The American Dream
Whose Is It, Anyway?
Dreams, Goals, Plans
Consider your future and take a minute
and consider the following questions.
– What are your dreams?
– What are your goals?
– What are your plans?
– How do you expect to achieve them?
Free write your response. (15 min.)
"Dreams,
goals, plans. Every
person envisions a particular
future filled with success. These
dreams are products of
upbringing, background, history,
place, personality, and
experiences. For most people,
many of these dreams will be
realized while others will not
come to fruition.
The American Dream has changed over
the years. What the first immigrants
envisioned no longer holds true for
modern day Americans, but the basic
goals remain-love, adventure, happiness,
success, freedom-these constitute the
lasting “American Dream." This quarter we
will examine American culture and our
specific dreams and goals by studying
American, literature. And now…
America
by Neil Diamond
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3S7ml
RYL-8
AMERICA
by Neil Diamond
Far
We've been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star
Free
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream
On the boats and on the planes
They're coming to America
Never looking back again
They're coming to America
Home, don't it seem so far away
Oh, we're traveling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm
Home, to a new and a shiny place
Make our bed, and we'll say our grace
Freedom's light burning warm
Freedom's light burning warm
Everywhere around the world
They're coming to America
Every time that flag's unfurled
They're coming to America
Got a dream to take them there
They're coming to America
Got a dream they've come to share
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
They're coming to America
Today, today, today, today, today
My country 'tis of thee
Today
Sweet land of liberty
Today
Of thee I sing
Today
Of thee I sing
Today
America
What is the focus of this song?
What are the dreams of immigrants?
What does the song promise?
What reasons do immigrants flock to
America?
How do these dreams compare to yours?
Does your family have a story?
Task #1
Interview two individuals- parents, grandparents,
teachers, etc.
What were his/her dreams as a teenager?
Did he/she realize the dreams?
If yes, how was it accomplished?
If no, what held them back?
Was the dream worth having?
Write a brief essay that compares/contrasts their
stories.
The River
by Bruce Springstein
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HxZKa
4NwGo
THE RIVER
by Bruce Springsteen
I come from down in the valley
where mister when you're young
They bring you up to do like your daddy done
Me and Mary we met in high school
when she was just seventeen
We'd ride out of that valley down to where the fields
were green
We'd go down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we'd ride
Then I got Mary pregnant
and man that was all she wrote
And for my nineteenth birthday I got a union card
and a wedding coat
We went down to the courthouse
and the judge put it all to rest
No wedding day smiles no walk down the aisle
No flowers no wedding dress
That night we went down to the river
And into the river we'd dive
Oh down to the river we did ride
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown
Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of
the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care
But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd
take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
that sends me down to the river
though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown
Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of
the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care
But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd
take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
that sends me down to the river
though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight
Down to the river
my baby and I
Oh down to the river we ride
Bruce Springsteen: "The River."
What do you think was the speaker’s dream?
What has gone wrong?
Are his dreams realistic? Unrealistic? Why?
What happens when a dream is not realized?
What does the line “is a dream a lie if it don’t
come true” mean?
How does a person cope with dreams that are
not realized?
I Hear America Singing
by Walt Whitman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wi8kasc
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I Hear America Singing
Walt Whitman
I HEAR America singing, the varied carols I hear:
Those of mechanics—each one singing his, as it should be, blithe and strong;
The carpenter singing his, as he measures his plank or beam,
The mason singing his, as he makes ready for work, or leaves off work;
The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat—the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck;
The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench—the hatter singing as he stands;
The wood-cutter’s song—the ploughboy’s, on his way in the morning, or at the noon intermission, or at
sundown;
The delicious singing of the mother—or of the young wife at work—or of the girl sewing or washing—
Each singing what belongs to her, and to none else;
The day what belongs to the day—At night, the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,
Singing, with open mouths, their strong melodious songs.
I Sit and Look Out
by Walt Whitman
I sit and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all
oppression and shame;
I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men, at anguish with
themselves, remorseful after deeds done;
I see, in low life, the mother misused by her children, dying,
neglected, gaunt, desperate;
I see the wife misused by her husband--I see the treacherous seducer
of young women;
I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love, attempted to be
hid--I see these sights on the earth;
I see the workings of battle, pestilence, tyranny--I see martyrs and
prisoners;
I observe a famine at sea--I observe the sailors casting lots who
shall be kill'd, to preserve the lives of the rest;
I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon
laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like;
All these--All the meanness and agony without end, I sitting, look
out upon,
See, hear, and am silent.
I Hear America Singing
I Sit and Look Out
Walt Whitman
Look at the titles. What connotations can
be inferred?
Summarize the poems.
Poetic Literary Devices- Scan the poem.
What do you see? Consider- repetition,
imagery, simile, metaphor, personification,
rhyme, tone, alliteration, allusion.
I Hear America Singing
I Sit and Look Out
Walt Whitman
According to the speakers, who does he
consider to be an American?
Do you agree?
How do the speakers see America?
(theme)
Are these ideas relevant today? Why?
Literary Devices-Definitions
Connotation/Denotation
Simile/Metaphor
Imagery
Tone
Personification
Allusion
Alliteration, Assonance, Consonance
Irony
Richard Corey
by Edwin Arlington Robinson
WHENEVER Richard Cory went down town,
And he was rich—yes, richer than a king,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
And admirably schooled in every grace:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the
bread;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he
walked.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8j8QiDzRRs
Went home and put a bullet through his
head
Richard Corey
Who is Richard Corey?
How does he compare to a typical
American?
What does the speaker infer about
American culture?
Why does Richard Corey kill himself?
Does this effect/alter your dreams? Why?
Langston Hughes
I, TOO
I, too sing America
I am the darker brother,
They send me to the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
they’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I, too am America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GJr4avToc4
I Too
What is your opinion of the speaker?
What is this speaker saying about
America?
How do you think the speaker expects to
move from the “kitchen” to the table?
How do you view this expectation?
Is the American dream accessible to
everyone?
Legal Alien
by
Pat Mora
Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural,
able to slip from "How's life?"
to "Me'stan volviendo loca,"
able to sit in a paneled office
drafting memos in smooth
English,
able to order in fluent Spanish
at a Mexican restaurant,
American but hyphenated,
viewed by Anglos as perhaps
exotic,
perhaps inferior, definitely
different,
viewed by Mexicans as alien,
(their eyes say, "You may
speak
Spanish but you're not like
me")
an American to Mexicans
a Mexican to Americans
a handy token
sliding back and forth
between the fringes of both
worlds
by smiling
by masking the discomfort
of being pre-judged
Bi-laterally.
Legal Alien
Comment on the Title-Connotation
Explain the phrase, “American but
hyphenated.”
How does the speaker feel about living in
America? Explain.
Does living in America equate
acceptance? Should it?
Task #2
Find a song or poem about America or
“American Dream”.
Make a copy for submission.
In a short essay, analyze what the author
or speaker is saying. Consider the
techniques of poetry. Your essay should
answer “What does the poem
suggest/say/reveal, and how does it get
the idea to the reader/listener.
I Have A Dream
Martin Luther King
So I say to you, my friends, that even
though we must face the difficulties of
today and tomorrow, I still have a
dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in
the American dream that one day this
nation will rise up and live out the true
meaning of its creed - we hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal.
I have a dream that one day on the red
hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves
and sons of former slave-owners will
be able to sit down together at the
table of brotherhood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMXaTktUfA
I Have a Dream…
Vocabulary Development
a. Find three words in the background
information about which you are unsure
and look up their meanings. Write the
definitions.
b. Read Dr. King's speech. Find seven
words about which you are unsure and
look up their meanings. Write the
definitions.
I Have a Dream…
Rhetorical Structure
a. Find an example of allusion.
b. Find an example of alliteration.
b. Find an example of a metaphor.
c. Find an example of a simile.
d. Anaphora- the repetition of a word or phrase at
the beginning of a sentence, verse, or
paragraph. Besides the famous "I have a
dream" phrase, find two other examples of
anaphoras.
I Have a Dream…
Understanding the Dream
a. Write a paragraph summarizing King's
dream in your own words.
b. Near the end of his speech, King names
many different states. Why do you think he
did this?
c. Why do you think King uses poetic
devices in his speech. What is the effect?
“I Have A Dream”
King’s persuasive speech meant to convey the
need for change and to end racial discrimination.
If you had been in the vast crowd that day, do
you think you would have been moved my King's
speech? Why or why not?
King was assassinated for his work in civil
rights. A quotation from the Bible on the
memorial at his gravesite reads, "Behold the
dreamer. Let us slay him, and we will see what
will become of his dream." What do you think
has become of King's dream?
Task 3
I Have a Dream…
Compile your analysis of King’s speech.
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–
–
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Vocabulary
Terms examples
Summary paragraph
Short answer questions
GLORY DAYS
by Bruce Springsteen
I had a friend was a big baseball player
back in high school
He could throw that speedball by you
Make you look like a fool boy
Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
I was walking in, he was walking out
We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
but all he kept talking about was
Chorus:
Glory days well they'll pass you by
Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
Glory days, glory days
Well there's a girl that lives up the block
back in school she could turn all the boy's heads
Sometimes on a Friday I'll stop by
and have a few drinks after she put her kids to
bed
Her and her husband Bobby well they split up
I guess it's two years gone by now
We just sit around talking about the old times,
she says when she feels like crying
she starts laughing thinking about
Now I think I'm going down to the well tonight
and I'm going to drink till I get my fill
And I hope when I get old I don't sit around
thinking about it but I probably will
Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
a little of the glory of,
well time slips away and leaves you with nothing
mister but
boring stories of glory days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOpIfbneeHg
Glory Days
What is the meaning of the title?
Are your high school years becoming the
glory years? Could they be?
According to the speaker, is it important to
have dreams?
How does this song reflect American life?
AMERICA
by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel
"Let us be lovers we'll marry our fortunes
together“
"I've got some real estate here in my bag“
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and
Mrs. Wagner pies
And we walked off to look for America“
Kathy," I said as we boarded a Greyhound
in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now“
It took me four days to hitchhike from
Saginaw
I've gone to look for America
Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit
was a spy
I said "Be careful his bowtie is really a
camera“
"Toss me a cigarette; I think there's one in
my raincoat“
"We smoked the last one an hour ago“
So I looked at the scenery, she read her
magazine
And the moon rose over an open field
"Kathy, I'm lost," I said, though I knew she
was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know
why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey
Turnpike
They've all gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
All gone to look for America
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Od66bh
NzBtE
Endings
What are Simon and Garfunkel saying about the
“American Dream”?
Is the dream only an illusion?
Should one strive for a dream even if it is
unattainable?
Task #4
Choose one of the following topics and create a
multi-media portrait of the following topics.
1. My American Dream
2. The American Dream as a Nightmare
3. America - A Speech to Immigrants
4. My Neighborhood and the American
Ideal
5. Your Choice
Task 3
I Have a Dream…
Nearly every line of King's speech is filled with
powerful images, or "mental pictures," many
created by using figures of speech. Images help
audiences to feel what speakers/writers want
them to feel, help them remember what they
have read or heard, and help them understand
difficult material. Write a brief essay telling which
of King's images you find most powerful and
appealing and explain why this image had
meaning for you.