What does it mean to be an American? by Lilia Seekamp

"She had caught a cold, and it made her voice huskier and more charming than ever, and Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes, and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor."

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-28 11:51:58 UTC

Gatsby was attracted to Daisy and her wealth and yearned to have her because he saw her as something he wanted to embody. He spent five years of his life trying to become wealthy so that she wouldn't be a figure of his imagination, chasing her in his dreams. In the end, he became rich off his own efforts despite losing some of himself along with his life in the process. Through his struggles and perseverance, he got to live out his dream of wealth and experience a few short months with the girl he had dreamed of having. To him, he achieved his dreams and became wealthy.

"A few days afterward Judge Dundy handed down his famous decision, in which he announced that an Indian was a “person,” and was entitled to the protection of the law. Standing Bear and his followers were set free; and, with his old wagon and the body of the dead child, he went back to the hunting-grounds of his fathers, and buried the body with tribal honors."

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-28 11:52:15 UTC

Against hatred, prejudice, and racism, Chief Standing bear went to court to get Native American people their long deserved rights. After the death of his son, and the government pushing against him, he fought to get the rights to his people's ancestral burial ground to properly lay his son to rest. Through his immense struggles, he reigned victorious, overcoming the odds fighting to keep him down.

"At the present day he is so great that he lunches frugally at high prices. His fame has spread through the land as a man who carved his way to fortune with no help but his undaunted pluck, his tireless energy, and his sterling integrity."

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-28 12:14:21 UTC

The American Dream is to achieve wealth through your own means and hard work. Here, the character Tom did just that and rose from the very bottom to the top through his confidence and luck. He dreamed to be rich and believed he could become that person he imagined himself as, which lead him to strike it rich through his endless tenacity. His dreams became a reality and he found happiness and success through his luck, becoming wealthy in more ways than one.

Daddy said he needed money So he put her on the street (street) She had just turned 13 Got a family to feed (feed) Yeah, we grew up in a hurry (that's when she met me) Daddy got a little worried (American dream) https://open.spotify.com/track/3P4gLPPOHIRQ5j6PC1hNa5

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-28 12:28:32 UTC

The American dream urges people to become rich and many fathers will therefore fall into a gambling addiction in hope of reaching that goal. As Kali Uchis says in her song, Tomorrow, children may be exploited and deprived of their childhood for the adults to become happy. She says that the people who only see the future lose sight of the present and find themselves unhappy.

"For every other job I applied to, I had tried to hide my criminal record — it was like I was in the closet about it. But the problem with doing 13 years is that you can’t easily hide that time or shake those experiences. When I applied to the Mental Health Project, I led with the fact that I had a criminal background. I got the job right away. "

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-30 12:21:53 UTC

Johnny Perez struggled to start over after getting out of prison as an ex-criminal but he found himself able to make a name for himself helping others who were in his same position. He felt that his life was over and there was nothing he could do as he was rejected from job after job in the outside world. He persisted and applied to a job that saw his criminal record as useful and through his efforts, he managed to become successful and rose back from the bottom.

"If you won’t braid or defend yourself what is your value? Sitting on the porch until dark sweeps in needing to be invited, you’ll be needing long. When the crop is already used what is its worth after harvest? You’ll learn that you can’t ever trust those quick to call themselves your sisters. They yearn for the gold that is your braids. You hold on your shoulders a coveted item that is useful."

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-30 12:35:57 UTC

Girls grow up being told how to act. The girl in the poem couldn't braid and felt she wasn't useful nor connected to her community. She hoped and dreamed she could be like the other girls and was beat down only to realize she was different, she found within herself her own value. She was able to become wealthy in a way through her struggles and became proud of herself.

“Some people could look at a mud puddle and see an ocean with ships.”

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-30 16:44:30 UTC

Janie was a dreamer and searched endlessly to find love and happiness. She had a hard life and was abused by her second husband after running away from the first, who she married too young. She was the type of girl to see the value and heart in someone who seemed worthless, Janie would continue to struggle for happiness and in the end she achieved her dreams with Tea Cake whom she loved. Janie achieved her dreams of becoming wealthy but not with the man who had money but the man whom she loved, becoming richer in the time she spent with him than at any other time.

"Since the days when the fleet of Columbus sailed into the waters of the New World, America has been another name for opportunity, and the people of the United States have taken their tone from the incessant expansion which has not only been open but has even been forced upon them."

liliaseekamp — 2024-05-30 16:44:31 UTC

America has been considered the land of opportunity since the Europeans discovered it. The people of the country came here under the premise that they could become rich and wealthy leading to their descendants inheriting the same ideology. Americans strive and work hard for the riches they have been promised by their forefathers and find themselves searching ceaselessly for the happiness they so desire.

"Just tell me, Oscar, 'cause I'm curious - why do you think she's interested, huh? Do you think, for one minute, that she would even be WITH you if you weren't the rich and famous Shark Slayer?" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307453/characters/nm0000226

liliaseekamp — 2024-06-03 12:24:41 UTC

Oscar the fish finds himself rich and famous when he accidentally ended up at the scene of a dead shark, earning himself the false title of Shark Slayer. He became clouded by the prospect of money and fame and ended up losing his best friend, an example of how his dreams didn't bring him the happiness he thought they would and caused him to change for the worse. Oscar struggled from the bottom to the top and made a name for himself only to find happiness elsewhere and become rich in a different way after discovering it wasn't what he really wanted.

“It was a very beautiful thing, this Golden Ticket, having been made, so it seemed, from a sheet of pure gold hammered out almost to the thinness of paper. On one side of it, printed by some clever method in jet-black letters, was the invitation itself—from Mr. Wonka.” https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4273.Roald_Dahl

liliaseekamp — 2024-06-03 12:37:48 UTC

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a critique of spoiled children but it is also a critique of spoiled adults. The story shows how the prospect of money and riches can cloud one's judgment and cause them to lose sight of themselves and become spoiled, believing they can do anything if they have enough money. But Charlie maintained his valor. The ticket was a way out of the poverty he was raised in and he found himself surrounded by wealth by the end of the movie, achieving his dreams and happiness, helping his mother and the rest of his family.