occur on each episode when Jimmy is short of money or when he can't provide the best luxuries for his family. Jimmy knows that he has shortcomings, but he makes no effort to improve the situation. Greg is initially looked at as the bad guy. He often gives Jimmy a hard time because his family lives in the Warners' guesthouse, because he is under-educated, because he takes the responsibility of parenting lightly, and because he doesn't take anything very seriously. [...]
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