The little girl utters to her mother, “Mom! What does it take to be an American? I hear a lot of people talking about it at school and I want to be an American.” The mother replies, “Sweetie, living like an American isn’t just a walk in the park.” Living in America and understanding how to live the American way is a dream for many people who flock to this country. If you ask someone why they immigrated to this country, they would say it would be to live the American Dream, which is defined as achieving success in America by embracing the things that America gives us as taking advantage of it. The three things that America offers you to live up to the American Dream are freedom, opportunity, and equality. But the question is: what does…show more content… In Anzia Yezierska’s short story “America and I” she wrote “The hidden sap of centuries would find release; colors that never saw light—songs that died unvoiced—romance that never had a chance to blossom in the black life of the Old World” (paragraph 5). When Anzia Yezierska wrote this, she was referring to how her parents weren’t able to express themselves in Russia because they lacked the freedom to do so. Yezierska came to this country to embrace freedom because it was something that her parents couldn’t do in Russia. The concept of freedom wasn’t something you could grasp at everyday. You couldn’t do certain things because the government prevented you from doing it. Freedom isn’t saying what you want to say and seconds later you’re thrown in jail. Freedom is an important aspect in Americans because it allows us to live our lives without the fear of prosecution. It’s one of the reasons why Anzia Yezierska came to this country because she wanted to be an American and that involves looking for that freedom she didn’t have access too. That is why freedom is a part of the American Dream and in turn the meaning behind an…show more content… In Walk Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing” he wrote, “I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear” (line 1). The entire poem highlights the singing of Americans, but the actual singing refers to Americans working hard at their everyday jobs. Making it as an American means working hard. America gives you that chance by providing you with the opportunity to get a job. Whether it is a big scale job or a small job, any American would be someone who works hard at his or her career. Embracing and taking advantage of opportunity is important because it works alongside the American Dream, in which we work hard to make it in this country and further relates to the definition of an American by living your life alongside the