Ellen Gilchrist's short story "In The Land Of Dreamy Dreams" assignment on short story, discussing whether or not the main character is on a quest and if they are explain why.

Questing for AcceptanceIn Ellen Gilchrist?s ?In The Land Of Dreamy Dreams,? Leland Arnold is a wiped out(p) immature trying to learn the ways of the world but, more(prenominal) especi each(prenominal)y, trying to recall her own niche in it. diffident of who she is, she leads a everyday existence in Franklin, Indiana in a semi-broken theme and is trying to figure out how to be a muliebrity from the very start of the base. No casing is more patent of this than the very frontmost paragraph of the story describing Leland, or Lele for short, interpret the directions on a box of tampons. The first two sentences placed up the entire story by showing that Lele is already in transition and trying to reckon who she is in an already confused state of mind, which makes for quite an evoke story. Lele is on a necessitate with no tangible roads or paths; no pop outning and no end, but or else it is a expedition in her mind where good looks and popularity beat synonymous with Leland Arnold. The quest is quite an interesting one in that it is non a rocky road traveled or a concentrate mountain to climb, or a travel through a dangerous forest but but an experiment in self-improvement; real or imagined. Lele is on a journeying to pop off the person she?s constantly cute to be simply because she is afforded the opportunity to do precisely that. Her come tells her that she is going to re black market down to Clarksville, Mississippi on the delta to plosive speech sound with her cousin, ? bollocks up Gwen? Barksdale whose mother had recently, ??died of a weak act upon? (Gilchrist, 138). This is the fresh start that Lele is looking for. Disillusioned and somewhat complimentary from reality, she criticizes the students at Franklin Junior High because they, ??had made the mistake of helplessness to elect me cheerleader? (Gilchrist, 138). Her rationalization continues with the next sentence stating, ?I wasn?t unpopular or anything, just a little o n the plump side? (Gilchrist, 138). In Clark! sville, she needs no rationalizations because she could be whoever she wants to be, and she is. Her motivation for the journey is purely self-improvement, even if it is only in her mind. In fact, one could argue that her lies are more of a set buttocks than an advancement forward; a reasoning standward back to MORE child-like ways, but only she knows that. Her lies approximately who she is begin as soon as she gets off the train and meets bollocks Gwen, who isn?t so much of a baby anymore, at the station. Lele tells Baby Gwen that, ?No one in Franklin believed I?d [come her] either,? and, ?I just got elected cheerleader and practically the whole football game team up came to the station to tell her goodbye? (Gilchrist, 139). The notional Football team, however, k spic-and-span about Lele?s college bloke Bob Arnold who had thyroid cancer and likewise whom she was not allowed to get wind because he was Jewish. So, from the beginning of the journey, Lele has already set hersel f up as a popular cheerleader who is constantly creation chased by boys even though she is more shape up and has a college boyfriend so she is to a fault a rebel. In fact, her constantly referring to her cousin as ?Baby Gwen? is indicative of her unconscious mind attempts to be separate than Gwen because she still refers to her as a baby. She alike talks very fondly of her own Mother, a bridge-playing champion, believably to rub it in Gwen?s face that Lele has a founder breeding when, in all actuality, her parents are unofficially separated. In Clarksville, Lele is not Lele anymore. She is a young and immature girl who finds the ? marvellous? Leland Arnold, a popular young lady who smokes cigarettes, sunbathes all daylight and has boys like Fielding Reid interested in her and had girls looking up to her like Sarah from Drew who, ??was delighted with the attention I gave her and was constantly telling someone how ?wonderful? I was and how much it meant to her to bea r out me in Clarksville? (Gilchrist, 145). The desire! d outcome of her journey is realized when she in truth for a second becomes the person she said she was back home in Franklin.

Fielding talks about floatming the topical anaesthetic lake and Lele invites herself to join him on what Fielding said was an impossible float for her because it was five miles. That matters not to Lele since she is a Junior Red laughable Life Saver back home and ??practically taught swimming at camp? (Gilchrist, 149). She finishes the swim with this boy because her reasoning is this:? suave was of no importance to me one way or the other. What matteredto me was that a boy of my own ch oosing, a first-rate boy, was coming to takeme somewhere. not coming for Baby Gwen and taking me along to be nice, butcoming for me? (Gilchrist, 149). At that moment of triumph, she became the popular girl she talked about nonstop. She felt vilified because, of all the nonsense she had said over the Summer, she actually was able to become the person she claimed she was by swimming that lake. At that moment of triumph, her late and seemingly successful career is snatched away as quick as it was obtained. Her Father is there and informs her that her reconciled parents want her to move back to Indiana and she doesn?t have a choice in the matter. Lele did go through a significant veer over the course of the Summer because she apparently had everyone fooled and did live the life of a very popular girl even though her life was merely a façade. She was the person she wanted to be only in her own mind. However, one could argue that she did in fact change along the path of her journ ey. When she gets back to Franklin, she tells pixil! ated tales of her engagement to Fielding Reid and how her ??mother and father come and catch me home practically the same day we fell in love? (Gilchrist, 153). She could now liven up her previously softened existence in Indiana with stories of boys and swimming and carefree age as the ?wonderful? Leland Arnold down in Clarksville, Mississippi. Bibliography:Ellen Gilchrist?s ?In The Land Of Dreamy Dreams If you want to get a broad(a) essay, set out it on our website: OrderCustomPaper.com

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