Since we have been talking a little about social class in America, I decided to look back at some work I did last year. For my Sophomore English class, I chose to read Class Matters by the New York Times, for one independent reading book. I really enjoyed it because it wasn't your typical book. There were many New York Times writers that contributed to the book, and each chapter was about real people living in America today. Every chapter invited you in to a strangers home, and they told you about their own life, and their own American Dream.One that stuck out to me was said by a white woman, Karen Handel, who lives in a wealthy town in Georgie. She said:
“What is the American Dream? It’s to have a house of your own, the biggest house you can afford, on the biggest lot you can afford, with a great school for your kids, a nice park to spend Saturday afternoon with your kids in, and deep in amenities that get into the trade-offs with traffic”.
I think Karen's personal American Dream is kind of stereotypical for rich whites. Personally, I believe that forming an American Dream is very difficult. Because everyone is different in their own way, everyone's American Dream should be different. What do you think about Karen's American Dream? What is your American Dream?
For more information, check out the NYT page for Class Matters.
(image via: http://rgr-static1.tangentlabs.co.uk/images/bau/97808050/9780805080551/0/0/plain/class-matters.jpg)
I'm not sure if her goal is merely a "rich white' goal. It is really the goal that American culture inflicts on everyone, regardless of race. I don't think that everyone has exactly the same dream, but alot of what Karen said did ring true with me.
ReplyDelete"It’s to have a house of your own" Indeed, Americans do have rather odd obsession with our own land (and getting as much of it as possible). There is something nicer about 'owning' your own little piece of the world.
"a great school for your kids" everyone wants a better life for their kids (an integral piece of the American dream) and most people would agree a good school is one of the best ways to ensure that.
"a nice park to spend Saturday afternoon" we all want a picturesque place to look like the families in the ads on posters.
Overall, America has given us the goal, and I don't see anything wrong with it as long as people are able to effectively balance the American dream with their own dreams.
The part about this that I found the most interesting was that she made a point of saying the biggest house "that you can afford". She is not saying that everyone wants the biggest and the best, but rather that they want the best possible for themselves in their own specific situation. I had never heard this articulated before.
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