Keith Vyvial

What is the American Dream?

            A better life is something desired and deserved by everybody around the world.  Many seek out this better life, the American Dream, in the United States of America.  However, questions arise as to what exactly the American Dream is.  How can it be achieved? What price comes with the search for it?  The answers can sometimes be difficult and sobering.  The narratives of immigrants as well as minorities help to understand this often difficult and sobering topic.  The similarities and differences of these various narratives, especially between immigrants and minorities, help to better understand and mediate the experience of this search for the American Dream as it becomes the fundamental model of American culture. 

            With its many characters, “The English Lesson,” by Nicholasa Mohr, provides a rounded view of the “American melting pot,” showing the various feelings and desires of some immigrants as well as minorities.  Mrs. Hamma seems to epitomize the idealistic view of the American Dream, using phrases such as, “This is, after all, a democracy, and we have a democratic class; fairness for all!” (21).  This certainly does not express hardships and prejudices faced by some immigrants in America.  Mrs. Hamma’s familial background even shows her as an example of the idealistic American dream.  She states, “My grandparents came here from Germany as poor immigrants, working their way up” (22).  Her family came for and achieved a better life; they seem to have assimilated and become a part of the dominant culture. 

As Puerto Ricans in the class, William and Lali seem to be an example of immigrants in the process of assimilation.  They are certainly working hard to better learn the English language.  There is also a hint of a possible budding romance, made taboo by the fact that Lali is married to the man who brought her to the country.  This issue seems as if it is more common in America than in their homeland.

Other, minor characters seem to express other feelings and sentiments.  Diego Torres, from the Dominican Republic, angrily expresses his resistance to the idea of assimilation to American culture.  He came in search of better economic opportunity, but gives the sentiment that this was forced, the American Nightmare, saying,” I got no work at home.  There, is political.  The United States control most the industry which is sugar and tourismo.  Y-you have to know somebody.  I tell you, is political to get a job, man!  You don’t know nobody and you no work, eh?  So I come here from necessity” (25).  Stephan Paczkowski stands in stark contrast to the feeling of Diego.  He becomes a part of the dominant culture as an educated male from Poland seeking whole-heartedly to become an American citizen.    Even his wife, as a Jew, was a part of the model minority of a century ago.

            Sui Sin Far’s “In the Land of the Free” shows the American Dream turning into a nightmare.  The opening line states, “See, Little One – the hills in the morning sun.  There is thy home for years to come.  It is very beautiful and thou wilt be very happy there” (3).  Lae Choo comes to America with her new baby to join her husband in the wonderful land of this opening line, a land of nearly endless opportunity.  What they find truly does transform into a nightmare.  The basic stages of the immigrant narrative are clear throughout the tale, particularly stage 3 – shock, resistance, exploitation and discrimination.  Since Lae Choo’s baby was not born in the United States and has no papers, government red tape causes him to be taken from him.  The promise of a temporary situation turns horribly long-term.  Also, a lawyer seems to exploit the situation, taking every item of value for Lae Choo and her husband, Hom Hing, in the promise of working to get their son back to them.  The ending turns even more devastating as the baby is finally returned to them.  Being so young, he has very easily assimilated into American culture.  No longer desiring to be with his mother, he tells her, “Go ‘way, go ‘way” (11).  For the baby, the opening lines seem correct; he has found his home and is very happy.  However, this became very different from the hopes that his mother truly wished for them.

            A different story, the excerpt from No Name in the Street, by James Baldwin, shows how the minority narrative contrasts with that of the immigrant narrative.  Far’s story and other immigrant narrative seem to show more of the journey toward the American Dream.  In Baldwin’s story, the characters are already settled in America.  The story seems to show what they make of themselves within the culture, as opposed to a reaction to the culture.  Also, the mentions of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X seem to add a note of realism that grounds the story more into American culture, especially Afro-American culture.  Possibly through a mixing of assimilation and class status, the main character is no longer accepted amongst his black friends from his old neighborhood.  The narrator takes a limousine where it would stand out, possibly out of a desire to show off to the old neighborhood.  His friends do not know what to prepare him for dinner – fried chicken (often associated with black culture) or steak.  The conversation becomes heated, displaying differing views on such topics as the Vietnam War.  The narrator ultimately leaves, no longer a part of the past he left in that neighborhood.  Also, as a black man, he is not fully accepted in the white culture either.  He has become a true outsider.  Probably as a result of his color, the narrator says, “I have, in effect, been forbidden to expose myself to the quite tremendous hazards of getting a cab to stop for me in New York City” (287).  This likewise gives an example of color coding, associating the color black with “bad.”

            The poem “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the United States Government,” by Chrystos, provides a different view of the minority narrative.  As opposed to the narrator of No Name in the Street who worked to assimilate into the dominant culture, the narrator of the poem refuses to assimilate.  He or she wants nothing to do with this dominant American culture.  It was there culture who was here first; their culture was invaded upon by the dominant culture.  The passion and anger of the poem epitomizes the idea of the America Nightmare.  This minority narrative becomes one of exploitation.  He or she rejects everything from this invading “United States.”  The previous story and the poem are similar in their hint of color coding.  The poem states, “We revoke…your assimilation soap suds.”  This shows the idea of color being bad and meant to be washed away.   Soon after, coding can be evident again when it also states, “Your colors hurt our feet.”

            Another area of narrative studied in the class is “New World Immigration.”  These are people coming to America from a closer proximity, such as the Mexican-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans.  These people often fit as a category somewhere between the immigrants and minorities.  Some of the ways in which they differ from other immigrants is that the closer proximity allows them an easier time going back to the homeland as well as the fact that they tend to be the subject of group confusion by the dominant culture.  An example is in the fact that often, groups such as Puerto Ricans or Cubans are often simply labeled as “Mexican.”  Likewise, Afro-Caribbeans are often just labeled as “African.  “How to Date a Browngirl…” by Junot Diaz provides one eample of this New World immigrant narrative.  Written by a man from the Dominican Republic, It reads like an instruction manual on dating girls of various ethnicities.  Any girl will do, but the narrator especially seems to be interested in dating white girls, saying “The white ones are the ones you want the most” (277).  This is probably seen as a means of betterment or an increase in class status.  The narrator does not seem to be so much putting down his culture as his social status.  He suggests, “Clear the government cheese from the refrigerator” (277).  This idea could be seen as a desire for assimilation and an attempt to de-colorize oneself; he is trying to disassociate himself with these “minority handouts.”  He gives even further example of a mentality of selling-out to be more accepted in the mention of “Uncle Tomming” (278), a term which seems clearly derogatory, bringing up an image of the most stereotypical uneducated slaves.  This seems to indicate that he is ashamed of his status and his home life.  His suggestions of white girls and “halfies” as desirable give a clear view of the Color Code and express how much he wants to associate himself with the white dominant culture.  Throughout the story, examples exist of a desire to be associated with the dominant culture.  However, he is at risk of losing his identity in the process.

            In opposition to the somewhat light-hearted approach taken by Diaz’s story, Edwidge Danticat’s “Children of the Sea” provides a tragic example of the New World immigrant narrative.  Like the immigrant narratives previously mentioned, this story chronicles the voyage to America after fleeing the homeland.  There is a young man on a boatload of people fleeing the atrocities of the Haitian government while his love remains with her family at home.  Rather than discussing the experiences in the New World, The American Dream still remains intact, although unachieved; the hope associated with it, however, still remains.  For the young man, this is an idealistic dream from things he read. All of the people on the boat display the extreme lengths that one will go through to obtain the dream.  By showing the experiences of both lovers, the horrors of the boat, with its starvation and threat of sinking, parallel the atrocities.  Unlike the other immigrant narratives, this one gives more of a sense of necessity in the exit from the homeland; the young man is wanted by the corrupt government in power.  Similar to many immigrant narratives, the experiences of the young woman in Haiti provide a sense of an Old World family mentality, dominated by the patriarch.  The ultimate drowning death of the young man provides a tragically real example of one of the problems which may arise in the search for a better life, either real or perceived.

            The topics involved with multicultural studies can be very difficult.  In today’s world of political correctness, many people are afraid to even approach some of the subject matter.  The narratives from class provide strong examples of experiences and narratives of immigrants, minorities and New World immigrants.  For many immigrants, America represents an ideal dream of a better life, happily assimilating into the dominant culture.  Other immigrants may feel forced, refusing to leave assimilate and throw away their own heritage.  A mixing of the dominant culture with ones own culture seems like an often ideal solution.  Then, the dominant culture can itself be changed for the better.   The two stories of minorities, on the other hand, have shown a sharp contrast between assimilating willingly to possibly deny one’s culture and an intense dislike of the United States dominant culture.  Despite being unwanted, some minorities feel it is forced upon them cruelly.  The New World immigrant narratives display some of the traits of both immigrant and minority, sometimes displaying a sense of “de-colorizing” themselves in an attempt to assimilate completely into the dominant culture.   A better life is wanted by all people, regardless of race; many of the stories show what lengths people will go through to obtain this dream.  Hardships and tragedies may arise.  Ultimately, those who achieve it find that the American Dream is different for each individual person.  Part of the search is in discovering that in his or herself.   Possibly, in studying these narratives, more people will come to understand what it means to be an immigrant or a minority, and barriers can be destroyed.

Writing time: 4 ½ hours