Hannah Harrell Essay 3 - Rewrite What is the American Dream? According to Wikipedia, the American dream is a “national ethos of the United States, the set of ideas (Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Opportunity, and Equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers.” However, the American dream cannot be defined. I know that, for me, the “American Dream” consists of a nice car, large house, and a happy family. However, all Americans (and non-Americans) have their own interpretation of what they think is the American Dream and that usually is in terms of their own aspirations and dreams. Everyone aspires to dosomething with his or her lives; what that may be is up to the individual. This idea of the American Dream is very present in two of the plays we read:A Raisin in the Sunand Death of a Salesman. In the playA Raisin in the Sun, the Younger family is full of aspirations and each character has their own idea of the American Dream. This dream seems to have become attainable when suddenly the father dies and the family is expecting an insurance claim check of $10,000 (equal to about $80,00 today). However, the family members do not all want to do the same thing with the money and this causes disagreement among the group. The family of five – Lena (the mom), Beneatha and Walter (Lena’s children), Ruth (Walter’s wife), and Travis (Walter and Ruth’s son) – is living in a tiny apartment set in a predominantly African-American neighborhood.
Though the individual dreams of the characters vary, they have an overall desire to somehow escape the current situation they are living in. All Mama wants is for her children to be happy, and this can be seen as her version of the American dream. The first thing Mama does when she receives the insurance check is put a deposit down on a house in Clybourne Park, a predominantly white neighborhood in Chicago. Shortly after she pays this deposit, the neighborhood sends over a representative, Karl Linder, from the New Neighbors Orientation Committee who typically welcomes newcomers in the neighborhood. However, Linder’s visit to the Youngers is under different circumstances as, since the Youngers are African-American, he states “It is a matter of the people of Clybourne Park believing, rightly or wrongly, as I say, that for the happiness of all concerned that our Negro families are happier when they live in their own communities” (Hansberry 407). What Linder is basically trying to say is that the Youngers should not move into Clybourne Park because they are black, and more specifically because they arenotwhite and it would make the current citizens of the neighborhood uncomfortable if they were to move in next door. Linder even tries to bribe the Younger family to stay out of the neighborhood, but the Youngers refuse to take his money.
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