ipl-logo

The American Dream In Lucy Mulloy's Una Noche

1013 Words5 Pages

In Una Noche, three teenagers, Raul, Elio, and Lila, prepare for and eventually make the 90 mile journey from Havana, Cuba to Miami, Florida. The two young men desire to leave Cuba in search of a better life while Lila, Elio 's sister and narrator of the film, joins at the last minute because she does not want to be separated from her twin. Lila is the pragmatic voice of reason amongst the three and is not completely sold on the perfect life that Raul proclaims they will find in Miami. Elio is not as enthusiastic about the American dream and is primarily travelling with Raul to Miami due to his suppressed romantic feelings for the other young man. Una Noche was directed by Lucy Mulloy, a first time director who decided to make the film after …show more content…

A major theme of the film is how the main characters, especially Raul and Lila, perceive the United States. Raul 's perception of what life will be like for them in America is extremely skewed. This is indicated by his decision to dress nicely for the intense 90 mile journey because he believes he will easily be able to find his absentee father right as he arrives in Miami. No details are revealed about Raul 's father or when he left, but in Raul 's mind, his father has become very successful, owns a sports car, and is involved with a multitude of women in the United States. This concept of the American dream is not an actuality for countless immigrants and Lila gives Raul a reality check. She lets him know that they will still be working in kitchens in America, but in Cuba they would at least have health care. Raul 's concept of America as the perfect land of opportunity and instant success is a dangerous idea that causes disappointment for many, who find themselves working just as hard to make a living here as they did back home. At the end of the journey when only Raul and Lila arrive in America, Raul 's father is not waiting and their first steps on American soil are weak stumbles. The film ends on an abrupt note with their arrest and leaves their ultimate fate unknown, mirroring the uncertainty that generations of immigrants have felt when arriving in the United

Show More
Related

Book Report On Enrique's Journey By Nazario

219 Words | 1 Pages

The book I am reading is Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario. I predict that the author will explore the human rights issue of Immigration Laws and the plight of illegal aliens in the United States. I believe that this issue will be important in the story because Enrique the main character in the story is very driven to find his mother who has gone herself illegally to the United States to earn money to provide an education for her children and to better the life of her family. I made this prediction because Lourdes leaves her children in Honduras as she goes to make money in the United States and her son Enrique is left saying “Donde esta mi mami?” “Where is my mom?”

Read More

Rhetorical Devices In Enrique's Journey

1072 Words | 5 Pages

Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario is the story about a boy in Honduras whose mother left him to pursue a better life in America. This story encompasses the coming of age period of Enrique’s life and many of his experiences can be related to by other children, even in different situations. Nazario develops an interesting novel that both documents the journey of Enrique to the United States but also creates a dramatic tone like a fiction novel would have. Through her diverse use of rhetorical strategies, Nazario was able to explain the positive and negative effects of family relationships through the life of Enrique. She does this by utilizing different literary devices, most evidently, nomos, in which she relates with the story and also opens

Read More

Review Of The Book 'How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents'

960 Words | 4 Pages

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents is mainly about four girls named Carla, Sandra, Yolanda, and Sofia and how they are forced to move to the United States of America. The novel expresses how they struggle adapt and the challenges they face during this transition. The challenges they face are quite similar to the discriminations that black people experienced during those times. The family originally lived in the Dominican Republic in a big house with maids.

Read More

Character Analysis: Bless Me, Ultima By Rudolfo Anaya

1649 Words | 7 Pages

Gabriel, a vaquero, who exposes the love of the llano, expresses his way of life and freedom. Their kids, three eldest sons, two daughters, and youngest son Antonio, the protagonist, become

Read More

Literary Techniques In Enrique's Journey

688 Words | 3 Pages

From Mexico to the United States, a very dangerous journey some take to have a better life or to reunite with their family. Even people who are as inexperienced, such as Enrique, go through this dangerous path to reunite himself with his mother. In the novel, Enrique's Journey, author Sonia Nazario uses literary devices such as theme, characterization, and POV to show us how events change a character along the way and reveals how a character truly is. Sonia Nazario uses theme to show us the drastic change in character, characterization to show us how the dangers of this journey has an impact on someone, and POV to show us how the character is someone else’s perspective.

Read More

Analysis Of Esperanza Rising

395 Words | 2 Pages

The story starts in Aguascalientes, Mexico, at El Rancho de las Rosas, where Esperanza lives. Later in the story, Esperanza moves to a Mexican immigrant worker camp in California. Main Problem and Resolution Esperanza and her family must flee to a Mexican immigrant worker camp in California. Work is hard for Esperanza, especially when her Mama gets Valley Fever, her Papa is dead, and there’s a strike for better wages. "

Read More

Tortula Curtain Satire

460 Words | 2 Pages

One of the most ironic quotes of the book is when Delaney states, “I have a handful of raisins and a blanket: what more could I want? All the world knows I am content.” Illegal immigrants, America and Candido, are living day by day with a blanket

Read More

Real Women Have Curves Essay

992 Words | 4 Pages

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

Read More

The American Dream In Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin In The Sun

1664 Words | 7 Pages

Chicago served as a home to numerous walks of life in the 1950’s, and much of the differences in realities were based on differences in race and people’s opinions of segregation. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun is based off of real life experiences, and it authentically tells the story of an african american family that strives for equality and The American Dream. Walter Younger, the father of the family, battles with deferred dreams of his own and for his family. Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun and Nina Simone’s song “I Wish I knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” both portray Walter’s emotions throughout his daily struggles with his family as they dealt with segregation and destitution. Money was a large contributor

Read More

The American Dream Jennifer Hochschild Analysis

212 Words | 1 Pages

Jennifer L. Hochschild describes the American dream as “the soul of the nation.” She clearly illustrates the importance of the dream to American culture. So, what is the American dream according to Hochschild? She was referring to John Locke and his fantasy, then said “But the sentence evokes the unsullied newness, infinite possibility, limitless resources that are commonly understood to be the essences of the “American dream.” She also pointed out the flaws in the American dream and how at times the pursuit of it can lead to counterproductive outcomes not just for the individual but society as a whole.

Read More

The American Dream In Into The Wild

529 Words | 3 Pages

The Oxford Dictionary defines the “American dream” as, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative”. The American dream hasn’t evolved since the coining of the idea; the dream is still to have a steady job, a nice house, and a pleasant family. However, that dream does not appeal to everyone. Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild looks back upon the incredible journey of Chris McCandless. The story of a well-to-do young man who after graduating from a high-ranking university, donates all of savings to charity, burns the cash in his wallet, abandons all of his material possessions, and cuts ties with all of his family and friends to embark on his own personal odesseye in nature to carry out an adventure living in

Read More

The American Dream: Annotated Bibliography

517 Words | 3 Pages

Annotated Bibliography Cohen, M. (2014, April 26). The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream. The Guardian, p. 00. “The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream” by Michael Cohen explains the perception of Americans towards the decline of the middle class. The article details how the middle class was viewed before the elections of President Obama, and how it’s viewed after the creation of the Affordable Care Act.

Read More

The Money By Junot Kake Analysis

721 Words | 3 Pages

The text is also showing that from Mr. Díaz’s perspective it seems to be harder to live in America as an immigrant, an example in the text is when Mr. Díaz writes “The dolt and his family had been in the U.S. all their lives and they had a ton of stuff, a TV in every room, (2)”. In this example, it seems as if he is implying that being more American would make you wealthier. Mr. Díaz is not

Read More

Ageism In Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men

1262 Words | 6 Pages

They all face discrimination and it makes a hard task, achieving their American Dream, almost impossible. Curley’s Wife, Candy, and Crooks all have an American Dream, but they never achieve it. They all want a simple life where they are treated with respect and allowed to support themselves. None of them get what they want. Curley’s wife ends up dead and Candy and Crooks end up with nowhere to go but back to the ranch and a life where they are hated and shunned.

Read More

Julia Alvarez's Theme Of Freedom In Before We Were Free

511 Words | 3 Pages

In search for a better life outside of the Dominican Republic, Anita’s whole family tries to move to America. One day sitting in her room, Anita look out her window to see no one left on the compound. Anita explains, “I look out the door and down the dark driveway. The whole flock of our family has fled. Only Mami and Chucha and I are left (pg.100 p.9).”Her whole family has gone to America to be free, leaving everything behind.

Read More

More about The American Dream In Lucy Mulloy's Una Noche

Related Topics

Open Document