In The Cog, Charles Fritch uses symbolism to show readers that life choices can cause regret in future years. The tough decisions that people make can cause the most fulfilling life or they can wake up one day miserable. James Maxwell was one who wished he had followed his dreams instead of living with a more practical life. He had a very successful life but he wasn’t doing what he had always dreamt of. He was the president of the world but by his standards, that wasn’t enough. To him all he was, was just another cog in society. James wanted to be an astronaut. That was his dream, his happiness. When he thought of people who actually lived, he thought of people who followed their dreams. Regret can be caused by many things but James’ cam from his decision not to follow his dreams. In the story, the author used the symbol of James Maxwell being the president to show that no matter how far one gets in life, they will always have some regrets about what they chose to do with their life. James was one of the most influential people in the story. Most kids looked up to him and wanted to be him but that wasn’t enough. He wished he had followed his dreams and became an astronaut. Looking back at his life, …show more content…
The author used the symbols of James Maxwell being the president and Gerald Adams to follow their dreams despite the warnings of failure. James chose to do the sensible thing in not following his dreams but he regretted in once her looked back and realized how boring her life was. No matter how many people say achieving goals are impossible, there is always a way. Gerald is proof of that. He got it live the dream life. Looking back, James wishes he would have done the same thing as Gerald. He made it far in life, but in his mind he was still a cog just like everyone else. The author used symbolism to prove that he reward of following dreams is worth the