‘It Is Vincent’s Absolute Determination to Reach His Goal That Is Central to His Success’. Discuss

Gattaca clearly demonstrates that determination is the key to one’s success. It shows that nothing can stand in the way of an absolutely determine-minded person. This is evident when Vincent manages to achieve his life-long dream of travelling into space even though he was born an “invalid” and did not have the required genes to travel into space. However, it was his sheer determination to overcome the challenges that led to his success.

As an invalid, Vincent was perceived by others as a “chronically ill” person. He was the victim of ‘genoism’. Not only was he rejected by society, he was even turned down by his own family. This was evident when his dad felt that Vincent was not worthy of his name. Instead of giving up on his dream, Vincent’s rejection by his family made him even more determined to travel into space. His determination led to him making the choice to leave home and pursue his dream. Not once did he ever look back and regret as he stood by his belief that he does not belong on earth. He refused to take his dad’s advice that “the only way that you’ll enter a spaceship is by cleaning it”. His determination to prove everyone wrong was most evident when he even made up his mind to swapping legs with Eugene in order to enter Gattaca.

Besides his determination, there were several other factors that led to Vincent’s success. One of them was his competitive attitude. He refused to let his brother Anton beat him in ‘chicken’ although Anton was genetically superior over Vincent. Vincent’s hard work finally paid off when he had to rescue Anton. It was his sheer determination that led to Vincent humiliating Anton and proving his whole family wrong. It was his “moment that made everything else possible” as he overcame one of the many challenges in achieving his dream. It provided him with confidence and the spark to pursue his goal. Other than that, his hardworking mentality was also a contribution to his success. Even though he didn’t have the required...