Eugene feels broken because of his silver medal. Society forms and retains our human spirit because we become determined to live up to the expectations set by society. Society sets certain expectations for the valids and invalids. The valids are meant to succeed but as Jerome suggested "…success is easier to attain but by no means guaranteed". Niccol suggests the idea that even though the genetically superior are born to succeed they must use their determination and perseverance (human spirit) to attain success. Society expectation on Eugene makes him feel torn by his silver medal because he feels he lives with a "burden of success" as Vincent quoted. Here, it is implicated that Eugene is crushed by coming second because society has set Eugene in a mindset that second is not acceptable considering he was born for success. Eugene is determined to keep that silver medal as a reminder of this failure. Vincent was also affected by society’s expectations from an early age. This correlates with Vincent's statement "from an early age I came to think as others thought of me; chronically ill". Vincent's grim description of how he was treated by society exhibits his human spirit because it made him work harder for his goal. It also demonstrates how prevalent discrimination is in Gattaca's society even though Vincent would be considered smart if he wasn’t an invalid. Society's expectations are