Julián Castro's Speech Analysis

Julián Castro, during the 2012 election, stood behind Barack Obama for his re-election campaign, explaining to the crowd during his Keynote speech the impact Obama has on the middle class. He used his family’s life story as an example of the American Dream and how his grandmother and mother’s challenges and opportunities led to his eventual prosperity. His grandmother’s hands, wrinkled and calloused from cleaning and cooking started the family’s relay race. His mother’s long nights studying that led to her being the first one in the Castro family to be enrolled in college as well as her activism and fights for civil rights led Julián and his brother Juaquin to be able to be accepted in both College and Law School, which eventually led to Julián

He spoke of how the dream of raising a family where hard work is awarded is a human dream, a universal dream, but America makes it possible with its investment in opportunity and thus is approachable for many people. Any specifics made in his family’s specific case were credited to education. Castro’s Grandmother had little to no education to speak of, whereas his mother worked harder and was capable of obtaining a higher degree of education and finally there is Julián and Juaquin who went off to Law School. Education, as observed, is the primary vehicle through which social status is transmitted and through this means is how social status is indirectly transmitted to the next generation. Each generation of the Castro family has an opportunity that led to prosperity for the next generation. Castro was right when he stated that the American Dream wasn’t something special that only his family could achieve. It’s been happening to numerous families for centuries, especially those that categorize as middle class. Money, albeit not being the “be-all end-all”, is especially important for the survival of people in today’s world. Working hard for a better future is something numerous people try to achieve, myself and my family