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Danielle Pacheco
Mr. Douglas
10/19/14
Essay 2
Individual Opportunity in America? I Don’t Think so
Do people in America really have an equal opportunity to succeed in this country
depending on their self-worth? In The Lessons by Toni Cade Bambara, The Americas New
Working Classby Kathleen Arnold, and Studs Terkel by Stephan Cruz, all three authors talk
about the myth on individual opportunity we have in America. Even though all three authors
approach the myth in different ways they all have the same beliefs on it. Over the years America
has set up this picture of what the “American Dream” is. People work countless hours so they
can achieve the “American Dream”. The American dream is the ideal that every person, no
matter what ethnicity and gender one is, has an equal opportunity to succeed to their own
means. Unfortunately a lot of people are not able to live the dream that they have worked so hard
for because that individual opportunity isn't there. I agree with the authors that the myth on
individual opportunity is a general misinterpretation of what the American Dream is yet
people are prevented from succeeding due to the obstacles holding them back.
The myth of individual opportunity makes people believe that they are able to work there
way up in America, yet a person’s income isn’t as much as the cost of living. In Rereading
America, The Americas New Working Class, Kathleen Arnold writes about how people that are
on welfare and workfare get paid little to nothing. These people do not make enough money to
support themselves, nonetheless their families. Arnold articulates, “But instead of a paycheck
and a living wage, they get a welfare check that leaves them far below the poverty level and they
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have none of the benefits and protections of unionized workers.” (Arnold 344) People from a
lower class thrive to try to move to an upper class, yet it is impossible because they are not able
to support themselves. Lower class people dream of living this American dream, they works hard
every day but see little results, as if they’re digging themselves into a deeper and deeper hole.
Arnold emphasizes in her writing how people on welfare and workfare are not even expected to
raise classes. Arnold writes, “Welfare and workfare indicate bare survival — recipients are not
meant to rise even to lower-middle-class status.” (Arnold 342) Even though people on
welfare/workfare work very hard and probably deserve to live the American dream, there is no
individual opportunity for them to succeed.
Being able to have an individual opportunity means that the color of a person’s skin should
not be the reason why one does not get a job or is unable to succeed in that business. In the piece
Studs Terkel by Stephen Cruz, Cruz talked about how being a Mexican man in America
prevented him from getting an equal opportunity to succeed. Cruz states, “I really saw no
opportunity. They were content to leave me visible, but my thoughts were not really solicited. I
may have overreacted a bit, with the plant manager’s attitude, but I felt there’s no way a Mexican
could get ahead here.”(Cruz 1) CEO’s of companies do not want non Americans/people of color
running their businesses. Unfortunately the color of a person’s skin will prevent a person from
getting a job, no matter what their characteristics are or how much experience in that field they
have. Cruz articulates, “I received instructions from him on how I should interview blacks. Just
check and see if they smell, okay?”(Cruz 1) Off the back most managers/people in charge of
businesses have these stereotypes in their heads of people of color which prevents them from
getting a quality job. Being a person of color in America there is equal individual opportunity.
Being a certain ethnicity very much weakens a person’s chance of succeeding in America.
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No matter where a person starts off class wise should not affect the person’s opportunity to
succeed, yet in America it does. If a person is born in a higher class it is like success is being
handed to that individual. For instance a person that is born in a higher class has the opportunity
to go to the greatest college there is because higher class people have the money to afford it.
Whereas people born into the lower class will not be able to go to a great college because people
in the lower class won’t be able to afford it. In the story The Lesson, by Toni Cade Bambara,
Bambara talks about a story where a group of kids are taught how the level of class a person is
born into has an enormous impact on the opportunity a person gets to succeed. Bambara states,
“That this is not much if a democracy if you ask me. Equal chance to pursue happiness means an
equal chance at the dough don’t it?” (Bambara 258) If a person is born into a higher class then
they do not have to worry about finically surviving. A person in the higher class has the
resources they need to be able to succeed, whereas people in lower classes struggle to just feed
their family. They don't have the resources so they can successfully succeed. There is hardly any
opportunity for an individual in the lower classes.
In conclusion, I agree with Toni Cade Bambara, Kathleen Arnold, and Stephan Cruz that
there are many challenges holding people back in America from having an individual
opportunity. An individual’s opportunity should reflect on an individual’s characteristics and
background only. Unfortunately in America there are many things getting in the way of
that. Individual opportunities I believe, a long with the authors, is being able to succeed
depending on an individual’s qualities no matter of an individual’s race, class, gender, or money
yet in America it’s all just a myth.
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November 11, 2014
Kathleen Arnold
Professor at College of DePaul
2400 Sheffield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60614
Dear Mrs. Arnold:
My name is Danielle Pacheco and I am currently attending my first semester at San Francisco
State University. I have recently been researching a lot about the myth on individual
opportunity. I came upon your piece, “Americas New Working Class” in “Rereading America”
and I was absolutely shocked on what I was reading. The fact that men and women on welfare
and workfare work so hard everyday and get paid little to nothing in America isn’t fair all. I
believe that we need to take a stand and change the wages for welfare and workfare people. I
would be very honored if you would help me take a stand and change this system. This is a very
unfair situation and people should be paid enough to be able to support their family.
Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day and reading my letter. If you would like
to help me take action please email me back.
Sincerely,
Danielle Pacheco
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Work Cited
Arnold, Kathleen, Gary Combo , Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. “Americas New Working
Class” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. 9th ed.
Boston: Bedford of St. Martin’s, 1992. N. pag. Print.
Bambara, Cade, Gary Combo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. “The Lesson.” Rereading
America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. 9th ed. Boston:
Bedford of St. Martin’s, 1992. N. pag. Print.
Cruz, Stephen, Gary Combo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle. “Studs Terkel” Rereading
America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford of
St. Martin’s, 1992. N. pag. Print.
Lincoln, Paul. "Kathleen Arnold." DePaul University. N.p., n.d. W