Role of Inner Desire in “Shame” by Dick Gregory Essay

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The life of Dick Gregory represents an enterprising story that depicts an unbelievable emergence of an individual to astonishing heights from the depths of despair. The road travelled by Gregory until he contested for the post of President of United States was not at all smooth.

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He had to spend the major part of his childhood in slums, which was filled with miseries and hardship. Inspite of the constrains he had in the life, he had strong will for accomplishing various tasks which were far beyond the expectations of his fellow mates. This is evident, as narrated in the story, from the path taken by him as a nightclub worker, later moulding him to an outstanding athlete and also involving actively with the civil rights and anti war sentiments. These situations characterizes his committed social responsibility when his best associates were poverty and shame.

Helene Tucker is the source of inspiration for Gregory at school. All the innate skills Gregory had demonstrated might be to present him as capable as Helene, who is considered as the most adored student by all. The factors that made Gregory very passionate about Helene were “her goodness, her cleanness and her popularity”. Even though Gregory had no formal support from his home, his desire to give highest contribution than what Helene could provide through her father to the community chest is a clear example for this. Even the reason for the shame experienced by Gregory is stated as due the humiliation that he had in front of Helene. And thus, Helene Trucker symbolizes the inner ego of Dick Gregory.

Storey is very amazing one, A sense of character being communicated through Dick Gregory is a true portrayal of the unbelievable rise in an individual who neither had personal or social support. In spite of all the limitations his will to succeed in every activity is really eye catching.

His passion for Helene is an indirect narration of the fulfillment or happiness he gets when he turns successful in all his endeavors. Even when the teacher turns angry and presents him as a stupid, he was not lost. But when he was told that he depends on the relief steps being initiated by other students he couldn’t withstand the humiliation. The span of 22 years required by Gregory to cover this shame, as stated in the story, shows the desire to show public that he is for them.

The story is very appealing to me. I am totally amazed at the mental strength exhibited by Gregory that enabled him to rise to the heights that one would ever dare to imagine – from the streets of the slums to the race for the corridors of White House. The beauty of the story is his love for Helene was an indirect element to motivate him to reach better heights. The highest amount of contribution made by him in the charity drive made by others to support him didn’t disgust him. His perseverance and desire to succeed is truly fantastic.

The story “Shame” is a very symbolic piece of work to depict the necessity of a inner desire inspite of huge constrains to achieve significant milestones in life. It also illustrates ones limitations or problems would always lie obscure to others like the situations when teacher scolding Gregory for sleeping and being ugly. The fact being lack of clothes and tiredness from hunger was never noticed by anyone. And the contributions they all had arranged ignoring the effort he had taken to collect the money also symbolizes the prevalent social milieu.

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Answer for five questions

  1. Gregory’s initial experience of shame was at school when he realized that the entire community was treating him as a person needing continuous relief support. His worries were compounded when his teacher made very crude remark about this in front of entire class of students, which included his most admired Helene Tucker. This lasted for 22 years according to story.
  2. His act for identity is clear from the effort he taken to excel in most the domains he had involved. His hard effort to pool possible sum of money for common contribution of the class also signifies this point. Of course, his acts of positioning him along with Helene have a strong component of dream. This, I strongly feel, could be the reason Dick felt so ashamed when teacher belittled him in the class.
  3. The language is very lucid without any literary complexities. It style goes well with the situations being explained. Yes, he would have certainly expected a sense of approval if not appreciation over the efforts he have taken, which would have been certainly unimaginable for many including the teacher.
  4. He certainly would have expected Helene to volunteer to highlight the hard work that Gregory has been putting him through those days. His acts were never to cover up his history, rather to put better efforts to overcome his disadvantage. This when other failed to notice, probably would have resulted in his disillusionment.
  5. Dick Gregory was not at all feeling worried over his limitations but was using it as an instrument for his own growth. Even when he surpassed all in the contributions of money, the parameter on which he is considered weaker to other, he was forcibly pushed back and made to seek the financial support of others, probably made him to think that society as a whole is not available to accept him.
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IvyPanda. (2022, March 14). Role of Inner Desire in "Shame" by Dick Gregory. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shame-by-dick-gregory-essay/

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"Role of Inner Desire in "Shame" by Dick Gregory." IvyPanda, 14 Mar. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/shame-by-dick-gregory-essay/.

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IvyPanda. (2022) 'Role of Inner Desire in "Shame" by Dick Gregory'. 14 March.

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IvyPanda. 2022. "Role of Inner Desire in "Shame" by Dick Gregory." March 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shame-by-dick-gregory-essay/.

1. IvyPanda. "Role of Inner Desire in "Shame" by Dick Gregory." March 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shame-by-dick-gregory-essay/.


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IvyPanda. "Role of Inner Desire in "Shame" by Dick Gregory." March 14, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shame-by-dick-gregory-essay/.

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