Robert Warren once spoke about the difficult need to know yourself. What does this mean exactly? What does it mean to know yourself? And does it really matter if we stay true to ourselves? In the story The Patented Gate and the Mean Hamburger by Robert Warren, Jeff York is a hardworking farmer who must choose between keeping his farm or buying the inn his wife wants. He ultimately chose to sell his farm and buy the inn. Unfortunately, he committed suicide shortly after. Jeff York was a man who knew his place in society, where he came from, and the accomplishments he had made in his life. However, when he fails to stay true to himself, he sells his dreams and his life. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Jeff York was a man who had a strong identity, he knew his place in society and where he came from . When the York family was in town, Jeff York stood on the corner with all the other old farmers not because he had to but, the story goes, because his father had stood with their fathers and his grandfathers with their grandfathers or with men. like their fathers, he accepted his place in the town and in society, and it was comfortable for him to stand alongside the other old farmers, just as his ancestors had done before him. Jeff York came from a tradition of hard-working people who had to work hard just to survive, and he knew the curse that followed them. They only knew the life they knew, and this life did not belong to the loam, where the cane was found. heads held high... So they passed by these places and looked for the place that felt like home and where they could return to their old life, with the same feeling in their bones... Jeff York was well aware of the achievements he had accomplished. achieved during his life and was rightly very proud of them. As Jeff stood on the corner of the old sharecroppers, one thing made him different: he had broken the cycle of sharecropping and found his own place. It had taken him more than thirty years to achieve this, from when he was just a big boy until he was fifty. It had taken him from sun to sun, year after year, with all the sweat in his body and all the power of rejection he could muster... The work he put into this place was another testament to his courage when he bought the place it wasn't very good. The land was dilapidated after years of neglect and abuse. But Jeff York put brush in the ravines to stop the washout and planted clover in the dilapidated fields. He repaired the fences, rod by rod. He repaired the roof of the little house and shored up the porch, purchasing the lumber and shingles almost piece by piece... The final step in realizing his dream was when he installed his patented gate. The door was the seal that Jeff York had placed during all those years of sweat and rejection. He could sit on his porch on a summer Sunday afternoon, before milking time, and look up the hill, down the winding dirt road, to the white gate beyond the cloverleaf, and know what that he needed to know about all the years gone by. Unfortunately, Jeff York betrays himself and his dreams when he sells his house to buy the Dew Drop Inn. Jeff York was a good man and took care of his wife and family. He didn't want to deny his wife her dream of owning the inn. Jeff York decides to sell his house and land. It wasn't a decision.