Anna Barbo The American Dream in My Ántonia and Black Boy 10/10/14
When most people think of the American Dream, they think of becoming rich and having a better, more comfortable life. James Truslow Adams abolishes those theories in his definition of the American Dream in his work The Epic of America. He states, “It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable...”. Consistent with Adams’ statement, Richard Wright’s Black Boy and Willa Cather’s My Ántonia both show that the dream of climbing the social ladder is possible, despite a person’s background. Both…show more content… As a child, he never saw people based on color. He couldn’t understand why darker people were being treated terribly while whites were being treated like any human should be. When Richard was little, he tried to make sense of how people were categorized as black or white. He once said, “My grandmother was as nearly white as a Negro can get without being white, which means that she was white” (Wright 39). Although he saw this discrimination, Richard had hopes that he would break the barrier of race and be able to become a successful writer. People, including his family, constantly put him down for his ambitions and told him he would never be successful. Richard knew that if he wanted to achieve the American Dream, he would need to go to a place where race was less of a problem. The South was one of the most racist places in America at the time this book was set. Richard was determined to go North so, throughout the book, he worked hard and saved up money to go there. After years of hard work, Richard achieved his goal of traveling North and was ready for a new chapter in his life where he will be accepted as a human and not judged by the color of his skin. Richard’s determination helped him realize the success and acceptance that he wanted so