Monday, 29 January: begin selections from The Classic Slave Narratives:

Web highlight (midterms): Misty Hummel

Introduction: There is a definite difference between The American Dream and The Dream. African-Americans use to not have the equally opportunity that whites had, in order to pursue their personal dreams. The literature read in this class helps to give the readers a way to almost first-handily experience the reason for the hope of Martin Luther King’s Dream. [MH]

The American Dream is based on the Declaration of Independence which guarantees life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The American Dream establishes a way for the dominant culture and immigrants to speak for and govern themselves. They break from their past and focus on the future. They believe the American Dream gives them a natural order to dominate and establish their rights as citizens. The American Dream also focuses on individualism and nuclear families (Obj 3).

The Dream is based on Martin Luther King’s Dream Speech. It is deeply rooted in the American Dream and has the same language as the Declaration of Independence. The Dream shares in its idea of equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

However, it differs from the American Dream in that it focuses on success in the future “one day” not immediate success and factors in set backs. The Dream reconnects with the past and does not abandon it because of involuntary participation of the slaves. Instead of individualism, the Dream focuses on group identity and the need to rise again. It is also more focused on traditional families rather than nuclear groups (Obj 3a).

The Dream is the American Dream with a catch because the American Dream does not include minorities. When Sandra in Black Girl Lost, finds the dope on the street she is given an opportunity to make a better situation for herself. However, the setback or catch is that selling dope is illegal and will be looked down upon by the dominant culture. The dope causes her to struggle with the law. There is the idea that the dominant culture places barriers on minorities.

In Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass experiences the setbacks of the American Dream when he frees himself and goes to the North. Although he is free, he is at the risk of losing his freedom to slave kidnappers. He lives in fear and feels that he is unable to trust anyone. Douglass experiences another setback when he goes to work for himself as a calker but is met with racial prejudices. Because of this, he is unable to secure employment. He was hopeful in gaining independent wealth through the American Dream, but it was quickly taken from him.

However, Douglass does experience the American Dream in his ability to subscribe to a newspaper and read it. He was also free to use his voice and discuss abolition with other liberators. His power to do this expresses the Dream’s idea of rising up from barriers.

Caged Bird also expresses the Dream’s idea of community and rising up from racial prejudice when the people unite during the high school graduation to sing the Black Anthem. Maya is discouraged from the white man’s presentation but then feels proud after the valedictorian’s speech because she realizes her people will rise up as a group to overcome discrimination. Momma rises up from racial discrimination as well when she endures the insults from the powhitetrash children.

The Dream’s idea of “one day,” freedom in the future, is expressed in Lost by the way that Sandra kills Chink to free him from a life in prison. Caged also expresses this idea when Maya receives a watch from Mama and declares that “it was the dream of a day.”

The representation of the American Dream contrasts with that of the Dream in that there are no discriminations to overcome. In Bread Givers, the immigrant is free to follow the American Dream in the way that he breaks from his past and adopts the dominant culture’s language to gain access to independence and wealth. Once he assimilates or joins the dominant community, his intentions are not questioned. He gains immediate success. There are no barriers holding him back.

The differences in the representation of the Dream in African American texts versus the dominant culture’s American Dream in other stories such as Bread Givers are that the dominant culture still discriminates against minorities. The dominant culture continues to hold up barriers against minorities, not allowing true freedom. There are still power struggles between minorities and the dominant culture despite improvements in society. The term, freedom, is not clearly defined and the idea of equality is still questioned. [TK]

Conclusion: This essay was a very in depth answer that used a lot of references from the class readings. It was also interesting, not just a poor representation of the knowledge gained from this course. [MH]