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American Dream. The American ... stance. The American Dream is often something that
humanity wonders about. What is the American dream? Many ...
The Great Gatsby - The American Dream. The statement ... American. You have to work
for the American Dream, it is not simply acquired. Fitzgerald ...
The American Dream Death of Salesman. The American Dream "America has long been
known as a land of opportunity. ... Ben is the representation of the American Dream. ...
American Dream. The ... Mah, Leila’s mother, left her home of China in pursuit
of the elusive “American dream” and came up short. The ...
Two Kinds: The American Dream as a Theme. ... Tan demonstrates this idea through the
different interpretations the two main characters have of the American Dream. ...
Submitted by daffydansk on February 23, 2005
Category: Social Issues
Words: 1159 | Pages: 5
Views: 169
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American Dream
----Compare "Hester Street" and "Eat a Bowel of Tea"
Many years ago, people have immigrated to a new world where they can hope for a more beautiful existence, for the wealth, for the freedoms, for the better opportunities and most importantly, for the American Dreams.
As each new era of foreigners migrate to America, they face the obstacle of conforming to mainstream America. As "Hester Street" and "Eat a Bowl of Tea" portrayed, immigrants come to this land of opportunities with the hopes and dreams of a better life for themselves or their families. In "Hester Street", Jake, a Russian Jewish immigrant who lived in New York's Lower East Side for five years, leaving his wife behind, and taking up with a new woman and earning enough money to support his dance hall ways. On the other hand, in "Eat a bowel of tea", Wah Gay is a traditional Chinese immigrant who owns a club in Chinatown, and sends all his money to his wife back in China, who he has not seen in 20 years because of the inequitable immigration laws that had prevented Chinamen bringing their women into the country.
These immigrants fall within a lower social class, as a result they strive to conform to a more facilitating and suitable lifestyle. As they begin to build a new life in America, they face the process of assimilation. America holds an idea of a mainstream society; consequently those individuals not fitting this image are left with feelings of abandonment and insecurity. As a result, they feel pressured in achieving the American dream.
Let's look at the examples the movies give us. In "Hester Street", Jake, a self-made Yankee, has abandoned the traditions of his culture by cutting off his beard and earlocks, and he has adopted the mannerisms of his new country, including a new girlfriend who runs a dance hall. When his wife Gitl and son Yossele join him from the Old World, Jake was embarrassed. He looks down his wife...
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