Comparing Dreams In Little Rock Nine, Temple Grandin, And Theodore Roosevelt

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” Dreams are a part of everyday life; whether people choose to pursue them or not. The people who make the courageous choice to pursue their dreams are the people who change the world. A few of the people who followed and achieved their dreams are: Maya Angelou, The Little Rock Nine, Temple Grandin, and Theodore Roosevelt. What type of dreams are they following? They are following the type of dream that is described as, something that people have wanted very much to do, be, or have for a long time. Dreams and the desire needed in order to fulfil them are what motivate the average person to accomplish extraordinary
A dream could be as minor as winning the class science fair or as tremendous as graduating from college. Throughout time multitudes of people have achieved their dreams, Maya Angelou, The Little Rock Nine, Temple Grandin, and Theodore Roosevelt are only a few of these people. Maya Angelou dreamed to be an individual. The Little Rock Nine dreamed to integrate black students into an all white school. Temple Grandin dreamed to spend her time with cattle. Theodore Roosevelt dreamed to become a better man, and to share his love of nature with the country. Authors use nonfiction literature to inspire their readers to follow their dreams despite the people and obstacles that try to stop them.
It is a hot summer day in Stamps, Arkansas, right in the middle of the civil rights movement. Despite all of the turmoil the country was in, Maya Angelou had a dream. Her dream was to be an individual. Nowadays we look at this dream as such a trivial thing. In this time and age, there are so many outlets for people to be themselves; however, this was not the case for Maya. She says in her book, “Of course, I knew God was white too, but no one could have made me believe he was prejudiced.” Maya, as a young
The Little Rock Nine aspired to integrate blacks into an all white school. With all of the hate the that was being spread throughout the nation against the African Americans, their dream was a daunting one. In the book Warriors Don’t Cry, by Melba Pattillo Beals, it says, “I arrived at school Tuesday morning…” These few students were not afraid to take that leap of courage and that first step in achieving their dream. The task that they had at hand had never been done before, and people were fiercely against it. Melba states in her book, “I had to stop them. I picked up my books and tossed one upward as hard as I could in a blind aim to hit my attackers.” When she did this, Melba was trapped in a bathroom stall, completely surrounded by white girls that were throwing burning scraps of paper onto her and were shouting malevolent things at her. Melba was not going to let anyone stop her from achieving her dream, even if that meant being brave enough to stand up to bullies. This is only one of the appalling things that were done to only one of the students. Regardless of the malicious behavior of the white students, parents, and faculty, the Nine were not afraid to stand up for themselves as show in Warriors Don’t Cry, “Either you give us some protection so we can function without getting killed, or we go home.” Melba and the others