...An African-American Dream You may know the term, The American Dream. However, your definition of that term is most likely different from mine. For some the dream is to achieve a higher living standard and for others the dream is to be famous. The American Dream also varies depending on which country you are from. Furthermore, the dream can reach unrealistic heights and end in disappointment. In the following paper, I am going to see how the American dream, immigration and race are interpreted in the story “The Thing around your Neck”. I will also look at symbolic meanings and the 2nd person narrator. In the short story “The Thing around your Neck”, the young woman Akunna from Nigeria wins the American visa lottery. She travels to the United States to live with her aunt and uncle, but when the uncle tries to abuse her, she leaves their house. She finds an apartment and a job as a waitress. A young man in the restaurant quickly finds her interesting, and Akunna says yes to go on a date with him, after he has persistently tried to ask her out. They are in a relationship until she gets a letter, informing her that her father is dead. She travels back to Nigeria without her boyfriend even though he offers to travel back with her. America is the land of opportunities, but are these opportunities for everybody? At first Akunna’s family have many expectations to America and thinks that people living in the country gets a big car, house and a gun. Therefore, the country is from...
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...Everybody no matter where they come from has hopes and dreams of becoming extraordinary, but how much are we willing to fight for our dreams? And are we doing it for ourselves or are we just doing it for others’ approval? This is a short story called ‘’Two Kinds’’ (1997) by writer Amy Tan dealing with a mother and daughter who have two different ideas of what succes is. The short story is about a young Chinese immigrant girl called Jing-Mei who lives with her mother and father in the United States of America. The mother set voyage for America in the 1950’s after she had lost her family, her home and her first husband and children in China. She has hopes and dreams for herself and her daughter that the American dream surely will happen to them at some point. She wants her daughter to be a child prodigy while the daughter is trying to live up to her mother’s expectations. As I wrote earlier, the story takes place in the United States of America. Unlike her mother, Jing-Mei has lived her whole life in the U.S.A. Her mother did not have the same opportunities as Jing-Mei back in China, so she is frustrated that her daughter is not even trying to seize any of the many opportunities that she has got in her life, and that she is ignoring the fact that she can become anything, even a genius. She is sacrificing a lot for her daughter by cleaning for Mr. Wong and in return he will teach her daughter to play the piano. The only piano teacher she can afford is Mr. Chong who is deaf and...
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...to chase happiness some people must let go of their fundamental basics. Travelling to another country can be very hard especially the lack of friends, family and the fact that you need to learn an entirely new culture. The short story “Where the Gods fly”, written by a Chinese American writer, Jean Kwok. Jean Kwok tells the story about a family that emigrates from China to America, and how the Chinese mother struggles to give her daughter, Pearl the life she affords. She is bound to her old culture and protects her daughter through her religion and hers decisions. A first person narrator tells the story, from a mother’s perspective. Her, her husband and her daughter migrated from China when her daughter Pearl was a child. While reading the story we notice, that the narrator shifts in the grammatical tense, which is what structures the plot of the story. In the present narrative tense, we find the mother in some sort of religious state of mind, where she prays to specific gods and spirits, for example “Ah, Amitabha, Buddha of great compassion, I whisper…”(p 2 l. 24). While she finds herself in this state, she is reminded of her family’s, life since they moved from China to America, obviously these parts of the story is told in the past tense. The story begins in the present tense, as a sort of description, where she is reflecting about her daughter, how she wants her to quit dancing, where she afterwards explain the family’s journey to...
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...from the American lifestyle and even the country. John Steinbeck was no exception to this movement. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the author uses a simplistic writing style to present the two characters “American Dreams”, while also using symbolism to connect the reader to the characters and the plot of the story. Throughout the book there are many symbols, and each symbol has a story to be told and a lesson to be learned. Candy’s dog for example, represents everyone who...
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...During the 19th century, many Americans started to become irritated and annoyed of typical American stories cliché “all well ends well”. Many Americans at this time struggled with poverty and depression. Americans immigrants at this time were often taken advantage of and never achieved “the American dream”. Citizens became upset with these stories because it did not match up with their stories. All of these stories had happy ending where their stories did not. This is called realism where citizens wanted the truth in stories and not lies. Many writers use realism to speak for the American citizens. Jack London short story To Build a Fire displays that a slight mistake can cost you your life. A man told the protagonist not to travel the Yukon...
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...The American Dream is represented through many books and texts that we read throughout our high school years. Three of the main text that highlight the American Dream as a whole are The Crucible, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men. These stories although very different still have a similar message from the author who wrote it. The time frame for each story is different to express how the American Dream has always been there and will always be something that Americans can thrive for. These stories show how they had religious freedom, personal freedom, and material aspirations. All the characters in these stories all wanted something even if they were poor or rich. They pursued happiness and wanted to achieve the pronounced “American Dream”....
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...thousands of people to abandon their homes and their homeland to experience the American dream. In the short story “The Thing Around Your Neck” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie the main character, a Nigerian woman, Akunna, wins a the American visa lottery, and she is rewarded with the chance to go to the United States of America. Akunna goes to America to experience the American dream but it is then cut short when she is subjected to sexual abuse at the hand of her uncle. In this literary work the author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie portrays the main characters experiences with the clash in cultures, gender conflict, and identity conflict while trying to experience the American dream that she and her family has heard about. One of the themes found in the story was the main character’s , Akunna, experiences with the clashing of cultures upon arriving to the United States of America. We as Americans grow up eating hot dogs and in some places hot dogs are sold on street corners, festivals, family gatherings, and in people’s homes. But when people from other countries travel to the United States they are not used to the food that is eaten by the majority of Americans. Upon arriving, Akunna’s uncle buys her a hot dog with mustard and ends up getting sick, an “introduction to America” her uncle tells her. Akunna gets sick because she is not accustomed to the hot dog which happens to be a part of the American culture. Not long after, with the help of her uncle Akunna then applies for a cashier’s...
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...themes of this short novel. Some of these themes include the impossibility of achieving the American dream, loneliness vs. companionship, and the predatory nature of human existence. Throughout the story these are reoccurring themes that are vital to comprehending the story. The theme of the impossibility of achieving the American dream is a huge part of the story. Many of the characters did not end up where they wanted to be in life. Some of them include Crooks, Curley’s wife, Lennie, and George. Crooks, the black ranch hand, is unable to reach his dreams because of his race. He is segregated from the other men and is viewed differently also because of his crooked back. He wants to be accepted by the others because he feels so alone that it drives him mad. Curley’s wife is also unable to reach her American dream because of her mother, along with her husband. She has dreamt of being an actress for a very long time and because of her mother is unable to move away in order to achieve her goals. Her husband holds her back because he could care less about her; he just wants to be able to show her off, to him she is just a trophy wife. Curley’s wife also tries to act as if she is educated but it is clear that is not the case. She tries to use large words but mixes them up or pronounces them wrong. Just as her husband does, she believes that the only thing that she has going for her is her looks so she tries to use them to her advantage. Lennie and George have the same dream to own their...
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...American Values I read Paradox and Dream by John Steinbeck and three other stories; Everyday Use, The Babysitter, and How to Talk to Your Mother. These stories are postmodern short stories. Now I think Steinbeck’s story is very applicable with current American values. The three stories are a little applicable with current American values. First, Paradox and Dream is mostly about America all together where the other stories are about just a few people. This story talks about all different kinds of people. “A man hungry and unemployed through his own stupidity and that of others, a man beaten by a brutal policeman, a women forced into prostitution by her own laziness, high prices, availability, and despair…” this sentence says a lot about Americans. There are a lot of homeless people who don’t get jobs and are starving because they just gave up on trying getting back on their feet to better their lives. There are so many “bad” cops who get sick of seeing the same people getting in trouble so they beat them to try and teach them a lesson or they think it’s fun picking on other people. They (some) take advantage of their job. Prostitution is really big in America; women are lazy to get a job & to work hard to make money. Prostitution can make you a lot of money but it’s so dangerous because you could be messing with the wrong crew and get put in the sex trade business. Now a lot of women get stuck in this situation. America has high prices like in our gas, clothes, foot, etc...
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...James Thurber By Rahul Patel/10 [pic] Rahul Patel Mr. Hurdle Composition 11 May, 2012 James Thurber Part I: “Authors of light pieces have, nobody knows why, a genius for getting into minor difficulties: they walk into the wrong apartments, they drink furniture polish for stomach bitters, they drive their cars into the prize tulip beds of haughty neighbors, they playfully slap gangsters, mistaking them for old school friends” (James Thurber). James Thurber was a cartoonist and an author. He was born on December 8th 1984 to his parents, Charles and Mary Thurber. Thurber’s father was a clerk and a minor politician, while his mother was a practical joker and very strong-minded. For example his mother would tell visiting guests that she was in love the post man and she had to be kept in the attic because of it. She would also tell people that she was a cripple and then she would suddenly stand up and tell everyone she had miraculously healed(James Thurber 1 of 5). James Thurber also had two brothers, William and Robert. When Thurber and William were little, they were playing with a bow and arrow, and William shot James in the eye. This led James to be partially blind and because of this injury he couldn’t participate in any sports or activities, but this injury developed a very creative imagination in Thurber’s mind. A neurologist at the time had a theory that he might have Charles Bonnet Syndrome, which is a condition that...
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...narrator of the book, a curious choice considering that he is in a different class and almost in a different world than Gatsby and the other characters. Nick relates the plot of the story to the reader as a member of Gatsby’s circle. He has ambivalent feelings towards Gatsby, despising his personality and corrupted dream but feeling drawn to Gatsby’s magnificent capacity to hope. Using Nick as a moral guide, Fitzgerald attempts to guide readers on a journey through the novel to illustrate the corruption and failure of the American Dream. To achieve this, Nick’s credentials as a reliable narrator are carefully established and reinforced throughout the story. The American Dream is a sensitive and beloved topic in American culture. Discussing its failure and corruption needs to be done gently and morally. Fitzgerald understood this, and therefore acknowledged the need of a kind and cordial narrator within a materialistic society. Enter Nick Carraway, who on the first page lets readers know “In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments” pg 7. This statement already serves to set Nick up as a decent and honest man that can be trusted. To back up this statement Fitzgerald included a short section regarding Nick’s family and background. The Carraway’s claim themselves to be loyal Americans. However, when Nick’s great uncle was called to fight in the Civil War, a substitute was sent in his place. This provides concrete evidence of Nick’s honesty. If he is able to see hypocrisy...
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...Of Mice and Men The short story “Of Mice and Men” is written by author John Steinbeck and was first published in 1937. In the story we follow the two main characters George and Lennie’s attempt to fulfil The American Dream doing The Great Depression. The fame of the book has lead to the making of a film based on the book. The film is very similar to the book, however some things have been omitted. This is one of the main focuses of this analysis along with a comment on The American Dream as a theme. The filmatisation of “Of Mice and Men” leans close up to its book. Many times films are often twisted a lot and new scenes are added. However, after reading the book and watching the film this is not the case here. While you watch the film, you remember a lot of the quotes from the book, which are often said word by word. The director has, however, chosen to change the order of some of the scenes though they are the still same. This gives a different dynamic to the story in the film compared to the book. The scene with the girl in the red dress who cries out loud about Lennie, and forces him and George to run away, is an example(p 42-43.). A few more incidents happen before that specific scene in the book, but it is one of the first ones in the film. There is one very characteristic scene in the book where Lennie has run away and starts to hallucinate. He believes his dead Aunt Clara emerges from the bushes along with talking rabbits, which are also a huge symbol in the book...
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...Proving Hemingway Wrong Ernest Hemingway made a quote stating that all American writing came from “one book by Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn” and that there was no American Literature before the book. Hemingway was wrong because, American Literature is written works that are created by utilizing the English language and based off of the culture and history of America. It is true that in the period before Huckleberry Finn, British and European writers influenced the majority of the literature produced. But, as America found its identity while settling in the new found land, so where the early American writers. Moreover, some of the literature produced before Huckleberry Finn is American Literature because it does contain the essential elements...
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...We all like to set goals so we have something to work for, but are these goals always possible? America is a thriving country that creates large footsteps that the rest of the world is dieing to follow in. So, to keep everyone striving for excellence, the “American Dream” was created. This dream was something everyone wanted to obtain and some succeeded, but due to a lack of will, supplies, financial issues, and human error, it has become an impossible one. The “American Dream” has becoming an ever changing idea, but the basic concept will forever remain the same. What is the “American Dream”? The Declaration of Independence proclaims “We hold the truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator...
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...culture, but you still cling on to the values and beliefs from your former life, and wanting your child to share the same beliefs, rules and norms as you and your country of origin, you might find yourself in great trouble, as the culture will have a greater influence on your child than you will, and what will you do about it?. These issues are displayed in the short story “Where the Gods fly” by author Jean Kwok. The short story deals with a family who has emigrated from China to America. The mother struggles as she tries to give her daughter a greater life than she had. The mother and father work at a factory in Chinatown to provide for the family, while their daughter Pearl goes to school. Pearl is given a scholarship to a ballet school, but as time progresses, Pearl becomes disconnected from her parents, as ballet becomes a bigger part of her life, and soon becomes the only thing that she wants to do. This leaves the mother feeling distraught, as it was only her intention to allow Pearl to dance, so that she would not have to be at the factory after school. The mother does not have an understanding of the American culture and therefore refuses to integrate into the society, but Pearl is becoming popular and becomes embedded in the Western culture which is almost completely incomprehensible to the mother. The mother wants to reunite...
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