In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior learns through the deaths of people close to him that he should make the most of his life and seek opportunities to make his life more prosperous. Junior has had to live through the deaths of those close to him, including his sister Mary, his grandmother, and his uncle Eugene. All these deaths in some way have been related to alcohol. Junior learns through his grieving that he needs to make sure that he does not get stuck in the vicious cycle that ensnares so many people on the reservation. Junior understands that many people resort to alcohol to cope with poverty and lack of opportunities, so Junior decides to keep up his own hope for a better future. Junior's sense of hope drives him to seek better opportunities for himself, namely the chance to go to Reardan for a better education. Junior does not want his own life to be sucked into the perils of alcoholism, and the deaths of his loved ones have motivated Junior to seek opportunities for himself.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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