6.
a. To be white means that you can still hold “The Dream.” White Americans can dream of a future without the constraints of social structures preventing it. White people’s bodies are their own and they are not up to debate. White parents do not have to instill fear in their children since white people do not have to be inherently afraid in a nation, where white is the “norm.” Overall, to be white in America is to be born into a world ripe with opportunities to fulfill the American Dream without institutional obstacles.
b. To be black in America means you have to endure struggle in a world, where “The Dream” is out of reach. Black Americans are instilled with fear at a young age of the country that excludes them. Black children
lynched(C), and forty-five to sixty percent of Blacks over the age of nine are illiterate(B),
One of the most powerful messages encountered in the book is the importance of valuing yourself as a black being in a predominantly white and racially divided society. Coates explains how despite the fact that this nation has been built on the bones and bloodshed of blacks, the black body has lost almost all
Ta-Nehisi Coates discusses the topic of white America often throughout his book, Between the World and Me, as well as the struggles he has as a black American. The dream he portrays in his book consists of maintaining a well-paying job and eventually striving to become a wealthy, upper class citizen. Little do people know that the dream is not obtainable by everyone, Coates asserts that the American dream revolves around being white. Often times, blacks will begin to “act white” in order to achieve this American dream or achieve happiness in White America. Black people leave their natural physical appearance and language form in order to achieve this idea of “being white”. Personally, I find this to be bothersome. Still to this day we are
The American Dream is so many different things to so many different people. While other countries around the World would like to argue that Americans’ only aspiration is to become infinitely wealthy, Dinesh D’Souza claims that it is not wealth that Americans want. He believes that it is simply a better life. Michael Moore too acknowledges Americans’ ambition, especially his own, to create a better life for themselves. These two views of the American Dream come from very opposite Americans, but it is their differences that make their ideals so beautifully unique.
American society consists of many equal races, yet people believe that as a white American, I am more privileged than others. However, I have learned that race is not the only factor that determines my status or position in life. In addition, the concept of white privilege is not as prominent in younger generations. Despite the assumptions made by others about the privileges whites are given, there are circumstances where being white negatively impacts me.
In response to the student’s question, where she asked about the strategies white people use to cope with the issues they face in America, I agree with the responses provided by Professor Fouron and Professor Ruth Frankenberg. I believe that the United States it structured to look out for the best interest of white Americans and immigrants alike. Being white in America means that your concerns will be heard and addressed by elected officials and our society in general. As Professor Frankenburg states, I believed that the ideas of “whiteness” and “Americanness” are closely connected; a white immigrants’ legitimacy in America, even marked with an accent, will not be questioned, whereas the same has never been said for other immigrants. In fact,
A4. The idea of “being American” is wrapped up in the American Dream. The idea that you can start at the bottom and end up at the top , depending on how hard you are willing to work. To uncover the “distorted” flaw that is the American Dream for African-Americans we have to go back to pretty far. Let’s start with slavery. When we fought over slavery and, as an institution, it was dissolved. Unfortunately, abolishing something on paper doesn’t change learned behavior. Learned behavior lingers for generations. While it may dissipate over the course of generations it may never go away. For the longest time, black bodies were capital. In order to create wealth, you need capital. As an African-American, if you are capital then you can’t
“The American Dream” of homeownership is still a central ideal of American culture but for Millenials it is a dream worth deferring until their own personal goals are fulfilled. More and more millennials are hesitant to invest in owning a home as they pursue entrepreneurial, educational and professional goals before having children and expanding their living space.
Everyone faces fears. Although in America, people are proud of their country and have attitudes portraying that it is the best, still plenty of people are neglected daily. Especially in a place where white supremacy is running the country. As a result, so many people have something to be afraid of. That is, those who are not white.
The "American Dream" is marked as unattainable in John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. This is mostly shown in the case of George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. These characters all have admitted to thinking about the "American dream" concept, and the freedom to pursue happiness and their dreams.
The topic of The American Dream has been brought up on many occasions. The arising issue that still ascends is whether or not The American Dream is alive or dead in the United States. The American Dream has come to the generalization of the personal perspective of any individual. The history of The American Dream has always gone back to the common man thinking of their future generations to come and how he will implant a positive outcome throughout it. Many now believe that the ideal plan of The American Dream cannot even be met anymore. Values and beliefs are now being questioned towards the aspect of upward mobility, the cost of education, jobs, and even affordable housing. Referring to an executive editor and vice president of Time Reporting, he states, “combined with a formidable American work ethic, made the pursuit of happiness more than a full-time proposition” (Meacham, Keeping The Dream Alive). This statement is targeted towards the actual definition of what The American Dream actually meant in various societies in the past. Happiness and a full-time of gratitude were critical aspects towards being met because it was the initial reason for this ideal. Some of the key causes and components that affect the way The American Dream is supposed upon today is the basic principles of economics, education, and a downward spiral. These reasons lead to The American Dream being considered in a diverse way with much complexity. The American Dream was different from the past and
The American dream is an elusive idea for many Americans; it allows access but does not provide equal opportunity to achieve it for every American citizen and varies wildly throughout different social classes in America. Inequality plagues society throughout these social classes, providing or denying certain opportunities throughout them.
From the early stages of American literature the dream of success has always been around, even at the very beginning. It has gone on the journey of merely surviving in small amounts of the literature from the native people to thriving in a growing society and being in everything. The dream to myself is becoming wealthy and being successful in everything I do. Today I believe that the dream has become different for everyone, every person has a different dream, a different way they want their life to go.
The "American Dream" is an idea that has always been different throughouttime. It changes in diverse forms and in the end involves success. The "American Dream" was a phrase used by the American people and peoplewanting to become American. It was always the idea that you can become a success. This is true in a partial way, but the true "American Dream" is that with somework and determination anyone can build themselves up in the economic classsystem.
Most people grow up with a dream to become better or have more in life. Not all dreams become reality. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make a dream come true. In the early 1950’s, it was extremely hard for an African American to have their dreams come true. A poem by Langston Hughes entitled “Harlem” describes the dreams of African Americans during this time period. Lorraine Hansberry wrote “A Raisin in the Sun” based off of this poem and it further depicts the struggles African Americans went through trying to achieve their dreams. The main characters in A Raisin in the Sun have dreams of their own, however, each stanza in the poem Harlem closely relates to what happens to these characters dreams.