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Immigrants and the American dream
Immigrants and the American dream
Immigrants and the American dream
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There was once a young girl who was born into poverty who lived in a shabby, cramped house with little food on her table each day. A story of which she was surrounded with families just like hers who felt that their lives were always at risk. Whose sweat and pain came from working around in the house and fields trying to help her parents. This was my mother’s life. She grew up with someone with a similar lifestyle who today happens to be my dad. They had a common dream of living a prosperous life and, fortunately, found a way to come to America. They believed that they could live the American dream of finding a stable job to earn enough money, raising a healthy family, and building a bright future for their children. Luckily for them, their …show more content…
Over the years, I soaked in the education that my parents never had the chance to learn and grew up as a Vietnamese-American girl along with my three other siblings. We lived in a small house that sheltered seven people which was located in a nice and quiet neighborhood. We had neighbors who were willing to lend a helping hand at anytime and helped us expand our knowledge of different cultures by sharing their homemade dishes. At that time, our neighborhood was safe, and we were not afraid to take late night walks or ride our bikes in the neighborhood park. Most of my favorite childhood memories came from playing outside with my family and neighbors, and I get nostalgic every time I drive pass by my (now) old …show more content…
Many of my family members live in Vietnam since they were all not able to come to America, so most of my family lives on the other side of the world. Although large bodies of water are separating us, it did not stop us from staying connected and supporting each other. Because we do not see each other as often, we always made sure to make up for the lost time when we do get a chance to meet. When I do see them, my family always tell me how proud they are of me and motivate me to become a successful person who would someday make a difference in Vietnam or even the world. My family in America and I are close-knitted as well. We made a routine in which we would gather each week and spend time together. As a result, I grew up to become family oriented and ambitious to make them proud once I accomplish my future
Maria de Jesus and Rene did not live in poverty in Mexico but rather had comfortable lives with their grandmother where their mothers would send money and packages. Although the children lived comfortably and had no reason to leave, they missed their mothers and their “American dream” was to reunite with them. The children did have the notion of America being this great, big, beautiful place in which they could have everything they could ever possibly desire, yet the piece that completed this perfect image was to be reunited with their family. However, not all American dreams are similar. As mentioned in Michael Light and Dimeji Togunde’s article “The Mexican Immigration Debate: Assimilation and Public Policy,” there are several factors that could lead to people wanting to migrate, including socio-economical, cultural and demographic reasons. American dreams are a result of what the person feels they lack the
America has always been known as the land of the free, living in America you’re always taught on the idea of living the “American Dream”. That means the chance of being whoever you want to become, deciding the route you want to go in life to live. To most that also means to have a family to take care of and also to have a stable career, own a house, car and more. The part of the dream they don't stress you about enough is that it's not easy to achieve. It takes a lot of hard work in which a lot of people don't achieve unfortunately. In the song and music video “Love Yourz” by J.Cole it shows how the situations in your household can affect the way you grow up and can determine your future. Raising a family is never an easy thing to do, as children
While watching the documentary “Two American Families” there was three aspects I noticed within the two families. The first being how there was a shift in the social class of the families due to economic problems. The second being the role reversal of the male and the female. The third being the effect of the families’ financial instability on the children and their decisions into adulthood.
... wish come true by finally making it to the North, all of their dreams did not come true. As seen through the decades, there was not an abundance of jobs available to immigrants and those that were available were low paying. Many immigrants simply worked until they had made enough money and then went back home to Mexico. In the fall for example, after the harvest in the valley, families of Mexican and American children would load up and head back to Mexico for weeks and months. School teachers would say, “What a shame it was that Mexicans did that to their children” (taking them out of school to travel back to Mexico). The life of immigrants was not all that they had expected, many were homesick for their native land, but yet they did not want to convey to their families how depressing life was in the United States; they only shared the good news. The immigrants at first certainly did not have the opportunities they were promised but they did contribute greatly to our national image and wealth. They also filled a large void after the war started and were given skilled jobs in return for stepping up.
The American Dream was derived from the United States Declaration of Independence which states that, “All mean are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (US 1776). This means that every person has equal opportunity
There are various individuals throughout the world who believe that the American Dream cannot be achieved by all people. Those who agree with this view believe that our culture contains too many roadblocks and obstacles. Some of these obstacles include prejudice, poverty, and social inequality. Another view on this matter is that others believe that America is the “Land of Opportunity”. They also believe that if you can believe it, you can achieve it. Back in the early 20th century, The American Dream meant something to people; nowadays it is a term that various people loosely throw around. The American Dream is not realistic because it is not attainable to everyone like Cal Thomas presumes and although education, budget cuts and lack of employment may seem of some concern to only a small group of people, it should in fact concern anyone who cares about the status of the economy.
To do what makes oneself happy. The American Dream is represented in many different ways and every person lives and chases a different version of the American Dream. Chris McCandless lived his American dream by walking alone into the wilderness of Alaska. The song written by Toby Keith, “American Soldier”, shows the price some pay for their dreams and ours to come true. Jay Gatsby died trying to acheive his dream and get the girl he loved, but died happy because he had pursued her until his death. The band All Time Low wrote a song called “The Reckless and The Brave” that brings a new light to how we go about achieving our dreams. So I believe that the American Dream is all about doing what will make you the happiest in the end.
missing works cited It is the intent of this paper to prove that the "American Dream" can. best be explained as a "city upon a hill." "City upon a hill" meaning " being above and superior to those below. The Civil War, the imperialistic race of the 19th century, the Korean War, the KKK, and the Gulf War are all.
The changing of American families has left many families broken and struggling. Pauline Irit Erera, an associate professor at the University of Washington School of Social Work, wrote the article “What is a Family?”. Erera has written extensively about family diversity, focusing on step-families, foster families, lesbian families, and noncustodial fathers. Rebecca M. Blank, a professor of economics at Northwestern University, where she has directed the Joint Center for Poverty Research, wrote the article “Absent Fathers: Why Don't We Ever Talk About the Unmarried Men?”. She served on the Council of Economic Advisors during the Clinton administration. Andrew J. Cherlin, a professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University wrote the article “The Origins of the Ambivalent Acceptance of Divorce”. She is also the author of several other books on the changing profiles of American family life. These three texts each talk about the relationship between the parent and the child of a single-parent household. They each discuss divorce, money/income they receive, and the worries that come with raising a child in a single-parent household.
As the youngest of five children she was often overlooked. The pride of the family often overrode the opportunity to receive health care, handouts and a decent chance to become something. My mother spent her childhood in a tiny house with her family and many relatives. She was never given the opportunities to excel in learning and life like my generation has. My grandfather was a carpenter and on that living fed many hungry mouths. But despite this already unfortunate lifestyle my mother maintained good grades and was on a path to overcoming her misfortune.
The American Dream can obliterate any prospect of satisfaction and does not show its own unfeasibility. The American dream is combine and intensely implanted in every structure of American life. During the previous years, a very significant number of immigrants had crossed the frontier of the United States of America to hunt the most useful thing in life, the dream, which every American human being thinks about the American dream. Many of those immigrants sacrificed their employments, their associations and connections, their educational levels, and their languages at their homelands to start their new life in America and prosper in reaching their dream.
What is the American Dream, and who are the people most likely to pursue its often elusive fulfillment? Indeed, the American Dream has come to represent the attainment of myriad of goals that are specific to each individual. While one person might consider a purchased home with a white picket fence her version of the American Dream, another might regard it as the financial ability to operate his own business. Clearly, there is no cut and dried definition of the American Dream as long as any two people hold a different meaning. What it does universally represent, however, it the opportunity for people to seek out their individual and collective desires under a political umbrella of democracy.
The American family model traditionally included the mother and father with two kids, a boy and girl. In this 1950’s family model the husband is seen as the breadwinner while the mother is the homemaker. This model is exemplified in the Battleship advertisement where the father is resting from a hard day’s by work playing a board game with his son. At the same time the mother is doing the days dishes with some help drying from her daughter. Today however, these rigid stereotypical roles are no longer applicable to the members of the modern family. With increases in divorce rates and teen pregnancy combined with the shift in economic roles of the majority of families, the traditional nuclear family is a minority (Wetzel, 1990). The JCPenny
What is the American Dream? As James Truslow coined in 1931 " A dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper class to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, able be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position"(Truslow). Most believe that it 's a place and a system where everyone have an equal
The ideal American family was transformed in the 19th century in large part due to the great changes taking place in the American society. Many family groups fit this changing mold while some did not. In this essay I will show how this concept of the ideal American family changed. I will also try to explain which groups of Americans followed this concept and why.