Kesaya Noda's Essay 'Growing Up Asian In America'

The American Dream is an illusion created by immigrants, which states that the U.S. has equal opportunity to all to become happy and successful. Every immigrant has this dream of becoming an American citizen or to become more “Americanized”. They believe everything is better in the U.S. They believe that America is a paradise, full of hope, and dreams. They believe that everything is happy and exciting. For example, when my cousins from Guatemala come to visit, they are so excited to everything, such as Hollywood because they believe everything in California is so exciting. However, I believe that I do not feel as excited to see tourist stops, like Hollywood, Santa Monica, etc. because I have gone and seen those places thousands of time. It

In the essay, Growing Up Asian in America, Kesaya Noda, the author, grew up in New Hampshire. She has always felt different because of her grandparents are from Japan. “But now I can say that I am Japanese-American. I have a place here in this country, too. I have a place here on the East Coast..”(35). Throughout the essay, Kesaya is telling the audience about her constant struggle of not feeling American. Several classmates and people have made racist jokes that have offended her and feel ashame. However, she’s realized, in the end of the essay, that she is equally important. And her grandparents have gone through a lot for her to live in the U.S. In the poem, Let America Be America Again, Langston Hudges writes about different people that have been discriminated from the American Dream and their point of view of America. They have felt discriminated and haven’t felt that the America is their home. They have been prevented to live their American Dream. “I am the poor White, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-”(38). Several people have felt there’s a lot of discrimination in America. And they feel that the American Dream is not able to obtain. However, based on the Declaration of the Independence, all men are created equal and have a chance for equal opportunity. America is full of different races, ages, cultural, etc.In the essay, Growing Up Asian in America, Kesaya has felt discrimated about her race, however she has understood that she is equal to everybody else. In the poem, Let America Be America Again, it talks about how several people have been discriminated, but there’s several documents stating that all men are