Comparing 'Swimming To Antarctica And Contents Of A Dead Man's Pocket'

How is progress measured? To answer this question, I chose two stories. I have used the stories Swimming to Antarctica and Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket. These two stories show us two different ways that they measure their progress. In each story they use mental goals as small goals, then achieve their large goal altogether. Progress is measured by setting small goals and moving forward to reach those goals.
Lynn Cox had to set small mental goals to reach the larger goal of swimming one mile in the Antarctica. In the story Swimming to Antarctica, Lynn Cox had a goal of swimming one mile into the Antarctic. Lynn set small goals in order to reach that goal. She first started by keeping her body temperature up by keeping swimming and not stopping. If she were to stop then her body temperature would drop dramatically and her muscles would tighten causing her to potential hypothermia or death. If you look throughout the story, you can see many of the ways that they measure progress. “Focus on your breath, I told myself. Slow it down. Let it fill your lungs. You’re

In the story, Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket, Tom’s goal was to get his paper and to see his wife. He made himself focus on getting the paper back and getting back into his apartment alive. In order to do that, Tom knew that he needed to start by not thinking about how far he was from the ground. He knew he just needed to get the paper and keep his mind from thinking about the other hazards. Throughout this story, there a few ways that Tom uses his mental goals. “He simply did not permit himself to look down, through the compulsion to do so never left him; nor did he allow himself actually to think.” This proves to us that he made the mental goals in order to pursue his large goal as to get the paper and see his wife. Tom progresses throughout the story and goes step by step with his mental goals. Although, some may see it