Why Do People Come America? For Corn Dogs?

To America, the American dream was not living in a huge, fancy house, but to have a “house, a yard, maybe a TV and a car too – nothing fancy, no palaces like the gringos built – just four walls and a roof” (Boyle 29). The typical immigrant does not come to American with the intentions of becoming wealthy. They come to American to have a better opportunity in life. To be able to own a home, work and have a family. According to The New York Times, “The phrase “American dream” was invented during the Great Depression. It comes from a popular 1931 book by the historian James Truslow Adama, who defines it as, “that dream of a land in while life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone.” “In the decades that followed, the dream became a reality. Thanks to rapid, widely shared economic growth, nearly all children grew up to achieve the most basic definition of a better life — earning more money and enjoying higher living standards than their parents had.” Learning that us Americans are likely to achieve the American dream shows that it is all that much more difficult for immigrants and even more so for illegal immigrants. T.C Boyle, in Tortilla Curtain, attempts to show the separation between the American dream of the community of immigrants and the American dream of the whites.

As it is stated in the constitution, “all men are created equal”, however many people feel as if they are not treated equal to their fellow citizens. America is viewed as a land where all things are possible and people can achieve all their hopes and dreams. Although this is a simple concept, how one must work to achieve these goals is much more complicated. Everyone is born into a different situation and the opportunities they are exposed to differ depending on the person. The original idea of the “American Dream” supported the idea that all American citizens are able to obtain a better life than they are currently living; however, that idea is continuously changing and many interpret their own dream in different ways.

The great American dream is about seizing an opportunity when it passes by, in the form of education, or blood, sweat, and tears, otherwise known as hard work. America is an opportunistic society, not egalitarian. One has to forge one’s own way in the path of social mobility versus waiting for an equal and fair

The idea of the ‘American Dream’ motivates workers without giving them any actual gratification; individuals are led to believe that success is inevitable and thus abstain from carrying out the necessary work to achieve their long term goals, preventing lower class individuals from entering positions of power. The American Dream is the concept that anyone, regardless of wealth or status can achieve success in America. George

The purpose of the American dream is not to promise success as a reward for hard work; conversely, it is the idea that individuals should be able to achieve success despite their socioeconomic status. This belief is intended to inspire and create equality. Although the American Dream sounds optimistic in concept, it further propagates inequality in practice.

The definition of the “American Dream” by James Truslow Adams, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” this means that no matter your social class, dilemmas, or circumstances at birth one will overcome and make their dream come true. This is a misconception brought upon by us in order to bring more workers to justify a social class clearly. Many immigrants come to the US thinking there will be a better life for them. It is the place where dreams come through. They know it will not be easy and are willing to put the hard work and

The novel follows Jurgis's Lithuanian immigrant family into the disgusting tenements and meat packing factories of Chicago. There, they suffer the loss of all their dreams of success and freedom in America. They find themselves leashed to the grinding poverty and misery of the city slums despite all their best efforts. Sinclair's purpose is to display the evils of capitalism as an economic system. "…had given to the thought to a struggle by the America's working class to free themselves from their enslavement under capitalism, and to the creating of a new and classless society controlled collectively by all the people in their self interest" (Harris 57). Sinclair was bemused by the public reaction to his phenomenally successful novel. "He said that he had aimed for America's heart, but had ended by hitting it in the stomach" (Harris 82).

America historically owns the reputation of being the land of opportunity, and for generations immigrants have fled to the United States to experience the freedom and equality our government lays claim to. At the root of this reputation is the American Dream, the belief that with hard work anyone can succeed based solely on his or her merits. While definitions of success vary, the American Dream defines it as the ability to become a "self-made man," thereby rising to a more-than-comfortable state of living. The American Dream is believed to be blind to race, sex, or socio-economic status and at a first glance, seems to be almost Utopian. Conversely, repeated examples and statistics of the lower-classes, those continually facing the harsh

Sinclair uses the characterization of Jurgis, the main character in the novel, to demonstrate the harmful effects which capitalism can have on an individual in the working world. Jurgis who starts off in the novel as a strong able bodied man finds himself along with his family, victims to a ruthless political machine that runs Packingtown, the district where they reside in. These political machines are political organizations which commit acts of corruption and debauchery. After settling down in Chicago for work the family quickly enter the meatpacking industry to make money to support themselves. However, they soon realize that all the big businesses care about is using workers for cheap and unreasonable labor then throwing them aside once their health begins to deteriorate. Jurgis and his family experience their first misfortune when they believe that they purchase a house but are in reality only renting it then go on to be kicked out after their lack of economic funds despite already putting down so much money on it. The family goes on to face many perils such as extreme poverty, starvation and even death in Sinclair’s novelization. In a sense these occurrences are very similar if not actual depictions of the social theory, Social Darwinism. This theory basically states that only the strong will survive while the weak, which are the

Many struggled to find a job and when they did the conditions were not good. I agree with Sinclair that socialism was the answer to the evil idea of communism. He did a great job putting in the smallest of details and relating things like the house they temporarily lived in to a can of meat. It looked great and shiny on the outside, but the inside was nasty and unpleasant. Industrialization was a big movement for America and with it came problems. The unsanitary procedure of meat processing was a huge issue and Sinclair definitely captured the horrid conditions so many had to go through. In his book, Sinclair says, "Here was a population, low-class and mostly foreign, hanging always on the verge of starvation and dependent for its opportunities of life upon the whim of men every bit as brutal and unscrupulous as the old-time slave drivers; under such circumstances, immorality is exactly as inevitable, and as prevalent, as it is under the system of chattel slavery." These times were rough and many had to work as though they were a

Why do people come to America? For Corn Dogs? The Statue of Liberty? To be deported? If you were to ask someone who immigrated to America why they came they would not respond with any of those answers. People come to America for a chance at the “American Dream”, but what exactly is the “American Dream”? The American Dream is the belief that everyone has an equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and determination. Through this there would be little to no class system permanently fixing someone to a definite status meaning it would allow the status of the person to move up or down freely. So if a poor person were to work hard enough they could move up and be rich essentially letting them live better lives. This idea appeals to immigrants and encourages them to come here to America. Immigrants come here to live better lives than the ones they had lived before, but is the American Dream all it is cut out to be? Does it exist or is it just a dream?

Sinclair wanted to show how insensibility in the Industrial Era was a gift to the immigrants in the lower class, and how they were put into this situation because of the prevailing sense of Social Darwinism. Their life became a huge routine and had nothing to motivate them. Their feelings became nonexistent. Their nauseating conditions at home and at work no longer had an affect on them anymore.

Throughout history America has been the arriving place of immigrants searching for a better life. America is perceived as the land were endless opportunities are available. The greatest explanation of the American dream is Martin Luther King, Jr. speech; I Have a Dream. Dr. King speech is more like a testimony of truth, rather than a speech. At the time of his speech African Americans were not free, while the Declaration of Independence states that all men are created equal. Dr. King’s movement established the way for the idea that there is an American dream. The idea that somebody can be anything they would like to be. This idea is still relevant now in America. Americans pursue their dream everyday by having the opportunity to attend

The American Dream can mean a number of different things to number of different people. Over the years this ideal has evolved and its definition will continue to change for many more years to come. What has not changed is the desire to achieve this dream. For decades now, people from all over the world have immigrated to the United States with hopes of obtaining this dream. However it seems that, to many immigrants the American dream has a very different and more modest definition. To many foreigners it means having the basic necessities in life and giving their children opportunities and life they ever had. Immigration can be a good and a bad thing. On one hand the overall standard of living is better but on the other hand it is almost

Still, people are willing to risk their lives’ to enter the United States. Some may succeed, while some will be unsuccessful and get deported back to their own country. They sacrifice everything in order to provide a sense of hope for their family. This is what the American Dream represents; being able to prosper, raise a family, and live the means of a good life. Illegal immigrants long for a day where their offspring will develop into a successful individual, rather than growing up in an environment of poverty and despair. Imagine your child working in the fields of Mexico only earning 50 to 60 pesos a day ($5-$6). He/she is planting crops under the blazing sun getting blisters on their feet. The heat consumes the dream and hopes they aspire. People experience many difficulties while seeing more than they desire. Although immigrants approach the U.S. longing for wealth, in reality wages are less than the average salary of Americans. Even so, immigrants gain strength to continue through the encouragement of their family.