In 1630, John Winthrop gave a speech upon the deck of the Arabella. In it he asserted, “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world." This quote of Winthrop’s speech is taken from the Bible in which Jesus tells his disciples, “You are the light of the world, a city set on a hill cannot be hid” (Matthew, 5 14-16).  The religious implications of this description of America provides a backdrop for the American Dream to be based upon, something worth striving for: a shining example of freedom, prosperity and happiness that can be achieved with hard work (and in taking into consideration the religious angle) belief in God and morality. However as one student noted in a previous class, “American immigrants historically come to America to escape economic or political difficulties.  America thus becomes a modern day promised land. Unfortunately, however like the Israelites of long ago, immigrants often find that the land of milk and honey of the American Promised Land comes with a heavy price tag” (course website).   So while the America Dream of prosperity does exist, the American Nightmare exists as well, in both the immigrant and minority narratives.

            In using the class readings to “criticize as well as celebrate the immigrant or American Dream narrative” (class syllabus) we can identify the presence of both the America Dream narrative as well as the American Nightmare narrative. I argue that these are not mutually exclusive and can be found in both the immigrant and minority texts read in class. A quote on the class website asserts, “…their stories often seem to have more differences than similarities.” I disagree. The stories seem to have more similarities than differences especially when the effects on education are analyzed (cultural objectives 1a from the syllabus). We can also observe why immigrant and minority narratives are important and how they may affect readers.

            The first set of stories we read had to do with the issues of education and whether or not education was “a starting point for the America Dream of economic success” (syllabus).  In “Soap and Water” the protagonist decides to better herself and go to college to become a teacher. “The girl in the cigar factory, in the next block, had gone first to a preparatory school. Why shouldn’t I find a way too?”  . . .  The story takes a turn when the protagonist encounters and old teacher who finally gives a helping hand. She leaves the teacher’s office exclaiming, “America! I found America.” Thus, it is not education that has propelled the heroine into America, nor is it hard work. The escape from the American Nightmare is another human being.  The narrative then becomes another vehicle for a voice of another Miss Van Ness. The author takes the place of Miss Van Ness and the narrative offers a place where another person seeking America, such as the author, can come to find it.  The narrative provides a place of recognition. In the story, the author says of Miss Van Ness, “I knew her more than the people around her who were of her own class. I felt the throb of throb of her voice, in the subtle shading around the corner of her eyes, the color and texture of her dreams.” The author recognizes herself in Miss Van Ness. In the same way, readers may recognize themselves in the narrative. . . .

In one of the most poignant selections we have read, Danticat’s “Children of the Sea” most graphically describes the Dream turning into the Nightmare. A young man, a political rebel on the run from the police, has escaped Haiti in a boat bound for America.  As he tells his story in letters written to his girlfriend back in Haiti, she also writes letters to him.

            In one letter he asks her, “do you remember our silly dreams? Passing the university exams and then studying hard to go to the end, that farthest of all that we can go in school.”  Those dreams are now silly when contrasted with both of them merely trying to survive. Both are fighting for their lives, he on a sinking boat, and she hiding from police and bullets. In “The English Lesson” and “Soap and Water,” education was a stepping stone to achievement of the American Dream, here we see instances where education means nothing. 

            The letters from both illustrate how leaving for America is just as dangerous as staying in Haiti.   As a young mother gives birth to a still born baby on the boat, in Haiti, an older mother is beaten to death because of her son’s political activities. 

            This story is exceptionally disturbing because it begs the question, “Where is the American Dream? Is it all a Nightmare?”  American shines like a beacon for the political refugees, but in this story the likelihood of reaching its shores is practically non-existent. If in “Soap and Water” non-acceptance and prejudice keep the America Dream at bay and if in “The English Lesson” the feelings of imprisonment present obstacles to the American Dream, “Children of the Sea” seems to suggest that there is no American Dream.  “I think it would break my heart watching some little boy or girl every single day on this sea, looking into their empty faces to remind me of the hopelessness of the future in our country. It’s hard enough with the adults. It’s hard enough with me” (99).   He finds no hope in his own country; however, there isn’t any hope to be found bound for the American shores. “The man said he was once on a boat with a group of Cubans. His boat had stopped to pick up the Cubans on an island off the Bahamas. When the Coast Guard came for them, they took the Cubans to Miami and sent him back to Haiti”(101).  Both places reek of hopelessness.  The police who beat and torture women in Haiti are as ruthless as the sea which ultimately claims the refugees bound for the Promised Land. 

            It is interesting that the boyfriend’s notebook that contains his narrative must be thrown overboard in an attempt to save the ship. He writes, “I must throw my book out now. It goes down to them… and all those children of the sea who might soon be claiming me” (111). It is not education here, but rather literacy. His ability to write his story and to tell people of the horrors that exists. He is silenced. His words never make it to his beloved in Haiti and he never makes it to America. Neither education, literacy, nor the willingness to work hard means anything at the bottom of the sea. The power in the narrative is in being told. So many things are addressed: The strife in Haiti, the people crossing the ocean to reach America, government policy regarding Haiti and especially versus policy with Cuba. One narrative tells all these stories and brings awareness to many. . . .

            They are finally united through a narrative. Once the father relates his tale (or his daughter does it for him) of how he was disowned by his father for coming to America, he is more able to relate to his son and understand his position. The son is also better able to understand his father and they reach an uneasy truce.  It is the narrative of Papa’s life that enables him and Tito to reconcile.

            Each of the narratives gives glimpses into the American Dream. The idea that America is the land of opportunity: a shining city upon a hill. They also detail the darker side of the Dream: the Nightmare that many that come to this country experience, whether they are considered minorities or immigrants, there are elements of both in all as well as elements of the Nightmare in the Dream.  Education can be a bridge, or a rung on a ladder, but it too is problematic. In “Soap and Water” we see that it isn’t quite enough to achieve the Dream, In “The English Lesson” and “El Patrón” We see that the changes it creates can be confusing to others who may feel left behind. In “Children of the Sea” we see that it can mean nothing against impossible odds faced by those searching for solace here. 

Yolanda Mathers* writes,  “Yet, my greatest discovery in books was that others existed whose lives were not only bound in print, but in the same black body as my own. Not just reading, I was digesting, and page after page I could ease my hunger, my desire, my obligation to be fed and to grow into the voice my eyes discovered.” Thus, the major importance of immigrant/minority literature is the discovery of one’s self within the narrative. [JH]

*Mathers, Yolanda J. "Finding the Multivoiced Self: A Narrative." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 42.2 (1998):1081-2004.