ipl-logo

Comparing The American Dream And A Raisin In The Sun By Langston Hughes

1524 Words7 Pages

The Idea of The American Dream can be interpreted as a mixed blessing for many as they will change who they are or what they believe in just to achieve it. We see this idea in the play A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Robert Nemiroff. This story shows the struggles of an African American family with dreams and hopes and not enough possibilities to achieve them. Another example of this idea is portrayed in the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes. This poem shows a different side of The American Dream, the side that people often ignore because the outcome is not what they hope for. Both of these examples demonstrate a different perspective of “The American Dream”, the one we normally see and the one we choose to …show more content…

This side might not always seem pleasant to discuss but it’s the reality many face when they decide to pursue this dream. “Let America be America Again / Let it be the dream it used to be / Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free” (America never was America to me)....1-5. Hughes touches on the message that America is not what it used to be. Perhaps the land of opportunities does not have the opportunities it says it does and those who come here to find a better life may not always find what they want. Hughes looks at the fact that The American Dream does not always turn out to be as one hopes. The author tells that the dreams this land promises might have a different outcome for many. The fact that this country promises freedom and equality for everyone with different ethnicities, skin colors or genders does not always seems to be the case.”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 / And fighting only the same old stupid plan of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak”….. 20-25. Hughes not only focuses on a certain group but also expresses that this dream affects all different types of people. The author states that the dream for these people is not what they hoped for. The fact that America …show more content…

Lorraine Hansberry in “A Raisin In The Sun” shows the struggles of individual dreams and the obstacles they might have to face to achieve it. All the characters Hansberry portrays had a different dream and had to experienced different obstacles but the importance of a family always dominated. The author wants the reader to understand the importance of a family and that sometimes The American Dream can be achieved as a family rather than individually. On the other hand, Langston Hughes’ “Let America be America Again” states that America never felt like America to him or for the many people addressed in the poem. This nation is full of dreamers, the faithful, and the hopeful but for Hughes and many people this is not the case. The author recites that the idea of The American Dream has been broken and is not longer what it used to be or perhaps it was never that great to begin with. Hughes also shows that this dream has failed for many people with different nationalities, who come here in hopes of a better life and even failed to those Americans that had been

Show More
Related
1227 Words | 5 Pages

“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.” In the poem “Let America Be America Again” by Langston Hughes, the reader here’s from two different speakers, and how they both seperately want America to change. One of the speakers wants America to go back to what it was before, while the other responds in small comments, building up to say the quote you read at the beginning. In the poem “Let America Be America Again” the author has two separate speakers with contradicting thoughts, the author relates to problems that were happening in the real world, and how the author’s rhyme scheme is a vital component to how this poem reads.

Read More
252 Words | 2 Pages

The American Dream is a byproduct of pride that is shown in the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, and in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In A Raisin in the Sun, the play follows a black family’s struggle to achieve their American Dreams to fruition. Walter Lee Jr. is the head

Read More
1587 Words | 7 Pages

In the beginning of the poem, the mood is patriotic and optimistic; however, the poem soon takes on a more serious tone by reminding the audience that America never lived up to its promises for so many people, and instead let them down. Hughes describes what it would mean to really have the America that people say exists and dream about. Near the end of the poem, the poem’s mood changes again. This time, the poet remains hopeful and optimistic that the original dreams for Americans are still possible. He claims, however, that it will require taking the country back from those who continue to take advantage of others and prevent them from truly achieving the freedom the country had promised them and which they

Read More
1290 Words | 6 Pages

The american dream is an ideal of everyone to achieve the hope of having a better life and making great amounts of money but in that sense they aren’t realizing what things they are leaving back and how much they’ll have to sacrifice or loose to gain that thought of American dream. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “ Harlem” by Langston Hughes both shows how the american dream gives hope but the pursuit of hope demolishes. Which is illustrated by the characters showing the corruption of wealth and their moral values. Gatsby the most wealthiest and meticulous person from West Egg which represents new money a society parades its cash through obvious utilization and luxurious drinking and partying but his american dream was only Daisy

Read More
767 Words | 4 Pages

Through imagery, symbolism, and diction, the two passages collectively offer a pessimistic critique on opportunity in America: although the American dream can certainly reinvent one’s future, the dream cannot alter one’s past,

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

How has the American Dream changed from the 1920’s to now and how has the theme of the American Dream been supported by works of American Literature. We will see how the American Dream though time did not follow what the founding fathers set out for us in the declaration of independence and when they said, “The authors of the United States’ Declaration of Independence held certain truths to be self-evident: that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". We will see how the American Dream suffers, what an American Dream is centered on, and how, for some, the American Dream is unattainable. In "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman and in "Harlem" by Langston Hughes we see the American dream depicted, as the loss and utter death of a distracted corrupt American Dream, as the love of the American dream, and as the American Dream for Blacks in a time of segregation and discrimination.

Read More
855 Words | 4 Pages

The Failure of the American Dream in the Context of The Great Gatsby Sun Seo Jeon 전순서 20140880 The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, which is a belief that anyone, regardless of their social class and the situation they are born into, is given opportunities to achieve their own version of success. It is emphasized that American dream is achieved through sacrifice and hard work, not just by chance. This meant to motivate Americans to attain prosperity and happiness. However, there is an ironic interplay between idealism and materialism in this statement of American Dream; the dream suggests hope, opportunity and equality, but in reality, it is to become rich and of higher social status, which is only

Read More
910 Words | 4 Pages

Beneatha’s Dream People have dreams to do or be what makes them happy by setting goals to reach their dream. Dreams are almost like goals that people create in their mind to try to motivate them self to achieve their dream. The American Dream is the idea that everyone who is a U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to be successful and benefit through their hard-work, determination, and initiative. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, Beneatha Younger’s dream is to become a doctor and build a career/life for herself without anyone providing for her which connects to the American Dream through her independence, hard-work, and determination.

Read More
1029 Words | 5 Pages

Close to twelve million immigrants came into the United States between the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. During the 1870s and 1880s, the vast majority of these immigrants arrived in America from Western Europe including Ireland, England, and Germany. Between 1849 and 1882, the United States saw a large number of Chinese immigrants arrive, largely because of the California gold rush. All these people were lured by America’s promise of prosperity, many fleeing the economic hardships of their country. In his poem “Let America be America Again,” Langston Hughes speaks of the American dream that could never be reached by the lower-class and social minorities and speaks on the equality and freedom that every immigrant hoped for but never were able

Read More
1179 Words | 5 Pages

At this time, the dream was equality and being accepted as citizens of the United States. Hughes felt that this goal of liberty and quality for African Americans was very hard to reach or match. A poem that resembles this thought well is titled “Youth”, where Hughes writes, “We have tomorrow… Bright before us… Like a flame” (Hughes 39). This poem has a lot of analysis towards the American Dream.

Read More
1123 Words | 5 Pages

The American Dream: A Raisin in the Sun The American Dream is defined as the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination and initiative. However, in 1950s to the 1960s when the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry was written the American Dream was defined slightly different. Post World War II the idea of the American Dream was owning a home -in a decent neighborhood, starting your own business- becoming an entrepreneur, a good paying job- with longevity, and family planning-

Read More
179 Words | 1 Pages

The picture perfect life that the American Dream promotes is unrealistic and superficial because money is unable to fill the void of happiness or love. Contrary to earlier days, we now life in a time when even a strong work-ethic does not guarantee money, success or opportunities. While many are so ensorcelled by the illusions of the American Dream, we often fail to realize its falsity and constraints. Whether financially or socially, the society coaxes in the unsuspecting American dreamer, only to then spit them out in a wave of despair, failure and hopelessness. As demonstrated by numerous non-conformist individuals, the Dream lies not in the realm of materialism but rather in that of the intangible; often requiring an extreme leap of faith

Read More
475 Words | 2 Pages

“We must bring back our mighty dream again,” said by Langston Hughes. That quote from “Let America be America Again” means everybody in America has a dream and some feel they can’t have a chance to achieve it because of the inequalities in America. Also, Walt Whitman’s poem, “I Hear America Singing,” ties in with the quote because they are working at a lower scaled job, but they are happy. They are happy because they feel that they are experiencing the American dream.

Read More
1060 Words | 5 Pages

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

Read More
1056 Words | 5 Pages

The Problem with the American Dream According to the history books, the widely-known expression “the American Dream” was originally coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931. It was first described in Adams’s book “The Epic of America” as “...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 the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.” Over the years, America has become more egalitarian, but much must be done until there is true equality. Although the concept of the American Dream has always been believed to be open to everyone, throughout American history it has only been continuously accessible to the upper-class majority.

Read More

More about Comparing The American Dream And A Raisin In The Sun By Langston Hughes

Related Topics

Open Document