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An Open Letter To Coates Summary

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The author of An Open Letter to Ta-Nehisi Coates, Jason D. Hill, wrote this letter to Coates. In it, Hill openly expressed his disagreement about Coate’s idea of The American Dream. The author felt the obligation to contradict Coates to let him know that The American Dream exists for everyone no matter the color of their body. The author is a proud American citizen and loyal to the United States even when he is an immigrant and he is concern about how Coates, a born in the United States can talk about the American Dream as a “Horror Story.” Jason D. Hill was born in Jamaica, he was 20 years old when he entered the United States. He makes sure to mention that he was a Legal Immigrant to prevent himself from someone questioning. Hill also lets Coates known that he is a Black body just like him, just like Coates’ son, and just like Vanessa a woman that is too dark to be in Trinidad. He believes that other countries can discriminate based on skin tone but that does not happen in the United States. This because he does not see skin color as a problem to live in The American Dream. The American Dream offered Hill equality, liberty, freedom of speech, peace and education achievements. Hill mention We the People to make clear …show more content…

The United States is one of the countries with the most tolerance for LGBTQ community: offers equality for everyone. He came with the idea to go to the university, and after a time he was able to get his PH.D. in philosophy. The American Dream is opportunity to go study and become someone. Opportunity to be your true self. But the main purpose of Hill is to tell Coates to stop victimising himself. He expresses his beliefs about self-cultivated moral character, where he stated that if an individual look at him/herself as a victim he/her is failing to him/herself. It is not America failing the individual because the individual is not living the

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As Coates departs from Dr. Jones house he thought over the loss of his dear friend. He thinks of the protesters and how perhaps their bodies was abused because they knew that it was not theirs, to begin with. Coates informs his son that it is unlikely that the dreamers will never come to their consciousness. It is clear that racial justice and the dream does not seem to be going away anytime soon, that the black will suffer from inequality and injustice for a very long time. Despite, our society having a former black American president, the media focusing on the protest against police killings Coates sees no prospect of much change.

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It is the matter of common knowledge that the American Dream is a conception referring to a desire of having a social regulation in which every male and female individual is capable of reaching the fullest importance that is normally unattainable, and be distinguished by the community for their true substance, despite the fortunate conditions of the status. Moreover, this idea denies any limits or boundaries and provides equal opportunities for people of any age, gender, or race. “The Great Gatsby” and “Bodega Dreams” feature characters that most clearly represent a desire or indifference to join such a society. After all, the American dream is not different for a person of color in “Bodega Dreams” and “The Great Gatsby” because both characters view it as money, love, having a knowing name as well as being successful. There is no reason for the dream to be divergent for a person of another race.

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Jerrione Mosley In the book Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes a letter to his son revealing the reality of life, growing up as a black man. Coates mostly focused on how black lives and bodies lacked value in America and could be possibly destroyed or taken away at any time. He also talked about “The Dream”, which is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The lack of values and importance for the black race is highly in effect.

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The "Dream"-- "...perfect houses with nice lawns. It is memorial day cookouts, block associations, and driveways." (pg. 11) -- simple actions and ideologies based in the ignorance of those who believe they can do no wrong. Coates uses the "Dream" to depict the consequences of the unrecognized effects of passive racism, and the rationalization of white supremacist's actions through the eyes of those who bow down to the ideas pushed into their head by society's ever long traditions. He uses the "Dream" as a metaphor for the status obtained by privileged individuals, and the belief that those with privilege are entitled to have it simply by nature.

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Through this movie, it is important to take notice of how gender, education, class and traditional culture can influence a person’s journey to achieve the American dream. First, it can be seen that

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As a black person in America, I have come to realize that there are many other people that see my race as inferior. It is often difficult to consider this thought in my everyday life and after reading Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates has demonstrated that I am not the only black person in America who feels this way. The most powerful message that I encountered in this story is the fact that I come into this world with the world already against me and I am constantly trying to find who I am versus what others perceive of me. Being black in America forces individuals to change their natural being to try and live up to the standards of others. The American standard or the “American Dream” is described by Coates as a goal that cannot

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As an immigrant, his view on the American Dream was originally an optimistic one; he believed that America was a place to start anew. His view on The American Dream, however, changed when he came to America. As he lived through the conflicts and struggles of the War of 1812 ("Thomas Birch"), Birch’s perspective on the American Dream shifted to a more realistic one. He had the revelation that while American Dream is to work hard in order to have a chance at an ideal life, people are not warned about the adversity they will face as they try to start over. As a result, the majority of people who try to achieve this goal fail and must settle for what society gives them.

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“The term American Dream was first used by the historian James Truslow Adams in 1931 to explain what had attracted millions of people of all nations to settle in America” (American Dream then and now 1). The idea of the “American Dream” has changed for all ethnic groups throughout time; but my primary focus is African­ Americans. In general, “The early settlers in America hoped for a better life than the one they had left behind in Europe. Their main reasons for leaving Europe were religious persecution, political oppression and poverty” (American Dream then and now 1). Today, “Critics see the American Dream as a clever political and economic strategy” (American Dream then and now 2).

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One of the main points that he states is that people can not be morally judged for what is not their fault or circumstances out of their control. This main point that he tries to get across is valid because we should not judge people based on what they can not control. This judgment that we make is not accurate, it is all relative to one’s views. Instead we should try to make judgements as objectively as possible to avoid this narrow minded thinking. This is because the world is not all black and white, but shades of gray that there potentially could be no true right or wrong.

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Lazarus uses a welcoming tone to describe America and its people, implying that it is a land of freedom. America is a country that doesn't hold anyone back. Everyone has a right to pursue whatever they want in life and are a new person with equal rights and accessibility at their fingertips.

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With this story, Irving warns his audience not to mistake the true meaning of the American dream: “It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position” (Adams

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Dreams are hard to attain without discrimination, but with discrimination it is even harder to do, for this reason women had a hard time of achieving their dream, “While some women surely found some satisfaction in their domestic roles and knew their work to be both hard and necessary, many were aware that domestic labor was not only undervalued by their fellow Americans but also would never lead to success and stature”(Loranger). This quote proves that with discrimination against gender it was hard to attain the American Dream because even while doing work

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They have their own house, food to eat, and animals to attend to as they live blissfully within the world. The narrative emphasizes that the black man thinks and feels that he has achieved the American Dream, “He’s got an interstate running’ through his front yard. You know, he thinks, he’s got it so good.” Although, some Americans might think this type of lifestyle is not ideal for living the American Dream. Mellencamp indicates that there are different levels of how people perceive of achieving the American Dream.

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Take for example Michelle Obama's 2012 speech where she proclaims, “If farmers and blacksmiths could win independence from an empire, if immigrants could leave everything they knew for a better life on our shores, surely we could give everyone in this country a fair chance at the American Dream”. Exemplified in this expert is the cornerstone of the American persona, the eagerness to dream. Americans will always hold onto this dream because it has been passed down for generations. Some have witnessed the dream and others are still waiting, but despite adversity, people will continue to hope. In this way, the American Dream is alive and well because people are always going to crave that promise of

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The American Dream is often known to be a great thing, giving new lives and jobs to immigrants, but are their lives really better in The United States? Chimamanda Adichie reveals how The American Dream is not what it seems to be in “The Thing Around Your Neck.” Her short story follows the life of Akunna as she deals with all of the hardships like stereotypes, racism, and the struggles of finding a comfortable life that come from moving to the United States. From all of these hardships, the reader thinks about whether The American Dream is still relevant, and about if The American Dream still takes place today. Through the characterization of Akunna’s boyfriend as an inconsiderate person on the inside and the symbolism of the fortune cookies, Adichie implies that The American Dream is an illusion and lie towards people coming in from other countries.

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