Explication of Ambition in Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy

After reading Children of My Heart by Gabrielle Roy, I found it very easy to choose the dramatic situation. I immediately narrowed the options to two different situations, these situations were "Ambition" and the "Daring Enterprise". I chose Ambition because I believed it best suited the story. It is clear that throughout the story the "Ambitious Person" is the teacher, the "Thing Coveted" is knowledge, and the "Adversaries" are the students.

Throughout the novel, the young teacher, who remained nameless, had the desire to learn and have the students learn. She had a passion for teaching, and would have the students learn, no matter the cost. A perfect example of her desire is in part two, with young Andre. Andre lived the farthest from school, and during the winter season he was forced to walk to and from school. After he arrived home from school he would have to do chores before he could do homework and get to bed. This grew to be too much for the little boy and he was forced to drop out of school. When the teacher discovered this her only reply was "Leave school! Andre! You musn't think of it!" (95). After the winter season Andre's mother had high hopes for his return to school. When she asked the teacher if he would pass his year, the teacher was sure it wasn't possible but replied "I'll do my best" (106).

The teacher always did her best to get the students to succeed, because of this, it is clear the coveted object is knowledge. This is clear in part one with the teachers "little Demetrioff" (67). The Demetrioff family consisted of five children that could never pass their year, the teachers would "give [them] fifty percent and away [they] go in to the next class up" (57). When our young teacher gets her first Demetrioff, she doesn't have dreams of getting him to be her top student, but merely have some skills. The youngest Demetrioff took a liking to cursive writing, and the teacher used this to get him to learn some of the basic skills of his year. As a result the young student did a little better with writing and grammar and was able to cursive write across the black board. By doing this she became respected as a teacher and developed her teaching methods to further help students.

This novel would have been nothing without the students. The teacher needed the students to have a job, and she needed them to learn the life lessons they taught her. One of the most important students was Mederic in the third section. Mederic was at first a trouble maker. He even "held 'the last teacher' at bay at the point of his jack-knife" (110), but by the end of the story it was clear that this was just an act. Mederic's mother died when he was younger, and as a result his father became an alcoholic. His father would often say things to make Mederic feel bad and Mederic lashed out. He did poorly in school to make his father mad, and as soon as he was sixteen he wanted to run away. Running away was something Mederic was used to, he had often tried to get away. When the teacher inquired about this, Mederic he only ran away for "just two days. My dad's on the lookout now. They found me almost right away and brought me back like a thief." (123). Mederic loved his special hills, and after the teacher and him had become friends he wanted to show her. Again she bribed the young student, if he did better on the midterm, they could go. When Mederic accomplished this, he was extremely excited to get to share his passion.

This book was extremely compelling. The teacher had such a passion for the students to learn and do well you couldn't help but get passionate as well. The students meant the world to her, and she meant the world to the students. They would work together to accomplish whatever task, whether big or small. The young teacher’s ambition was clear from the beginning of the story, and only grew throughout the novel. This was an amazing book, and was definitely worth reading.