The Epic of America, Essay Example

The American Dream is a term that was first coined in 1931, in The Epic of America, but James Truslow Adams. This was during the time of the Great Depression in the United States, the term originated from the aspects of the social and political expectations, as well as the religious promises, and complex beliefs that living in America stood for. More importantly, it was used to describe the American Way of Life. Rooted in the definitions defined in the American Constitution that all men are created equal. While there is no universally accepted definition, the American Dream is something that many immigrants, as well as naturalized American citizens have aspired to.However, the American Dream has changed since the Great Depression, while many still dwell that the factors of the American Dream coincide with social mobility, and the acquisition of wealth, others believe that it is the equal treatment of all citizens. This paper is tasked with defining the American Dreamer, as well as defining the American culture, and how it relates to those that are not only born in America, but came to America.

In “The Native Speaker”, Liu wrote, “You “made it” in society not only by putting on airs of anglitude, but also by assiduously bleaching out the marks of a darker, dirtier past.” (Liu1) This was more along the lines of those that “whitening” themselves, or essentially assimilated into the Western culture. The American Dream was once thought of times in which through hard work and perseverance one can be happy a lead a successful life in America. Even with the changing times, those that manages to achieve this success or happiness, or believed to be living the American Dream. The American Dreamer is those that have the philosophy that in living in America, they must live a better life than their parents, are those around them. However, the American Dream is largely criticized for leaving out the rooted inequality of ethnicity, religion, race, and class. The American Dreamer, for those that are not white, have to work harder to achieve the American Dream. The symbolic significance of the American Dreamer is one that represents a desire to arise in their class, acquire enough wealth to lead a successful life. To Lui, the symbolic significance of the American Dreamer was to be strictly be seen as an American. Although he had to assimilate into the culture, but leaving behind his cultural identity, he took up the customs, and the American culture, to see himself as just an American.

For Langston Hughes he said America was never America to him, let there be American dreamers, but the dream wasn’t for him or any other Blacks. “There’s never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this “homeland of the free.” (Hughes) For those that are poor, black, immigrants, and Native Americans that were pushed off their land, their can’t dream the American Dream, according to Hughes. His definition of the American Dreamer, is one that is embraced by minorities and poor that live in America. While others may differ on the American Dreamer, such as Bharati Mukherjee, who believes, “The United States exists as a sovereign nation. America,” in contrast, exists as a myth of democracy and equal opportunity to live by, or as an ideal goal to reach.” (Mukherjee 1) For her being a naturalized citizen, the American Dream is one that desires to be an American, as a form of self-transformation, in which to be seen as equal to all. The American Dreamer, is one that has many meanings, but it is the overall acceptance to be seen as an American that is equal to not only the naturally born citizens, but also in aspects of race, class, and gender.

When Mukherjee states, “I am a naturalized U.S. Citizen and I take my American citizenship very seriously. I am not an economic refuge, nor am I a seek of political asylum. I am voluntary immigrant.” (Mukherjee 3) She means that she wanted to be an American, because if afforded her the ability to fuse the two cultures. Her life in Canada made her feel as though she was an expatriate from Bengali. She wanted to move to the United States, because she was not only able to be equal to all citizens, and not be politicized into the culture of the country. A voluntary immigrant is one like the author that chose to immigrate to the country, because she wanted to be an American. Not forgetting one’s past or culture, but to be a part of a country that built their foundation that all men are created equal, and to fulfil their initiatives for human rights. In the wake of so many race-related events, the ideology of the American Dream for foreigners has been  usurp by the Eurocentric perspective in which immigrants are the blame for he social and economic problems due to the flawed foreign and domestic policies. (Mukherjee 4) The “us vs. them” mentality has reared its head again to pit those that are American, against those that are not. The Eurocentric view in which many Americans hold, are that of, “Americans see themselves as the embodiments of liberty, openness, and individualism, even as the world judges them for drugs, crime, violence, bigotry, militarism, and homelessness.” (Mukherjee 3) It has led to the backtracking of the transformation of seeing’s one biological identity, overtake, the identity in which they adopted by becoming an American citizen.

In rejecting the aspect of being seen as an Asian-America, or Indian-American, Mukherjee wanted to be seen as just as an American, because she did not feel she needed to separate herself from her adopted American identity, because she was non-white. To her it would seem she would feed into the “us vs. them” mentality. More importantly, it would force the country to deliver on their promises illustrated in the Constitution that all men and women were equal. In her words, she rather be in the present, then to dwell in the past. By fully embracing her American citizens, she is committed to helping to shape the future of America, and celebrate the cultural and racial mongrelization. (Mukherjee 4) Lui echoed this as well in his opus, in which he saw himself as an America, rather being seen as Asian-American. “For here I am now, standing in a new country. Not as an expatriate or a resident alien, but as a citizen.” (Lui 5) While Hughes, may still not see himself as an American, however he also felt that “the land where every man is free” (Hughes). In this regard, he believed that America could be that nation in which African American, Native Americans, and other races worked to make great, could be a place where they all belonged, and treated equally. There are many that hold these regards on both sides. For Mukherjee, she wanted to not been seen as an outsider, but as a person that was able to integrate both her culture and her race into the American society. Even with the criticism from other Indian-Americans that her rejection of the hyphenation denied her culture. The guilt that she saw from others from hanging on to their “pure culture.” This means those that immigrate to America, still should practice and facilitate their culture from their homeland, as many first-generation immigrants did. However, the second-generation does not always follow their footsteps, and instead assimilate to the western culture. Mukherjee belief is that they do not have to fully forget, but instead ingrate both cultures in which they pass on to their children, with both the American culture, and the culture their parents practiced.

Overall, the American Dreamer is different to everyone, as is the American Dream. The original definition has transformed throughout time to incorporate the different elements of what it means to be an American. As well as what it means to be happy or successful in America. Even with criticisms still to how demographic elements impacts the American Dream, the American Dreamer is one that wishes to be seen as equal and to be treated equal.

Works Cited

Hughes, Langston. “Let America Be America Again.” Print.

Liu, Eric. “Notes of a Native Speaker.” The Accidental Asian. 1998. Book.

Mukherjee, Bharati. “American Dreamer.” American Dreamer: Immigration Politics of Hyphenation. New York Council For The Humanities Conversations Bureau.