Black Boy: The American Dream

However, she is only doing this in order to help Richard survive in the future. By winning the right to the streets of Memphis, Richard is growing more independent. He no longer relies on his father to bring home food because he is not coming back, and he is able to stand up for himself when the time comes. Richard becomes more independent throughout different experiences in Black Boy.

The American Dream started off as propaganda in order to make the American people of the early twentieth century work harder to build a successful economy. The idea of the American Dream is that every American citizen has an equal opportunity of making money along with owning a large house, some land, and having a family with kids. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates that the American Dream, no matter how simple is impossible to achieve. As everyone has their own interpretation of the American Dream, Steinbeck uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife to demonstrate how the American Dream is impossible to achieve and how important the dream was for people so they could carry on with their lives.

Richard did not understand until later that the black community discouraged his rebellious ways because following the expectations of whites was a way to ensure survival of the community. A rebellious act of one black not only put his or her life in danger, but also his or her family and the entire black community. Richard’s need to conform to the rules of the white society for survival and his need to rebel in order to achieve his humanity and individuality was a tension that infested him daily.

Throughout the book, Richard shows ignorance when it comes to race issues. He often doesn't know how to respond or act when he is being harassed about his race. This ignorance comes from his family refusing to tell him about what was happening in the world when he was a child. At one point, his mother even slapped him for asking about why there was segregation and about why his grandmother is “white” (46-48). These events and actions in his youth would lead to him being ignorant of these issues in his adulthood, which would lead to Richard being isolated from both the black and the white communities. First, one example of his separation from the black community is when Richard refuses to steal from white people. “More than once I had been called a ‘dumb nigger’ by black boys who discovered that I had not availed myself of a chance to snatch some petty piece of white property that had been carelessly left within my reach”(199). The other boys call Richard out because he refuses to steal. He does this because he was raised not to steal from white people while the other boys were raised to take advantage of their position in life and use it to their advantage. This gap between knowledge of how one should act leads to Richard being isolated from the other boys and others in the black community. Likewise, Richard ignorance of race issues leads to a rift between him and the white community.

The next form of hunger that Richard encountered was one for literature which seemed to give him a release from the suffocating reality of his surroundings. His appetite for literature became a defining characteristic as the novel progressed. Though her effort was short-lived, a boarder at his Grandma’s house, Ella, gave him his first taste of reading. “As her words fell upon my new ears, I endowed them with a reality that welled up from somewhere within me…. My sense of life deepened…. The sensations the story aroused in me were never to leave me” (Wright 39). In light of Richard’s continued pursuit for knowledge critic Dykema-VanderArk reflects that, “Richard's reading opens his eyes… ‘made the look of the world different’ and let him imagine his life under different circumstances. Richard eventually recognizes that the social system of the South strives to keep black Americans from just such ways of thinking.” His craving for literature sets him apart from most of the black community surrounding him.

Also, Richard in the story openly expresses his hate for being a victim of Canada’s residential school system when he said, “I ascribed all my pain to residential schools and to those responsible. I blamed churches for my alcoholism, loneliness, shame, fear inadequacy, and failures”. This shows that Richard is infuriated with the Christian

The American Dream is a concept that has been instilled in the minds of citizens for much of America’s history. The Dream is the idea that everyone is equal and that anyone can start with nothing and become successful through hard work and perseverance. Unfortunately, due to prejudices and discrimination, the American Dream has not been attainable for all races and ethnicities that have immigrated to this country in search of a better life. Instead, it has been quite the opposite: no matter how much hard work and perseverance one puts forth, he/she is always beaten down by those in a higher social class. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird explores the concept of the failing American Dream by examining discrimination, prejudice, and social hierarchy in 1930’s Maycomb, Alabama.

African American individuals still faced inhumane discrimination and were often not looked at as people, let alone cared for or acknowledged. To anyone else, their opinions did not matter and their lives were not valued. The 1930?s was also a time in which America was being rebuilt after the detrimental effects of the Great Depression. Furthermore, there was a greater presence of African Americans in northern states, which brought about racial tension from powerful white figures who did not want African Americans in what they believed to be ?their cities?. The struggle to find jobs was present all over, and African Americans found it even more difficult to support themselves. The narrator faced all these obstacles throughout the course of this novel.

The American dream can be defined as the promise of living in America with opportunities for all, regardless of social class, and according to their ability and effort (Schnell, 2010). Proponents of the American dream believe that there is equal opportunity for all in the American society to achieve success. Success is not pegged on social status, race, or creed, but rather on an individual’s own efforts. The definition of the American dream has unique interpretations to different people. The most common meaning is that of a life of abundance and prosperity, characterized by economic rewards that enable one to live a middle class life of comfort. Here, success is measured by material possessions such as beautiful homes, cars, a high

As a young boy, Robert was faced by terrible oppression of all sorts. The white community utilized terror as a means to subdue the African American families of the time. "Racism held sway over the land. Like a plague destroyed the hopes, and beliefs of the black community." (Finn, 211)

The American Dream is something many Americans desire. The desire to the mind – set or belief that anyone can be successful if they worked hard for what they’ve been yearning. It is considered to be a ‘perfect life’; it can be full of money, contentedness or even love. There are many divergent opinions given by people. Walter Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of the Salesman’ both have their own views on the American Dream and how it can be achieved. Walter Lee Younger, a

Through many of these traumatizing struggles she faced, she was persistent, and did not let anything that was done to her get in the way of herself, she kept pursuing and used the negative actions of others as a motive to keep pushing forward, developing in “the first African American billionaire.” The fact that the writer uses “poverty” and “billionaire” in the same sentence when talking about an individual, speculates how Oprah’s determination made her whom she is today. Furthermore, in Black boy, Wright speculates Richard’s determination by saying,“And no word that I had ever heard fall from the lips of southern white men had ever made me really doubt the worth of my own humanity” (283).Richard here reveals how he is a determined individual. He employs the idea of how he neglects every other’s criticism and thoughts. He reveals how he knows his worth when expressing how the words of others never made him “doubt” himself. Richard blocks negativity out of his life and is tenacious about following what is best for his future, he obviously does not let anyone influence him and knows what is best for his “own humanity”.The fact that he has several white racist men criticizing him, telling him what to do, scorning at him, really critiques how much of a persistent individual he is, and how driven he is to get to the North and get out of his

At first, Brandon King speaks about what the American dream consists of. Many think it is based on the economic standing of an individual, whether one is rich or poor. Still, it is not. Quite honestly, King redefines the meaning of the American

The American Dream exists in the hearts of all Americans and is a concept that drives many people from all over the world to want to come to America. It holds the promise of infinite possibilities and allows them to escape a society of poverty and racism. This Dream also exists in the hearts of many Americans already living in America. However, this dream primarily exists in the minds of minority populations, such as African Americans, whose past is full of discrimination based on their race. The American Dream not only offers success in the form of economic stability but also acceptance from society regardless of an individual’s race or religion. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, shows how the American Dream is not often available to

Throughout history, individuals have strived to achieve the “American Dream.” Whether they worked endless hours to achieve financial stability or fought infinite amounts of people for their equality, their drive came from the understanding that if they tried hard enough, they would be prosperous and successful. The different viewpoints of the “American Dream” are depicted in the books, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, as told by Alex Haley, and Ragged Dick, Or, Street Life In New York With The Boot-Blacks, written by Horatio Alger. Malcolm X was known to challenge the notion of the “American Dream”; however, his life, alongside Ragged Dick, can be depicted as a model of the “American Dream.” Struggling with discrimination, beginning their lives in poverty, and pursing a better life through education are key components that helped Malcolm X and Ragged Dick discover their own “American Dream.”