The United States of America has always been held in high regards by immediate neighboring countries as well as a host of other countries. In comparison to a majority of other countries in the globe the US holds superior living standards, stronger economy and expert technology. This was case for mina Anderson who immigrated to the US in search of Green pastures in terms of better pay and better living standards in comparison to the condition back in her native Sweden. Based on the evidence from the assigned reading text, the conditions are ripe for the picking but success depends on a host of other factors. Mina Anderson found greener pastures in the United States of America subject to individual effort and other external factors. In the context of life …show more content…
during Mina Anderson’s existence Sweden was a hostile environment at best for women. Women took up maniacal jobs that could barely sustain their basic human needs; this was compounded with every day household chores. Women and children of age took part in every domestic chore imaginable as well as looking after the family livestock. From her description one gets a clear picture o what a typical day would entail from dawn until late in the night as they conclude their day. She points out that it was a struggle just to stay awake given the sheer amount of workload in comparison to hours of rest received. It was a struggle to maintain a clean house, take care of the young ones, keep an eye on the family livestock, preparing evening meals and finally concluding by knitting and mending. Surprisingly, this vicious circle of events was never ending once a woman became of age, she would continue engaging in these activities unless she was sick, disabled or dead. It is even more alarming for mina’s case where she confesses that she never got the opportunity to engage in childhood activities because she was always charged with responsibilities over her siblings. She states that “For as long as I can remember, it was my responsibility to look after the children. I never got to learn to play, only to work.” 46. Children are supposed to be accorded optimal conditions that will promote healthy growth and development for the child. This is why the United States has enforced child protection services to safeguard the child’s interest even in the absence of the parent. From the information conveyed by the assigned reading and mina’s assertions it is clear that Sweden did not pay much attention to such laws. If this were the case then the children from that age were exposed to labor at a much earlier age thus constituting child labor. A quick comparison of the two countries at the time indicates that the United States of America offered better chances of steady growth and development of children. the most logical option would be to move away from Sweden and into the united states in order to secure better conditions for upbringing of children. any young woman who wanted better conditions for her future family should be able to choose the better of the two environments for her family. Mina reiterated this notion by asserting that she has no regrets over to the USA because it gave her “better” conditions than her native Sweden. In light of the above described circumstances, one would understand why any individual would harbor dreams of a better life in a far away land. Women who had heard or been made aware of the life on offer in the united states of America made the choice to move into the country under the notion that it would provide better conditions for their life. Considering that Mina Anderson admitted on her own that she “got a better life here”, it is clear that the risk paid off for those who took it and immigrated. The main difference between back home and her new adopted home was the compensation fr her services and workload she endured. Mina served as a servant in the United States but it was comparable a lighter burden. Her residence in the twin cities was majorly as a servant before she met and married her husband, this did not represent a major change in terms of what she was doing back home in Sweden. She received respite in the fact that it was indeed better than working from dawn to late in the night just to survive for another round the next day. Similar to the current times, individual effort goes a long way in ensuring the success of any individual. Even during Mina’s time, every individual had to fend for themselves without waiting upon somebody else to come to their aid. The only individuals who had that privileged were the wealthy members of society who took in servants to cater for their needs. Fortunately for mina and the numerous Swedes who immigrated in to the United States they had a solid background in handling domestic chores thus their work became just a formality. The nature of the native country enabled them to be better prepared for the difficult conditions a servant would be exposed at the time but it was much more comfortable than the conditions back home. It is also notable that most of the individuals who immigrated into the United States at the time had minimal exposure to education including mina who, despite her eloquence, could not have graduated past the sixth grade. Since it was a common scenario for women of her age and immigrants to be less literate, the playing field was relatively equal for anyone to exploit to suit their needs. This meant that everybody had a relatively equal chance to carve out a life for themselves without unfair competition. The above mentioned statement reaffirms that the success of the individual person during those times was down to the industry that a person exercised in their lives. Individual effort also drives a person to raise their living standards by tasking themselves with his or her own welfare. It is even easier for one to imagine a scenario where a single woman might decide to push any thoughts of marriage aside in order to pursue a better life for her family back in Sweden. Conditions were even better for individuals who had some semblance of a formal training as teachers, physical therapists or nurses. These individuals had a “first preference” basis when they came to the US and they were able to amass wealth that matches their stature in society. This was down to how further an individual was willing to push themselves in order to have an edge over other individuals fighting for the same opportunities in life. Despite seemingly being a one woman crusade, mina owes much of her relative success in life to both her parents who did everything they could to equip her in preparation for later life. Although her father worked long and difficult shifts at the iron works company, he occasionally spent time with Mina. This ensured that despite the difficult conditions she had attention of both parents albeit limited. Her mother played an integral part in her lie too by ensuring that mina had some level of literacy . “ Mina’s mother ensures that she could speak fluently before she began attending school, the relationship between the two was far close that intimated in the book. Human beings are social creatures thus it is only logical that mina tried to re unite the family by securing immigration for her siblings from Sweden to the United States of America. Later on when her father died in 1900, Mina brought over her mother from Sweden. These acts exhibit a closer bond between her and her family which gave her moral and emotional support in their pursuit of a better life. Her mother’s influence over her meant that she learnt the basic house keeping requirements at an early age. In her memoirs, she states that “I will never forget how happy and proud I was, when I knit my first pair of socks and spun my first spool of yarn”38. The above excerpt shows that other people have considerable influence over the success of an individual as in the case of mina. Knitting and spinning wool are basic chores in any household hence earlier exposure by her mother proved to be a blessing in disguise. Apart from individuals who had varied degrees of influence over her life, mina’s course was influence by other institutions such as the government. The government plays a major role in formulation and implementation of laws that govern the country. These laws include immigration laws that cover nationals from other countries who seek citizenship in the United States of America. The United States also had laws that protected the workers to a larger extent in comparison to the laws in Sweden.
The book indicates that in 1833 the Swedish government passed regulations that clearly favored employers of domestic servants instead of the domestic workers. The law in question, the household Servant Law, stipulated that domestic servants must accept a contract of one year and moving from one employer or changing jobs while on contract was forbidden. The law also required complete compliance by the domestics to their employers or they were liable to severe punishment. This law was later abolished but the mere fact that it was enacted shows that the government in place was less considerate of minimum wage earners like domestic servants. In light of better labor laws in the US, the government played a crucial role in the immigration and settlement of Mina and her compatriots. In conclusion, Mina’s memorable life from the desolate down to the moderate life she lived with her husband represent the strength of character that she had inside her. She made the right choice to move to a better place, she even secured better conditions for her entire family as well as her seven children on the family
farm.
The essay titled America Remain the World’s Beacon of Success by Tim Roemer discusses the positive position America placed as a leader in many of its endeavors in the fields of technology, sciences, and healthcare. In Roemer’s opinion, America regarded upon by other countries as the litmus test comparing their success. Roemer enumerated the many achievements and discoveries America accomplished as new country at only 700 years old. Now the question remains, will the success of America continue to be sustainable? I believe it will be, and I agree with Roemer’s opinion despite the internal issues the country face on a regular basis. After all, success is a daily repeated effort in small sum.
In Laurence Shames’s article, “The More Factor”, Shames explains how America has grown to believe and reinforce the opportunistic concept of the frontier—vast open space where possibilities of success have the potential to cultivate. This concept has become symbolic of what America stands for: the freedom to go further and farther than man has ever dreamed of, and without limits. And while this mindset still exists as an ideology of America, as well as how the rest of the world believes America supports itself, this ideology can no longer hold itself to be true. This optimistic approach cannot define the growing and upcoming generations of the 21st century. In the same way that Shames states that “in America, a sense of quality has lagged far
America is a land filled with immigrants coming from different corners of the worlds, all in hopes of finding a better life in the country. However, No one had an easy transition from his or her home country to this foreign land. Not every race thrived the same way—some were luckier than others, while some have faced enormous obstacles in settling down and being part of the American society. Many people have suffered
America has always seen as the symbolic ideal country of prosperity and equality. This is the reason why people come to America hoping to become successful, but in matter of fact we all have an equal plan field to be successful is not entirely true. For there are social boundaries that keep use limited based upon our own status. Whether we are born of a low class or of a high class the possibility of economic mobility in a sense are predetermined by two factors of social class and success together they both affecting one’s another opportunity of success. In order to achieve success, we must know that it is made up of two main concepts and they are fortune and position.
The United States has always been viewed as a land of opportunity, where one could achieve anything they put their mind to, no matter who they are. Freedom and economic stability are the factors that make our country appealing. People are hopeful that the opportunities the country holds will help them achieve the American dream. This dream consists of achieving financial success, but time has proven that the American dream is a rare occurrence. Unfortunately, ambition, hard work, nor perseverance are enough to be successful in America. No individual is guaranteed success or destined for failure, but it is apparent that women, people of color, and those born into poverty will face greater obstacles than others,
Time and time again, the society has put in force political and social ideals of America greatly affecting the American Dream for many. Every American resident has his or her own definition of “achieving the American Dream”. However, all American Dreams are common, in part, that all believers are drawn to the desire to go above their current social class and improve their way of life. Although many people try to achieve their own American Dream, the society possess ideals that negatively affect the American Dream for both Americans and immigrants.
The tone of the short story “America and I” changed dramatically over the course of the narrative. The author, Anzia Yezierska, started the story with a hopeful and anxious tone. She was so enthusiastic about arriving in America and finding her dream. Yezierska felt her “heart and soul pregnant with the unlived lives of generations clamouring for expression.” Her dream was to be free from the monotonous work for living that she experienced back in her homeland. As a first step, she started to work for an “Americanized” family. She was well welcomed by the family she was working for. They provided the shelter Yezierska need. She has her own bed and provided her with three meals a day, but after a month of working, she didn’t receive the wage she was so
Stories of the United States have attracted many immigrants to the United States shores and borders. They have heard of many economic opportunities that they can find here, and they want to make their own version of the American dream. This essay is a
A well-discussed debate among today’s economy is the issues concerning immigrants and their yearning desire to become American citizens. As displayed in The Jungle, a rather perturbing novel about the trials and ruthless temptations early America presents to a Lithuanian family, adjusting to new surrounding and a new way of life is quite difficult. To make matters worse, language barriers and lack of domestic knowledge only seems to entice starvation and poverty among newly acquired citizens, who simply wish to change their social and economic lives to better themselves and their families.
America is not the illustrated land of opportunity to all. The statement provided that, a land giving opportunity to all is judgmental for many concerning reasons. For one, America is known as a country where people of various races are informed of great dreams that seem reachable, but the chances of an immigrant moving to America and starting a new life are slim. Throughout American history, the opportunity to create something has always been difficult and will sincerely remain that way no matter the sacrifices a person must give up on in their life.
As Americans we are raised to believe that every individual has a chance to succeed; that is to succeed financially and economically, but not an equal chance. Ultimately, at...
During the late 1800's, when this novel takes place, the woman's Suffrage movement was gaining momentum in Europe. It is said that Mina read about these new ideas and seemed to wonder how events in her own life would be seen by the New Woman. Including whether they would think she may eat to heartily for a woman. Although she is interested in the concepts, she does not see herself as living this way. Any new skills she learns are for the b...
"Immigrants and the American Dream." Society 33.n1 (Nov-Dec 1995):3(3). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale University. 26 Sep. 2006.
Agriculture is not all work and no play. Many advances can be made in the understanding of agriculture by making available a variety of methods to provide children with a hands-on experience and also educating all individuals about the importance of the practice. The ignorance of urban communities can be overcome with the help of organizations and people within the community. School visits, hands-on experiences, volunteers and organizations are just a few examples of the steps that can be taken to educate Americans about agriculture and close the gap between rural and urban populations.
United States usually known as the “melting pot” and it is a typical immigrant country. In the past 400 years, United States has become a mixture of more than 100 ethnic groups. Immigrants bring they own dream and come to this land, some of them looking for better life for themselves and some want to make some money to send back home or they want their children to grow up in better condition. Throughout the history there’s few times of large wave of immigration and it is no exaggeration to say that immigrants created United States. For this paper I interview my neighbor and his immigration story is pretty interesting.