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Overcoming obstacles in accomplishing the american dream
Overcoming obstacles in accomplishing the american dream
Overcoming obstacles in accomplishing the american dream
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The Blind Side: Achieving the American Dream
Michael Lewis’ The Blind Side centers around a homeless sixteen-year-old African-
American boy named Michael Oher (known as “Big Mike”), who was taken in by the prosperous
Southern family, the Tuohys. Oher was six-foot-five and weighed 330 pounds, but every time he
plays football he moves “like he’s a hundred sixty-five pounds” (Lewis 76). His astounding
speed and immense strength in football attracted many college coaches across America. To have
a second chance at life, where he was once neglected from society, Oher achieved the American
Dream. Lewis depicts the theme that with love and kindness, one is able to overcome obstacles
and achieve the American Dream.
Love and kindness heals Michael’s broken past and enables him to express free will. For
example, Leigh-Anne cried at the sight of Michael, when “he was walking to school in the snow
in shorts, when school was out of session, on the off chance he could get into the gym and keep
warm” (68). Then Leigh-Anne took action and invited Michael to go on a shopping spree
because she believed that “God gives people money to see how you’re going to handle it” (68).
Leigh-Anne uses her wealth to benefit people who were in difficult situations. Therefore, Leigh-
Anne is going to prove how to handle God’s money by providing Michael’s necessities. In
addition, when Leigh-Anne found out that Michael was living in a trailer and slept on an old air
mattress, she said “That’s it. Get all your crap. You’re moving in with me” (86). Leigh-Anne
could not withstand Michael’s living conditions, so she took him in because she wants to help
him. Furthermore, to replace the old air mattress, Leigh-Anne bought a futon for ...
... middle of paper ...
... lived day by day, did the best I could” to achieve the
American Dream (Jarrett Bell). Despite the problems he had to conquer, his survival instinct
draw many college coaches, including Tom Lemming who selected players to compete in the
U.S. Army high school All-American football games and was surprised at Michael’s great speed.
Michael Lewis portrays the American Dream as pursuit for a better life and it requires a
great amount of effort to accomplish this goal. Michael Oher was given an opportunity to make
his dream come true and he endured many hardships and hard work to attain success. However,
Oher would not have acquired this chance if it were not for his adoptive family who helped him
fulfill his potential. Therefore, the love and kindness he received boosted his confidence to
overcome the impediments in his life to make a dream a reality.
The parents’ dilemma, the visuals of their anxiety and fears were captured very clearly in this clip. The stills of Michael connected to the breathing tubes, having his head prepped for surgery etc., visually evoked the magnitude of what the parents and the Michael had to go through. However, the recovery and progress was an awesome success story filled with all the elements of an inspirational narrative that not only inspired but educated as
Michael is lonely and sad. his parents died and his Aunt Esther has to take him in (74). Cause of Michael’s parents being dead he is lonely. aunt Esther and Michael do not get along. That causes them to be even more lonely.
What her reasons for it were I don’t know. But she did a good job. She raised twelve children. She led a good life.”
was raised by an upper-class family who resented her and did not want her, therefore
not allowing Anne to marry the man that she truly loved. Anne was bitter about
Towards the middle of the memoir, the theme is shown through the irony of Jeannette’s mother’s situation as well as Jeannette’s feelings towards
The movie The Blind Side is about a homeless young man named Michael Oher, who was from one the worst
For centuries, the American Dream has motivated citizens of the United States to go above and beyond in their efforts through life, yet not everyone is hoping to reach the same outcome. The stereotypical prosperous dream was for the average individual to have a successful job with a supportive and wealthy family. However, for some, their idealized version of the American Dream is different. Although the American Dream came in variations, a commonality within all of them was the pursuit of happiness. In the epilogue of The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams argues his idea that the American Dream cannot be defined by one type of accomplishment or triumph. He claims that the American Dream cannot be defined by one type of achievement or particular success, reiterating the fact that the dream is not about tangible goods creating a sense of artificial happiness, but every individual seeking to fulfill their utmost potential. Adams saw that the American Dream was eroding into a need for material possessions, causing him to combat the shift and attempt to preserve the original idea. This theory is echoed in Jeannette Walls’ memoir, The Glass Castle. Despite being hindered by
Michael soon decides that if he can trust Joe enough to keep in silence, he may be able to out wit the police. When Michael makes his decision, he never considers the ramifications that will come of it. For example, Michael never even considers the long agonizing nights he will stay awake or the ling pain filled days he will go through thinking of Jenna Ward and her mother suffering day after day. On the contrary, Michael thinks he will be able to just move on and forget about it.
"The American Dream is "a dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, fuller and with opportunity for each. It is a dream of social order in which each man and woman should be able to achieve the fullest stature of which they are capable of, and be recognized for what they are, regardless of the circumstances of birth or position."
She takes him in and gives him a bed, which is something he has never had before. Also, she gives him new clothes and most importantly she helped him do better in school. Another way she draws out the best in him is by one layer at a time. Michael is like an onion. He has many layers to him, and is not a quick learner. He has to go slow, and take his time, so he understands it. Also, he is not the most outgoing person, in fact, he barely even talked at all at the beginning. Leigh Anne was able to get him to open up, and by the end he was a lot more comfortable talking to his family and other
Mykelti moved to California at the age of 10. When he was 13 years old he was made a locker dancer on Soul Train, that was his first appearance on television. Mykelti excelled greatly football and basketball but found that it wasn’t
In the United States there is an idea many pursue called the American dream, which differs from person to person. The American dream according to americanradioworks.publicradio.org is “a revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition”. Yet it has been said there is no real definition of American dream, instead it merely proves that it has an unconscious influence in American mentality (Ştiuliuc 1). The American dream is different for each person because everyone yearns for things that will they hope will in return make them happy. Whatever that may be, each person goes through different struggles to obtain what they want. According to Frederic Carpenter, the American dream “has never been defined exactly, and probably never can be. It is both too various and too vague” (3). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse depicts the different interpretations on what the American dream actually is through the opinions and actions of Hector Esperanza, Efren Mendoza and Mrs. Calhoun.
In 1931 when the American Dream arose, Americans believed that the harder one worked, the more one would prosper (Meacham, 2012). In other words, they strongly believed that the American Dream was gaining a better, richer, happier life. Today, the American Dream is still hoping to earn a college degree, get a good job, buy a house, and start a family, but according to MetLife’s fifth annual survey, 41% of the respondents said it was about personal fulfillment, while most American’s say it is out of reach for many (White, ...
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.