Essay Example on American Dream: Hard Work for Success & Upward Mobility

The American dream arose from the American beliefs of democracy, freedom, opportunity, and equality. In the American dream, there is a belief of equal opportunity for prosperity, success, and a general upward social mobility for generations achieved through hard work. The dream defines a non-hierarchical society without a predetermined ceiling for one's aspirations. Americans believe that all people are born equal, and they have an equal opportunity to succeed; therefore, an individual's success is determined by hard work and ability. The American dream contradicts the reality of many Americans who, when brought up in a poor household, are likely to live in poverty. The play “A Raisin in the Sun” and the short story “Sonny’s Blues” show how it is difficult to achieve the American dream for African Americans that some end up only partially achieving their dreams or simply re-evaluating their idea of the dream.

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Both the play “A raisin in the Sun” and the short story “Sonny’s Blues” are set in the 1950s. Therefore, they portray the historical social and economic context of that period. The stories depict the economic and social challenges experienced by people living in that period, as well as their dreams and hopes. They portray African Americans in the "Sonny's Blues," an African American narrates about his brother while the play portrays the life of the Younger family who is African Americans. There was racial segregation in this period, which negatively affected the economic and social prospects of African Americans. The American dream did not fully include African Americans even though they hoped and dreamt like others. Racial segregation and racism is portrayed in both stories and is seen in the play “ A Raisin in the Sun” when Mama wants to purchase a well-built house in an all-white neighborhood. She is discouraged by the neighborhood coalition in Clybourne Park. The alliance offers money to Youngers to convince them not to move there, believing their presence would destroy the community there” you see-in the face of all things I have said we are prepared to make your family a generous offer..” (Hansberry, 1591). This stands in the way of Mama and her dead husband's dream of one day owning a house. There are racial tensions as the Youngers are afraid of the white people due to stories of black people attacked in all-white neighborhoods, and the white people in Clybourne Park are afraid of the Youngers. Racism is portrayed in the "sonny's blues" when the narrator mentions the death of sonny's uncle who was hit by a car full of drunk white men who did not bother to stop ”He heard them white men shouting and the car kept on going and it ain’t stopped till this day…” (Baldwin, 132). A common occurrence of the period when African American lives were not equally valued

Both stories depict African Americans living in poor neighborhoods. This shows the poverty experienced by African Americans during this period. The narrator of sonny's story says they grew up in Harlem, a poor neighborhood with disgusting smells. In the play, the Youngers live in a poor black neighborhood in a small house despite their large family due to poverty, which is evident as Travis, Walter's son, sleeps on a couch, and they have to share bathrooms with neighbors. They are poor, and Walter’s job does not pay enough to support his family this is observed when Travis requests money for school Walter ends up giving him his fare to work (Hansberry, 1545). This shows that black people were trapped in poverty and in poor neighborhoods. The narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” says that the neighborhood he grew up in remained unchanged and the poor living in it, “but houses exactly like houses of our past dominated the landscape” (Baldwin, 128). This demonstrates the lack of upward mobility among the African Americans living in poor neighborhoods, which is a contrast to the American dream, which promises equal opportunities and a general upward social mobility. During this period, social, political, and financial inequality contributed to many African Americans living in poverty and their exclusion from the American dream.

Few people can achieve their dreams even with hard work; this is especially true for African Americans living in poverty. In the play, Mama’s husband died before he could achieve his dream even though he was a hardworking man. He had a dream that they could one day own a house; unfortunately, he died before this could happen despite working hard all his life. This is a sobering reminder that the American dream of the equal opportunity given that one works hard is rarely true for African Americans born in poverty. The narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” observes that students in his class are likely to end up like Sonny, given the obstacles and hardships they face growing up in Harlem. The hardship causes many young people to engage in drugs and end up trapped in a cycle and imprisonment like Sonny. The narrator suspects the young children in his class are already taking drugs. Sonny's drug addict life is hard and is likely to remain so for the rest of his life. Even though Beneatha works hard in school to become a doctor, the main obstacle in her way is lack of money to pay for her education (Hansberry, 1607), this is a disadvantage to those born in poverty which makes it difficult for them to receive education and therefore unlikely to achieve their dreams. Many people born in poverty lack education and end up working in low paying jobs like Walter, who works as a chauffeur who is paid low wages, which makes him unable to support his family, making him feel useless as the man of the house.

The entrapment of people in poverty unable to achieve their dreams causes many of them to seek temporary escape from their situation. Sonny seeks temporary escape from the poverty he grew up in by taking drugs and music. Walter, due to his low pay at the job as a chauffeur, makes him unable to provide for his family, leaving him feeling useless, discouraged, and depressed, causing him to seek temporary escape through alcohol. Students in the "sonny's blues” are already taking drugs at young ages to escape the hardships and challenges of growing up in Harlem, a poor neighborhood when young people taking drugs will lead to addiction, which is likely to be a lifelong problem due to the difficulty of kicking the habit.

Many people struggle to achieve their dreams and are likely only to achieve a part of their dream. Mama from the play,“ A Raisin in the Sun" only partially fulfills her dream when she pays a down payment for a house in the Claybourne Park. Mama and her late husband had a dream of one-day owning property. She moves to a new neighborhood after receiving a life insurance check for her late husband’s death. The Youngers had a dream that Beneatha could study to become a doctor, and Walter could start a liquor business, but all this was unlikely after Walter lost the money entrusted to her by Mama to start a business and to pay for Beneatha's education to become a doctor (Hansberry 1596). The Youngers have to content with their partial success of moving from their small house in a poor neighborhood. Sonny's brother partially achieves his dream by studying and becoming a teacher in Harlem despite growing up poor. However, sonny is not as successful and becomes a drug addict, and he is incarcerated for drug possession. The partial success shows that even when born in poverty, some people can achieve their dreams despite the hardship and challenges, which makes chances of succeeding minimal.

As people struggle to achieve their dreams, they sometimes realize that what they initially valued isn't important to them anymore. Walter is obsessed with middle-class materialism, and he is ashamed of his poverty and his lack of upward mobility. His dream involves acquiring markers of success, such as a home, large cars, and giving his son an education. Walter has a dream to own a liquor store and becomes rich when Mama places a down payment for a house, he feels betrayed and wants to use the check to open a liquor store. Walter has a desire for consumer goods and thinks that acquiring them is an indication of success. After moving to the new house, Walter's dream of money and material goods remains unrealized, but he has changed his thoughts as he matured. On the other hand, Sonny realizes that kicking his drug habit is unlikely and accepts his situation, knowing that the drugs will kill him in the end. Sonny chooses music as an outlet and gives up stopping his drug addiction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the two stories show the difficulty of achieving the American dream by African Americans living in poor neighborhoods. Even after a life of hard work, some never achieve their dreams like Mama’s husband, who died before realizing his dream of owning a house. Living in poor neighborhoods is full of challenges and hardship, leading many young people to seek an escape in drugs and end up incarcerated like Sonny. Due to the difficulty of achieving their dream, many people can only partially achieve their goals or end up changing their dreams and finding other ways of living meaningful lives.

Works Cited

Baldwin, James, and George Kirby. Sonny's blues. Klett, 1970.

Hansberry, Lorraine. Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. Samuel French, Inc., 1984.