The American Dream In Richard Right's 'Black Boy'

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Joshua Neary Mr. Schmiedlin APLAC 3/14/2024 America’s Dream America is built on many beliefs and ideals. One of the strongest ideals is that of capitalism and the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that any opportunity, if one works hard enough, is able to be reached and achieved. Although many middle to lower class Americans today dispute this idea, they are wrong. The American Dream is still alive and vibrant for each American today, as long as they set their mind to it. Therefore, The American Dream is strongly rooted in the idea that regardless of anyone’s circumstances at birth, they will be able to achieve their goals. James Truslow Adams was the creator of the term “The American Dream,” and he was able to live it, becoming …show more content…

In Richard Right’s “Black Boy” there is something very similar. Wright talks about the protagonist planting himself in alien soil and seeing if it could grow differently and perhaps bloom. Of course this is all a metaphor, but, it greatly fosters the idea that anyone can achieve their goals as long as they plant their seed and experiment with the idea of The American Dream. Continuing this thought in Paul Cohen’s “ The rise and fall of the American Linguistic Empire” he writes about the multicultural and linguistic changes and differences that the US is experiencing. In the passage, he writes “Though you wouldn’t guess it from current trends in higher education, the United States is itself home to a multilingual society—and is becoming more so with each passing year.the number of native Spanish-speakers in the United States has doubled since 1990.” Cohen makes it clear that the growing use of other languages like Spanish in the US will contribute to lots of …show more content…

Tammy Duckworth, a United States senator, said that “The American Dream I believe in is one that provides anyone willing to work hard enough with the opportunity to succeed.” Duckworth’s quote adds to the fact that “anyone” is able to achieve the American Dream. For her, anyone is given the opportunity if they are willing to work hard enough. What Duckworth and Cohen wrote/said proves the point that even though the concept could be changing to conform to modern ideals, it will always be achievable by anyone living in America. Notably, Kamala Harris, the Vice President of the United States of America, said, “The American Dream belongs to all of us.” Also in the great Gatsby Fitzgerald writes “‘Anything can happen now that we’ve slid over this bridge,’ I thought; ‘anything at all. . . .’ Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder.” These two quotes from Kamala Harris and Fitzgerald support even further the idea that anyone can achieve the American Dream. Kamala Harris saying that the American Dream belongs to all of us means that it is the American Dream for a reason and it is the people’s to

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