Writing a contemplation paper about some of the American Dreams and events is the primary goal of this essay. The American Revolution, the founding fathers, the Civil War, and the colonization process are just a few instances. Sexism, public policy, amusement, and the arts are some other significant subjects that need to be covered. After interviewing a person who is over 50 years old, I learned a number of ideas that reflected or were connected to the history and the American dream. According to the interview, he was born and raised in a small town in the southern United States, more particularly in the Arkansas region. His favourite Sport was Baseball. Currently he said that he was unemployed because of his old age. His relationship with his parents was very good; his mother used to be loving and caring. She demanded a lot of respect. The Father on the other hand was just like the Mother however both of them divorced when he was at the age of 15. When we look at the Education sector, he graduated from Southside School after which he went to Westark College which is now called or referred to as the University of Arkansas that is located in Fort Smith.
The American dream refers to the ideal that every individual who belongs to the United States of America ought to be given the same opportunity so that they can be able to achieve prosperity or success through determination hard work and initiative. In reference to the American dream, the interviewee was very successful in the sense that he fulfilled his version or part by studying, getting a stable Job and later a senior manager at IT Quality Assurance. His persistence against challenges and obstacles did not weaken him. According to the interviewee, the American dream has changed through the Course of History. A good illustration that can be used to explain on this is the fact that the Americans initially believed that the American dream belonged to the Whites only. Today this dream is focused by people who come from different races, religions as well as classes.
Generally, based from the interview it is safe to the say the fact it relates with texts that talk or reflect about the American dream. This interview mainly talks about the American dream and its impact to the lives of the American people. Some of the major historical themes that are related with this interview are about the Colonization, theme of the U.S.A foreign policy as well as race and relations between people. The interviewee described the modern American dream as the freedom or process involved in obtaining security in finance, happiness and wealth. No one is supposed to be denied this this factors at all costs. The American dream is achieved in cases where the Americans are encouraged to strive even if they are facing challenges in Work as well as education (Buell 17). Achieving the American dream is not a simple task and it requires a lot of patience and time, it is not for the weak in the Society (Myrdal 54). It requires the strong people only.
Based from the interview, I learnt that the American dream is wrongly interpreted by most people in the society today. Most people assume the fact the achieving the American dream involves being successful in terms monetary issues. They do not focus on other matters such as Life and Human values; their only goal is be successful in life no matter the costs that come with it. The other problem is that everyone has his or her definition of the American dream. This has created a lot of confusion among people and as a result many citizens of the USA have been lost when it comes to achieving this dream. Generally, based from this explanation, it is safe to say the fact that the American dream gas become a reality for everyone to achieve, it has become an obsession or an addiction.
Despite the Interview being long and tiresome, there was a lot to be discussed. Some of this included Historic events. The United States of America has very many historical events when we look at its history. Some of the major events include the 911 case which involve the bombing of the twin towers. According to him, this incident brought a lot of people together. Everyone had the spirit to help one another. He also mentioned about the Vietnam War which was fought when he was in High School. He mentioned about the pain of losing a loved one, his grandfather had fought in the war. He felt a lot of pain as he remembered some of the people that he lost to the War. This is one of the most significant fights and battles that the USA has ever fought since independence (Herring 57). This war lasted between the years 1955, November date 1 until the year 1975, April 30 (Short 39).These wars were mainly fought between the Communist regime that belonged to the North of Vietnam and those who belonged to the South (Herring 69). The interviewee admitted to the fact he never wants to see people fighting against one another or blood being shed because of an issue that can easy be resolved.
It is important to note the fact that an interview refers to answers that are given by an individual based from his or her own understandings. In reference to the interview, there are some things or information that the Interviewee gave which does not relate with the descriptions of History as elaborated, observed and contradicted in the E – Textbook. Some of these arguments include the fact that not everyone relates the American dream with monetary values. Some individuals are focused in achieving the American Dream in a wide way not only by being successful when it comes to being wealthy, acquiring a lot of property etc. Generally, based from the E book, it is safe to say the fact that the American population is divided between three kinds of people. The first group belongs to those who know or understand the American Vision or dream, those who slightly understand it and lastly those who do not understand anything at all. The interviewee also quotes the fact that the American people get their motivation to pursue the American dream as a result of Challenging Work and dedication. Based from this comment from the interview, it is right to acknowledge the fact that not every Citizen is inspired by these factors. Other factors that promote people in achieving the American dream include Loyalty, independence and the desire for change and development.
By the end of the interview, I had gathered a lot of information based on the life of this individual. A lot of interesting things popped up. In reference to the American Culture some of the new concepts that were leaned were based on the American dream and Historic events. The culture of the American dream has been passed from one generation to the other. Despite the fact there is some sort of confusion in the interpretation of this dream, majority of the people have been able to interpret and understand it. The History of the USA is very important and has a lot of impact to the modern World today. Some of these events mostly occurred during the years 1450 – 1877 (Herring 38). In between this years, a lot of activities happened such as the declaration of independence which occurred in the year 1776, 4th of July (Buell 67). On this day, USA attained independence from the Great Britain. The Vietnam War is another significant and an important case of study during the interview. It is sad that this is one of the most wars that the World has ever seen after World War one and World war two. Very many lives were lost on both sides. It was a very gruesome encounter that created a big negative impact to the lives of both people who came from Vietnam as well as the United States of America.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, it is safe to say the fact that the Interview provided relevant information that was needed in order to understand concepts that came from the American Culture, History and dream. Generally, this book serves as the main basis or references for most American related events, dreams and activities.
Works Cited
Buell, Lawrence. The Dream of the Great American Novel. Harvard University Press, 2014.
Herring, George. America's longest war: the United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2013.
Myrdal, Gunnar. "An American Dilemma." New Tribalisms: The Resurgence of Race and Ethnicity (2016): 61.
Short, Anthony. The origins of the Vietnam war. Routledge, 2014.
