Everyone wants to be successful in life. The real question is: what drives them? Is one driven to succeed because someone tells them to or does their passion come from within? What happens when their path to success is not the same as the person who pushes them to succeed? We live in a world where success is defined as money, having a big house, a good job and a luxurious lifestyle. Parents and elders in today's society play an important role in their children's career choices because they expect their children to be more successful than themselves. It becomes very dangerous when parents' unrealistic expectations create pressure and foster performance anxiety in their children. By pressuring their children to achieve unrealistically high standards, some of these parents become disillusioned and are left with the lingering question of where did I go wrong. John Shipley a character from The Stone Angel, his role was very short but very powerful. John and his mother Hagar Shipley faced the same problem. Although Hagar believes John is the spitting image of his grandfather Jason Currie, he was actually more his father, Bram Shipley. He drinks a lot and doesn't seem to care much about changing or improving his situation in life. However, the way she dresses, talks and finds it difficult to express emotions are all traits of her mother. Hagar is so blind to the truth that she cannot see John for who he truly is despite John's attempts to show her the truth about himself. Hagar's expectations of John were far excessive, Hagar expected John to be just like his father to be as successful. Hagar looked to John for redemption, saw him as the one who would return her to the lifestyle she had once been so fond and accustomed to. Your expectations of what you ... middle of paper ... was able to achieve the goal you set without stress and pressure. John's role was very crucial because if John hadn't been there, Hagar probably would have put more pressure on Marvin to not be as successful as he is. She probably wouldn't have left Bram, and more importantly, she wouldn't have become a Stone Angel. Despite the fundamental logic of helping a person improve their future, that person may choose a different path in life. When the strain of someone else's aspiration and desire to succeed falls on your shoulders, it may cause you to lose your way and hope, thus preventing you from meeting that unrealistic expectation of theirs, leading you to disappoint them. . Because when you constantly force your dreams on someone, it can cause a huge amount of stress, causing someone to lose themselves.