#22 “Achieving the American Dream”
Our heritage is an important part of who we are. Our heritage is something that is inherited from our great ancestors.Although I was born in America, my parents were born in Ecuador therefore my heritage is Ecuadorian. In America many immigrants come to find a better life. While being in America some immigrants forget about their heritage and follow the American ways. As generations follow the children of the first immigrants have lost their heritage due to following the American ways. We have to remember that our heritage makes us who we are and we can never forget about it. Our heritage can help ourselves and help those around us.
In “Achieving the American Dream” Andrea Cuomo and Immaculata Giordano both come to America to live a better life for them and their family to come. After having three children, they decide to open an Italian grocery. This is an example of having pride in their heritage. When Mario Cuomo was born the Italian Grocery was full of customers waiting for many things such as “the provolone, the Genoa salami, the prosciutto, the fresh bread, the fruits and vegetables. Our store gave our neighbors a delicious taste of Italy in New York.” This example states that the grocery gave people around New York a taste of their Italian heritage.
“My parents lacked the
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This story explains to not be ashamed of your heritage but to embrace it, because it is that, that makes you the person who you are. Taking pride in your heritage has a great effect in yourself and to others. The positive effects of having pride gives things to people like Mario’s parents who gave people in New York a taste of Italian food. Another positive effect of having pride in your heritage is sharing your history with people to help them, such as the values Mario was taught by his parents that not only helps him but can help
And, of course, to the immigrants who make up 13 percent of the US population, it is a place where they were given a chance to live the dream. The American Dream. The dream composed of ideals which make America the great country it is today: democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity, and equality. The ideals rooted into our nation’s soul because like James Truslow Adams said in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth”.
In all their combined roles, immigrants made a vital contribution to the economy. They compose an increasingly essential proportion of the workforce. " An Italian girl who has lessons in cooking at the public school will help her mother to connect the entire family with American food and household habits. That the mother has never baked bread in Italy–only mixed it in her own house and then taken it out to the village oven–makes all the more valuable her daughter 's understanding of the complicated cooking stove.
Is It Worth Pursuing? The American Dream is something similar to all people, but it is something everyone views different. Many have come and continue to come to America to chase that opportunity to get that American Dream. That, dream is anything you wish for in life.
Native Americans, African Americans, and immigrants from certain countries are just some of the groups that have historically been denied citizenship in the United States. The difficult details of the struggle and resistance that constitute the reality of American identity are not an easy story to accept. In his article, Kendi writes, "To be an American is to be a dreamer and a critic, an optimist and a realist, a believer. " This quote resonates with me because I believe that being an American is about balancing opposing forces and perspectives.
The Russian girl states, “Here I was with so much richness in me, but my mind was not wanted without the language. And my body, unskilled, untrained, was not even wanted in the factory. Only one of two chances was left open to me: the kitchen, or minding babies” (Yezierska). The Russian immigrant’s experience shows that in order to be successful in America one must adapt to its customs and practices. Eddy Isango the author of an online article titled Obstacles to the American Dream, quotes an immigrant named Laurent Kondohoma, “I’m here to learn English because the language is the biggest obstacle on my way to achieve my dream in America”, Kondohoma reveals that in order to attain the American dream one must learn the language of the dominate culture.
In many occasions the confusion of maintaining two cultures can lead into distress. Robert C. Smith has studied that children of immigrant parents, specifically Mexican-Americans in New York City in the book, Mexican New York: Transitional Lives of New immigrants where he studies the social troubles Mexican-American children face living in New York and having immigrant parents. Smith speaks about the struggles that Mexican American children go through as they live in New York and trying to fit in the city’s environment as well as keeping the Mexican culture at home. When raising these children, Smith showed the struggle Mexican immigrant parents undergo raising in a place that is not Mexico. Wanting what is best for their children, while maintaining culture at home, these parents determine three possible paths their children can possibly take to better their lives.
For a nine-year-old who wants nothing more than to make her mother proud this was exciting. In the beginning, we can see her excitement and desire, “in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so.” (Tan). However, as we follow the story we see her excitement quickly fade to sorrow and anger. The high expectations immigrant families place on their children is still a very relevant social issue and can be witnessed throughout the United States.
Miranda does this by telling the story of Alexander Hamilton. Miranda shows his audience that Hamilton had a dysfunctional childhood, but he was still able to become an American hero. “How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore, and a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten Spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?” (9;09). By revealing this information, Miranda alerts the audience to the circumstances of Hamilton’s birth into a family with unmarried parents.
The race and economic standing one is born with in America will decide the life paths that are available to them throughout their life. Ta Nehisi Coates argues that the American dream
Throughout generations cultural traditions have been passed down, alongside these traditions came language. The language of ancestors, which soon began to be molded by the tongue of newer generations, was inherited. Though language is an everlasting changing part of the world, it is a representation of one’s identity, not only in a cultural way but from an environmental standpoint as well. One’s identity is revealed through language from an environmental point of view because the world that one is surrounded with can cause them to have their own definitions of words, an accent, etc. With newer generations, comes newer forms of languages.
No matter who you are or where you have come from, you have undoubtedly heard of the American Dream. The idea that no matter who you are or where you have come from, you can do whatever it is you desire in America. What was once one the main driving forces for immigrants to flock to the new world, has slowly changed over the years, but still holds its value in the eyes of those who are looking for a promising new place to live. The American dream might not hold the same awe inspiring sound that it once did, but for many generations before ours it was a beacon of hope that helped build the foundation that the United States was built on. And, still, today the American dream might not be as achievable as it once was, but it is still an important
The American Dream: Happiness The key to achieving the American dream is to live life happy. No matter if it is happiness with money, love, freedom, or safety all people deserve the American dream. Everyone has their own way of pursuing an "American dream". Many immigrants have come to America to pursue that dream.
Over the years America has been the place to travel to try an escape poverty and be available for much better opportunities and overall a happier life. As time quickly passes the American Dream has been slowly but surely has been fading away into the faint distance and the only way to find it is through money demanding more and more each year to even get a glimpse of the modern day American Dream. People struggling to fight their way through to not have to worry about finances just live a constant happy life. Since America has grown so much finding the American Dream has become a financial adventure it has been tough for many families that barely make enough to get by even more so support their family.
Both Jerre Mangione’s Mount Allegro and Pietro di Donato’s Christ in Concrete discusses formulations of immigrant narratives through the use of descent and consent relations to describe how immigrants inherit their cultural heritage and how they subsequently identify with their cultural heritage through their choices respectively. For Italian American immigrants, particularly second-generation Italian immigrants, although family traditions, values, and ideologies are passed down through generations, either through oral stories told by family members or through the teachings from the mother, whom often play the role of preserving the family’s cultural traditions, the internalization of their cultural upbringing, is dependent on their choices.
The American Dream begins with an affordable living arrangement and a good job, but with remorse, these two pieces are not connecting (Thompson, 2014). A college graduate can expect expensive housing with a job not reflective of the high housing price. In an article published in The Atlantic, “Why it’s So Hard for Millennials to Find a Place to Live and Work” Derek Thompson talks about the inequality between upward mobility and the housing market. For example, Dayton has one of the most affordable housing markets in the United States, however unlike California there is no social mobility (Thompson, 2014). The American dream is different for everyone and changes the course of action an individual may take.