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LITR 4332 American
Minority Literature 2013 Student Midterm Samples midterm assignment #1. Short essay (4-6 paragraphs) on 1 of 2 options
option 1b. Favorite
term, objective, concept |
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Heather Schutmaat
1. The American Dream
vs. The Dream
One of the most important concepts to take hold of when
studying American Minority Literature is that of the American Dream vs. the
Dream. By understanding the differences between the American Dream and the Dream
and identifying them in literature, such as immigrant stories and slave
narratives, we develop a clear understanding of the differences between the two,
and furthermore, how they determine the varying experiences of immigrants and
minorities throughout American history.
The American Dream is characterized by hard work and
ambition, success for the individual, and immediate achievement for one’s
generation. Furthermore, as we often see in immigrant stories, it involves
voluntarily participation and equal rights. The Dream, on the other hand, as it
relates to the American minority experience, is not characterized by success for
the individual or immediate achievement, but instead by a quest for group
dignity and millennial success. Moreover, as we see in slave narratives, it
involves involuntary participation and the denial of rights. Undoubtedly, the
Dream, like the American Dream is also characterized by hard work and ambition,
however, it entails the constant presence of oppression and incessant setbacks.
Max’s story in
the immigrant novel
Bread Givers is a model
example of the American Dream, as we’ll often see in immigrant literature. Max
voluntarily comes to America to make his own way in the new world. Upon his
arrival, Max begins work by shoveling snow, and the next day, he finds another
job driving a pushcart. In subsequent paragraphs, we’ll discover that through
hard work and ambition in the land of opportunity, Max climbs the ladder of
success to owning his own store and chain of stores, and realizes the American
Dream.
However, as we see in
Narrative of the Life
of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave,
as well as in
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,
for African American minorities, the land of opportunity does not endow African
American minorities with the same equal rights as immigrants. Therefore, they
face perpetual setbacks, such as prejudice, and during their time, the land of
opportunity is instead the land of oppression for African American minorities.
Unlike immigrants such as Max, Frederick Douglass comes to
America involuntarily as a slave and without any rights. When he finally reaches
New York City, a free state, Douglass states, “I
found employment, the third day after my arrival,
in stowing a sloop with a load of oil. It was
new, dirty, and hard
work for me; but I went at it with a glad heart and a willing hand.” Similar to
Max, Douglass finds labor upon his arrival and begins his new journey with hard
work and ambition. However, Douglass also tells us, “When
I got through with that job, I went
in pursuit of a job of
calking; but such was the strength of prejudice against color, among the white
calkers, that they refused to work with me, and of course I could get no
employment.” This incident of prejudice is a perfect example of the setbacks
that characterize the Dream, and demonstrates how the setbacks of the Dream
contrast with the equal opportunity of the American Dream.
Similarly, at the end of
Incidents in the Life
of a Slave Girl
when Harriet Jacobs (after escaping the institution of slavery she was put into
involuntarily) finds freedom in a free state, she tells us, “The
dream of my life is not yet realized. I do not sit with my children in a home of
my own. I still long for a hearthstone of my own,
however humble.” This establishes that the “white picket fence” that
characterizes the American Dream is not as easily attainable for Jacobs and
other African American minorities, and is another setback that characterizes the
Dream.
In short, we may refer to the Dream as “the American Dream
with a catch,” or “a dream deferred,” or characterize it by “the need to rise
again” such as Maya Angelou demonstrates in her poem “Still I Rise.”
However,
as we see in
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American
Slave, and in
Incidents in the
Life of a Slave Girl, although Douglass and
Jacobs do not attain the individual and immediate success of the American Dream,
they undoubtedly contribute, in their lifetimes and through their writings, to
the quest for group dignity and the millennial success of American minorities,
both of which are as equally important as any element of the American Dream.
