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The effect of the American dream on American culture
Analyzing the american dream
An essay about the american dream
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Recommended: The effect of the American dream on American culture
The American Dream In the short story “Clothes”, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni tells a story of a young Indian women, Sumita, and her cultural transition to America after her arranged marriage to Somesh, an Indian man that lives in America. Somesh is co-owner to a 7-eleven store in California which he is very invested in. Throughout the story, he is always working at his store in hopes of making extra money towards his and Sumita’s future. His late nights working at the store later leads to Somesh’s tragic death. Upon analysis of all of the events that occur and Somesh’s death, I’ve come to realize that Sumita is torn between two diverse cultures and also that the American dream is not always what it is set out to be. This dream everyone longs for …show more content…
The way she talks about the 7-eleven store and describing it as exotic, strange and even risky. We get a sense that this is very unfamiliar to the culture she grew up with. Once she is in the country, she still follows her culture in the way that the wife takes care of the in-laws and she still wears her saris. Somesh manages to sneak her different American clothing. Throughout the story, we find her describing the different colors in the American clothing and also with the saris. (A motif that occurs.) This symbolism and motif allow the reader to grasp a better understand of Sumita’s feelings and transition into the culture and her new way of living. Though her dreams of her working and wearing American clothing is very common to us, it is the complete opposite of her culture and is not allowed. Also in the end of the story after Somesh’s death, her decision to stay and get an education is not something that usually takes place in her culture. This is where I came to realize the beginning of her being torn apart between the two cultures, with her wanting and wishing to do certain things yet around her in-laws, she follows her
“Like many immigrant offspring I felt intense pressure to be two things, loyal to the old world and fluent in the new, approved of on either side of the hyphen” (Lahiri, My Two lives). Jhumpa Lahiri, a Pulitzer Prize winner, describes herself as Indian-American, where she feels she is neither an Indian nor an American. Lahiri feels alienated by struggling to live two lives by maintaining two distinct cultures. Lahiri’s most of the work is recognized in the USA rather than in India where she is descents from (the guardian.com). Lahiri’s character’s, themes, and imagery in her short stories and novels describes the cultural differences of being Indian American and how Indian’s maintain their identity when moved to a new world. Lahiri’s inability to feel accepted within her home, inability to be fully American, being an Indian-American, and the difference between families with same culture which is reflected in one of her short stories “Once in a Lifetime” through characterization and imagery.
In walk three girls into a grocery store in bathing suits. They?re far enough away from the beach that it is customary for them to be wearing more clothes. Their actions are deliberate and exaggerated; they came in the store to buy one item, but that was not their purpose for being there. It?s easy to extract from the story that the girls stood out in many ways, money being an important one. Updike presents Sam the cashier as thinking, ?Her father and the other men were standing around in ice-cream coats and bow ties and the women were in sandals picking up herring snacks on toothpicks off a big glass plate and they were all holding drinks the color of water with olives and sprigs of mint in them.? Sam?s impression of the girls was obviously that they came from wealth, something that he could not claim of himself. And although he outwardly admired their bodies, he was really admiring their wealth.
In John Updikes’ A&P, a 19 year old man named Sammy was working as a cashier for the store. Three girls, wearing only bathing suits, walked into the store. He was so captivated by the girls once he noticed them. Distracted by their beauty, he started describing them, detail by detail. The question asked was whether Sammy’s act of quitting was selfish or was it a sacrifice and if he cared about the girls’ dignity.
In John Updike’s 1959 short story “A&P”, the protagonist, Sammy, makes an abrupt decision to quit his job as a cashier after his boss, Lengel, embarrasses a group of girls for being indecently dressed. Although the decision was unplanned, Updike makes it a point to inform the audience about Sammy’s negative and unpleasant outlook on his occupation. To do this, he illustrates some of the incidents that may have contributed to Sammy quitting his job, most of which are rather ironic and unusual. Sammy quit his job because he did not view it as a permanent occupation, he wanted to make an independent decision without the guidance of his parents, and he wanted to impress the group of girls that had been embarrassed by Lengel due to their immodest
Undine and her comrades of the nouveau riche social climbers embody the sense of the modern American woman, so effected by the commerce infused atmosphere, they become their own kind of entrepreneurs. Looking for husbands they go about their work with precise study and in Undine’s case, careful emulation, hoping for a glamorous lifestyle for which their husbands will merely provide a good name and unlimited funds.
John Updike’s “A&P” is a great short story to evaluate the complexity of human relationships and the challenging values of the world. The story is from the narrator’s point of view. The story setting takes place at a market where Sammy and his fellow co-worker witness three women come in and captivate their attention. The most beautiful girl, named “Queenie”, truly gets Sammy’s attention. The three girls were wearing nothing but bathing suits, which leads to the the manager causing a scene at the register. The narrator is so upset that the manager acted harshly towards the women that he quits on the spot and walks out of the market. Throughout the story, there are various complexions and values arise in the narrator’s mind.
Later, a city girl hails a cab to meet her girlfriends at their favorite club to celebrate her new promotion over cosmopolitans. These people – the suburban soccer mom, the tired immigrant, the worried mother from the hood, and the successful city girl – each represent the different realities or fantasies that exist in the American society. They are all living or working towards what they believe to be the coveted American dream. Some of these people are similar to the Chinese immigrant, Ralph, in Gish Jen’s novel Typical American. However, all are confused as to what the American dream really is and whether or not the dream is real.
In the 1950’s becoming a wife, having and raising children and taking care of the home was the primary goal for most women. Post war brides were marrying young, having children at significant and unrivaled rates, and settling into roles that would ultimately shape a generation. This ideal notwithstanding, women were entering the workplace like never before and changing the face of American business forever. In the movie The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit directed in 1956 by Nunnally Johnson, we get an inkling of the type of voice American women would develop in the character of Betsy Rath. We are introduced to a wife and mother who leverage her role in the family to direct and influence. The decade of the 50’s signify the beginnings of the duplicity that women would embrace in America, being homemakers and independent women.
and at customs.” (Mukherjee, Bharati “An Invisible Women.”) In a department store an employee was
It is important to realize that Sammy’s 19-year old depiction of his surroundings might be skewed, but the story still maintains Updike’s basic use of this setting. Updike choses the dull setting of an A&P grocery store as a symbol, a microcosmic example of the societies tendency to conform. Also, the readers can easily relate to a grocery store. This A&P resides in a town where “the women generally put on shirt or shorts or something before they get out of their car into the street,” Sammy explains. Seeing a girl walking around wearing only a bikini in such a public place looks outrageous. “If you stand at our front doors you can see two banks and the Congregational church and the newspaper store…” The town is a conventional one. Updike turns this familiar, mundane piece of American life, and makes it extraordinary.
In the 19th century play, FASHION, Anna Mowatt develops the character plot as a contrast and comparison between being “natural” and “artificial in a world becoming preoccupied with fashion, and being fashionable. In the head notes, it was stated that Daniel Havens said FASHION is “the ugly image of the American Dream gone sour.” (Watt and Richardson) Fashion has a complex definition. The word ‘fashion’ can mean anything from the type of clothes you wear, how you communicate with others, the place you live, how you present yourself, or who you associate yourself with. In FASHION, Mowatt took a comical yet sober look at the definitions of “fashion,” applied it to real life in 1845, and through her characters, provides a mirror with which an audience/reader can evaluate themselves. I do not believe updating this play would be difficult because America has continued down the fast and destructive path in an effort to keep up with the “fashions” of the day.
One girl who chases the American Dream is Lena Lingard, a small farm girl from a poverty-stricken family. "Lena gave her heart away when she felt like it, but she kept her head for her business and had got on in the world." (192). Lena had one thing on her mind: money. To her the American Dream was wealth. She wants freedom from worry about where her next meal would come from. Lena begins her journey to wealth by becoming one of the many hired girls in the town of Black Hawk. There she was apprentice to a dressmaker and before long began to show great potential. Soon she began making money with her hard work, dedication and talent, but she uses this money not to indulge in her own desires, but to benefit her family. She spent her excess funds buying clothes for them, and paying their bills. But this wasn't enough to gain society's approval. She is a hired girl. Because she went to many dances over the summer months, many young men began noticing her, as they never had before. Because of this Lena earns a reputation like those of the hired girls; that ...
The male American dream is most often interpreted as moving your family up in society by increasing your wealth. With this comes the need to purchase items that are on par with one’s income level and therefore showing off wealth and status. This need for items is not particularly because of usefulness or practicality but to distinguish oneself in society as a part of a particular class level, coming from the pressure to keep up with one’s peers. This film shows that society has taken over the definition of our needs and men no longer think for themselves but rather turn to see what others have and from that interpret what society sees as acceptable and standard. The male American dream can be interpreted as a never-ending cycle to prove oneself to others and appear to the standards that others define. According to Tyler Durden, “Advertising has us chasi...
From dreams deferred to identity affirmed Lorraine Hansberry’s, “A Raisin in the Sun,” presents readers with many differing themes. The most prevalent and reoccurring theme is the effect money plays on society’s views of manhood and happiness. Readers are shown multiple characters with a diverse view on manhood. From Walter Lee with his matching societal views that a man should be able to provide whatever his family needs or wants to Lena whose views are a biased compilation of her late husband’s behavior and her own ideals, that a man should maintain his honor and protect his children’s dreams.
Bharati Mukherjee’s story, “Two Ways to Belong in America”, is about two sisters from India who later came to America in search of different ambitions. Growing up they were very similar in their looks and their beliefs, but they have contrasting views on immigration and citizenship. Both girls had been living in the United States for 35 years and only one sister had her citizenship. Bharati decided not to follow Indian traditional values and she married outside of her culture. She had no desire to continue worshipping her culture from her childhood, so she became a United States citizen. Her ideal life goal was to stay in America and transform her life. Mira, on the other hand, married an Indian student and they both earned labor certifications that was crucial for a green card. She wanted to move back to India after retirement because that is where her heart belonged. The author’s tone fluctuates throughout the story. At the beginning of the story her tone is pitiful but then it becomes sympathizing and understanding. She makes it known that she highly disagrees with her sister’s viewpoints but she is still considerate and explains her sister’s thought process. While comparing the two perspectives, the author uses many