American Dream and Dissatisfaction in A Raisin in the sun

American Dream and Dissatisfaction in A Raisin in the sun

History of the Concept The history of the American 

Dream is very broad and complex it is originated since the existence of the American continent. In fact since his discovery, America was considered as a new land, new world. People left their countries to America for prosperity, freedom and liberty. Then America was believed as a promised land, a land of achievement of dreams. For achieving the dreams many people in the world left their countries, their homeland, and their families to reach to the American shores. There are two forms of American Dream from the 17th century to the 20th century. In one hand there is the puritan‘s dreams with a dream of liberty, freedom, equality and peaceful. They left England by persecution and joined American land to practice their religion without any fears. In the other hand there is the materialism‘s dream. If the puritan‘s dream was a dream of freedom, liberty, during the twentieth century the dream was chased under the materialistic influence of high society and put stock in pilling up riches.

 The early American Dream

 The genesis of the American Dream and the American adventure began with the accidental discovery of the American continent by Christopher Columbus and the famous Columbus letter (1493).Here was the beginning of the American Dream and later on the soil the sprouts of the dream, became the transition from imitative to optative phase of the American mind and immigration. In the beginning of the United States of America‘s history, people had their own conceptions about the American Dream, among these people; there are two groups of persons who had marked the history of the American Dream. It was the Puritans and the Founding fathers: the puritans were a group of religious people who fled from England in order to escape from persecution and tortures. They came in America in order to live freely their religion and build what they called ―a city up on a hill‖. Concerning the founding fathers they were the people who built the United States of America. They had their dream and it was especially to build a patriot citizen who would merit the efforts they made in order to build a great nation (United States of America). They wanted the United States of America to be a great nation democracy and freedom. These two groups of people (puritans and founding fathers) had their personal dreams and desires constituted also early meaning of the American Dream. On the one hand, there is‖ puritan‘s version of the dream ―. As we have already mentioned it, puritans were members of the Church of England; but because of their disagreements with 7 this later institution‘s members, they decided to leave England in order to achieve their dreams which were especially religious. Certain persons think that their voyage from England to America in order to achieve their dreams was the origin of the American Dream. What is sure is that by arriving in America, they came with their dreams and these dreams are the version of the American Dream. To be more explicit, these puritans had their particular conceptions about the American Dream. Firstly, puritans dreamed to worship in the way they believed to be correct once in America. They wanted a religious freedom; they needed to have the liberty, to express freely their religious convictions. These puritans fled from Europe especially England in order to avoid persecution or even death. They got disagreements with the Church of England because they refused to follow some of their principles. The members of this church had kept changes in religious domain which the puritans could not accept. These principles of the church could not be accepted by the puritans hence they had two choices: one they could stay in England and accepted this injustice and on the other hand they could leave their homeland what they finally did. And by leaving their homeland they only had one dream; it was to move to a country, where they could live freely their religious convictions. This puritan‘s to achieve religious freedom is so serious for them that they considered it as their ―American Dream‖. They wanted this feat because it could permit them to practice freely their religion without being disturbed by their opponents (Church of England). In short Puritans had their conceptions about the American Dream and it was to leave from England to America in order to live freely and deeply their religion. Therefore, their travel from Europe to America was especially a matter of religion and freedom. ―Their puritan version was for the new world to be ―city up on a hill‖, and a light to the world. This later over flowed in to a sense of manifest destiny and a believe that America will lead the world in to a new era of peace and security‖ 2 . According to their philosophy, the new land they created merited to be ruled by very good leaders. The leaders they needed should apply justice in their city; they should also be selected via their capacities to manage wisely the security. The puritans relied on their leaders to build a wise society composed of very goods believers who could inspire the entire world. 2 http//www.endtime pilgrim.org/puritans 02.html 8 They believed deeply that their city was selected one with Godly people and it should be ruled by leaders of quality who inspire equality, peace and social stability. These puritans dreamt to build a wise government composed of godly members in whom they could rely for the creation of a stable society. They cared for this society of peace justice and liberty but in order to achieve it they should have forcedly competent leaders. Their dream was to build a kind of society, which would inspire the world; this society would be different from the others especially to the European one. It would be the best in all the domains especially in the management of people. It would give opportunities to its people to practice quietly its religion and to live in equality. A group of person could not be valorized over the others ones. The puritans dreamt for a Christian society, a society of reference the best in the world and it is what they achieved in New England. This social atmosphere in New England was the dreams of the puritans. These achieved this feat by influencing their political leaders who were obliged to follow their ideals. In fact physically pleasures came to be considered as evil where as hard work and commendable achievements were regarded as symptoms of inner goodness and purity. For the puritans success came through the hard work. If you work hard you can succeed in your life. Man can life and succeed through his hard work and must be a creator like Adam who was as a son of God in the archery paradise, became the type of creator. Then America is believed a land of freedom. The early American Dream was marked by religion freedom and good life by the first settlers called puritans .They had inevitably formed their conceptions of American in terms of the great religion enterprise in which they were engaged. In one respect, America was the ―New England‖ to which they fled in reluctant exile from old England. In other, it was the New Canaan, the land of promised where the last battle for the truth and for men‘s souls was to be waged. The notion of liberty turned out to be as important as well. In fact, most of immigrants thought America could free them from any kind of bandage including political and social persecutions. America was viewed as a land without limits, a land of dreams enabling positive thinking and achievement. The New world, for many immigrants, could offer more than their native countries. From the puritans America was the land of religion, a land of liberty and a land of freedom. This land attracted many people to leave their countries and to reach to America. In the other hand there are the founding fathers‘ dreams. The firs dream of the founding fathers was to build a free and prosperous nation. The founding fathers wanted to restore the question of freedom in their young nation. They wanted the whole individuals of their nation to live in freedom. 9 The society they dreamt was the one in which everybody would be free. In which everybody could have the liberty to achieve all its dreams. The founding fathers in the way they managing their government permitted to people to live in equality, they wanted to give to everybody the opportunity to achieve great things without any artificial barriers. They wanted their population to have the same chances for the development of the United States of America. Their government gave the opportunity to people to profit on their citizenship. In short the founding fathers wanted the United States of America to be a prosperous nation but they could only achieve it by offering liberty to their people. According to one of them, liberty is a gift of God and everybody should profit totally on it.

American Dream viewed through literature

 A Raisin in the sun and My Antonia The American Dream unlike other movements has unlimited horizon, in poetry, in the novels, in the drama and other forms of literature. In fact, the American Dream is an ideal that has been present since American literature‘s on set. The dreamer aspires to rise from rags to riches while accumulating such things as love, high status, wealth and power or his way to the top. The dreamer has had variation of freedom and desires from something greater. Then many writers and scholars have explained many things about American Dream. Among them Lorraine Hansberry in her book A Raisin in the sun and Willa Cather in My Antonia. Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), her play A Raisin in the sun has had a powerful impact since its first production in 1959. It was one the first theatrical pieces to highlight the many issues and uncertainties that plagued the African-American community in the 1960s and 1970s and remain problematic even today. The play deals with the concept of the American Dream, specifically what that dream means for a black family living in south Chicago. It focuses on the focus on African-American heritage and the urge to reconnect with African roots in a theme that became increasingly important the year following the play‘s publication. For the oldest of seven children, Willa Cather (1873-1947) after graduation from high school, she attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.While she was the university, a professor submitted one her essay to the Lincoln newspaper for publication kindling Cather‘s desired to write and publish. Her book My Antonia published in 1918 is about a immigrant girl who left Bohemia with her family to the United States. This book celebrates the varied ethnic heritage of Nebraska, which became home to many immigrant families. Both Lorraine Hansberry and Willa Cather deal about the American Dream by two different people. And their books are full of dreams and disillusionment.

 Dreams in the two novels 

As America being considered a land of freedom, a land of achievement that, every man whatever his skin color or his origin who lives in the country is free to achieve his dream. Then the United States with the considerable opportunities of offers has become an attraction for people from all the corner of the globe with the notion of the American Dream which is defined as the pursuit of opportunity, good job, owning a home and many cases safety from war or persecution. 18 Thanks to its host of a huge number or people from different areas, who have come to start a new life much more better than their former ones; and that is the reason why it is called the land of immigrants. It has always been an attraction of the immigrants and American citizens like black people due to the values it stands such a life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the founding fathers mentioned it in the declaration of independence. Then through these two books A Raisin in the sun and My Antonia characters have many dreams that they want to achieve. Each one has his own dream to realize, this theme of aspiration makes a tempting match with the concept of the American Dream, the idea that anyone can do well for himself if he works hard. A Raisin in the sun, a book about black family in 1959, the family consists of Mama, the devout Christian, her son Walter with his wife Ruth and son Travis and Beneatha her sister. The younger‘s family, they are about to receive a check for 10,000 dollars coming from the deceased Mr. Younger life insurance policy. For Walter the elder son wants to invest the money in a liquor store with his friends. He has already made a strategy. He tries his level best to convince his mother about overnight success. He is carried away by glamour of white world. He often thinks about how the rich white man who sit and eat in expensive hotels and he is working only as a pretty chauffeur. His life is compressed in ―yes sir‖ and ―no sir‖. Like all other Americans, he is also desires to move upwards. He is enamored by shortcuts. It‘s not that he does not work hard but he is tired of just working hard. He wants substantial returns. He has desire to educate his son in the best school possible. He wishes to deck his wife with gold and pearls. He wants to become wealthy and plans to do so by investing in business with his friend Willie. ―Oh a lot of things. About you and what kind of man you Going to be when you grow up… son-son, what do you want To be when you grow up‖10 His dream here is to take his son in a good future, a better life, like a life of a son of a wealthy man. ―You know what Travis? In seven years you going To be seventeen years old. And things are going to Be very different with us in seven years, Travis. One Day when you are seventeen, I will come home –home From my office downtown somewhere‖ 11 Hansberry Lorraine A Raisin in the sun( Act II, scene II, p :61) 19 ―You would not understand yet, son, but your Daddy‘s gonna Make a transaction …. Business transaction that is going to Change our lives… That is how come one day when you‘ About seventeen years old I‘ll come and I‘ll be pretty tired You know what I mean, after a day of conferences and secretaries Getting things wrong the way they do…Because an executive‘s Life is hell man. And I‘ll pull the car upon the driveway … Just a plain black Chrysler, I think, with white walls-no black tires. More elegant, rich people do not have to be flashy … Though I‘ll to Have to get something a little sportier for Ruth- maybe a cedillas convertible To do her shopping in … And I‘ll come up the steps rot h house and gardener Will be clipping away at the hedges and he will say ―good evening, Mr Younger ―. And I‘ll say ―hello, Jefferson, how are you this evening?‖ And I‘ll go inside and Ruth will come downstairs and meet me at the Door and we will kiss each other and she will take my arm and we will Go up to your room to see you sitting on the floor with the catalogues of all The great school of America around you … All the great school in the world And and I‘ll say, all right son –its your seventieth birthday, what is it you‘ Have decided :…Just tell me where you want to go to school and you Will go just tell me, what it is you to be yessir? – you just name it, son …And I hand you the world‖12 Walter has a great hope successful, that to be a very wealthy man in his mind. For him with the insurance money of his father he will be a powerful man as he thought. He dreams to live like a white man, wealthy man surrounded all day by all the great businessmen in the United States of America. His wife and his son will be as very respectable people and they will have good life, education and all the best things in the world. Also there a great dream to be very successful like Walter, by Lena Linguard in My Antonia. Like Walter, Lena Linguard a Norwegian immigrant girl left her country to America with a hope to succeed and help her family, her mother, sisters and brothers there in country. Although she is girl, she has dreams like the men.