Reader: Kathy Simmons
Respondent: Lisa Lovett
Recorder: Michelle Glenn

"American Dream: First Report,"

by

Joseph Papaleco

(Unsettling America 88) 

I did not find much material concerning the Author, just that he is an Italian immigrant.

Literary objectives: 2a:The viewpoint of this poem is told by the second generation. It does, however, make mention of several generations.

Cultural objectives: 1a: …and they may suffer discrimination and be marginalized by the dominant culture on account of racial and cultural differences as long as those are visible. In this sense, as soon as "they" begin to appear and be portrayed on TV to the dominant culture, "they" begin to be accepted as a part of the dominant culture. When the immigrants take an active part in the American economic system, they are well on their way to achieving the American Dream.

The poem, "American Dream: First Report" shows us that adaptation by the immigrant people can be achieved in various ways. In this particular case they simply accept the offer of TV to portray them as ordinary people in exchange for the acceptance into the dominant culture. The exposure of immigrant cultures by means of television is a candid approach, in that it allows them to enter the homes of the dominant culture and become an element of it. In this way they have achieved a large part of the American dream. They are employed and raising their economics status and they are gaining acceptance by being portrayed as a part of the dominant culture. And yet in the end the older generation is still living their life by the old ways.

My question is the this: Did they compromise their old world values in order to achieve the American dream?