Personal Narrative: My Pursuit Of The American Dream

My American Dream has always been driven by success. Employment/ career, Family and community success to be more specific. The advancement of myself ,my family, and my community has always been a priority. Being that I am a Black American born in the United States my struggle to obtain the American Dream differs from most people. There are many obstacles to overcome such as racism, stereotypes and just being motivated to reach the next level in life. Personal and family success can be obtained by getting a good education and securing a good job or career. Community success takes a little longer, especially if the community has been on an economic roller coaster ride since the 1950s and 1960s.

Ever heard of the Dust Bowl? “The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that really damaged the agriculture of the US and during the 1930s. The Dust Bowl was a severe drought that has started to ruin the agriculture. When this happened the states including Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico were affected.” ( John Steinbeck ). This act made many people who owned farms unemployed and they lost their farms and also there houses. When their farms got ruined they knew that they continue their life there. So many of them migrated to California.“By 1940, 2.5 million people had moved out of the Dust Bowl states and started to head toward the states by the Pacific” (John Steinbeck). I believe that California was a place that would attract unemployed farm workers from the Dust Bowl states because they could start a new life there it also is a easy way to find farm jobs because of its agriculture, climate, and the easiness of getting water.

The first eight years of my life, I spent in India where I was born. Growing up I was constantly reminded by my parents that I needed to make them proud by getting a good job and living a good lifestyle. They told me this because they did not want to see me live a hard life like they did. When I was nine years old, I moved from India to the United States of America. The reason why I moved to America was not because I was living a bad life in India, it was so that I could have a better education and more opportunities in life. When I came to America, I had to go through much struggle. First and the most important was that I did not know how to speak English. Apart from this I was very shy, so I didn’t communicate with people frequently.

On my father’s first day in America, he was shoved into a compact 1-person apartment along with two other refugees and was merely granted $19 a week to accommodate for basic expenses, including food and transportation. Despite such desperate circumstances, he maintained an optimistic outlook, and while hard times were ahead, my father knew that new opportunities were also awaiting him in the land where the American Dream thrives. My father initially left Vietnam as a last desperate hope to escape Vietnam’s strict communist government, where a future of military service was inevitable for young boys, who came from families of lower social statuses. As an orphan, my father fell victim to poverty and suffered from food insecurity and insufficient

The California Gold Rush from 1848 to 1855 was a time filled with excitement and prosperity, in which thousands of people came to California to pull gold from the now Sierra Mountains. Gold was one of the most sought-after mineral on this planet, often treasured for its monetary and aesthetic value. Gold has been a rarity due to its difficulty in extracting and refining. Gold is often only extracted through placer mining, hydraulic mining, and lode mining. The promise of a fortune, and the mass migration left a lasting legacy in California’s history. However, the biggest lasting legacy left was the processes that were time consuming, heath risking, and environmental damaging.

As a teenager moving to a new country with a different culture, different language, and being thousands of miles away from everyone I grew up with was not an easy change, however, that was precisely what I did in January of 2013 when I came to the United States with my father. My whole world changed since, and shaped my way of thinking. From learning English, adjusting to a new culture, experiencing my first snow and finding my way in my new country, my life has been an exciting adventure.

Susan Lee Johnson in her book, Roaring Camp: The Social World of the California Gold Rush, gives a collections of histories of the same event from multiple sources’ perspectives. She does not try to decipher which interpretation or version of events is the accurate one. Johnson believes that the multitude of versions is more telling of the actual themes that were bing played out in this area of the southern mines of California. Johnson tackles issues of labor in these mining camps throughout her book. She pays close attention to the Anglo-American migrants and their disgruntled claims against the system of peonage employed by Sonoran and other Latino patrons. At this time in the eastern United States labor systems and the use of immigrant labor

The history of migrant farm workers in California has changed extensively over time, especially under the influence of outside factors such as war and the desire to emigrate. Migrant workers, not just farm workers, have been involved in various occupations, from fishing to forestry, yet the agricultural field remains the most common (“Migrant Farm Labor”). Agricultural activities were once performed by Native Americans before Europeans established a colonial presence. During the existence of slavery in the U.S., it is believed by environmental historians that slaves applied their techniques in agriculture to those of American techniques, allowing them to rise against their owners with a better understanding of the landscape of the plantations

Throughout its history the United States has seen a great ebb and flow in the amount of immigrants entering the country. For a country that was founded by immigrants many of its policies in the 19th and 20th centuries sought to exclude and limit the amount of immigrants coming from many continents, including Asia and Africa. Chinese Immigrants increasingly started showing up in Northern California at the start of the gold rush in 1849 and would establish a large enclave known as China Town in San Francisco. Immigrants from China were particularly targeted with the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, that made illegal, the influx of Chinese laborers that had been migrating to the US just a few years prior.

War because of inexpensive land, during the time Mexicans had supervised the wide area of the

The fifth example is what the imperialist empires, in regards to other races considered below them and inferior to them, believe their purpose in the world to be. For example, the British empire believed that its role was “educating and Christianizing the ideigenous population to the point where they could expect someday, even if that day were long off, to govern themselves. They believed they were bringing progress and improvement to people who had fallen under the sway of ‘oriental despots’ but who, because they were born rational men and with exposure to liberal reforms, eduation, free trade, and Christianity, could learn the ways of self- government” (Kent 216).

Jim Valano once said, “[his] father gave [him] the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He believed in [him]”. The relationship between a child and their father is vital in the development of a child, and has a profound effect on their future interactions. The bond between father and son in a healthy relationship is nearly indomitable, and can be one of the sturdiest bonds that exist. Sadly, not many relationships like this exist, and there are many unfortunate cases of neglect and abuse. In the short stories “Cornet at Night” by Sinclair Ross, and “The Broken Globe” by Henry Kriesel, there is an emphasis placed on the relationship between a father and son, and how a different interest inhibits their bond. These two stories showcase contravening passions and identities that the characters have, and how they cause tribulation in the relationship between father and son. In “Cornet at Night” and “The Broken Globe”, the respective authors utilize characterization to show the effect of an individual’s interests and passions clashing with their father’s values, interests, or goals for their child, and how they affect the relationship between them.

The first Japanese Americans emigrated to the U.S. mostly as the second or third sons of the family in search of a new economic future similar to other immigrants. Primogeniture was still in practice in the late 1800’s, so the eldest son inherited the entire estate, leaving the other sons at the mercy of their own resourcefulness. These fortune seekers settled along the western states as farmers and farm laborers amid high anti-Chinese sentiment. They’re willingness to work for lower wages in poor conditions created a split labor market and as a result, they endured extreme hostility and physical attacks from union members representing the manufacturing and service industries.

I had lived in Woonsocket Rhode Island all my life. It was a peaceful town and had one of the lowest crime rates in the country. My father moved here after he met my mother Sara because he came from a bad neighborhood. We don’t like to talk about it much, it’s just something we really don’t know how to explain. It’s me, my brother Joe, my mother Rose, and my father Michael. My name is also Michael after my father, its been a family name and when I get older I want to name my kid Michael to continue the heritage. We lived on Shamans Street, right off the main avenue. It was considered one of the safest places in Woonsocket, I could never feel safer I was like a baby in a carriage.

The Native American population in California flourished in the years; however the European colonization upon Native Americans during these time periods forever changed the lives and cultures of the Native people. Hunting, fishing, and fertile land were very abundant for the Native Americans. Unfortunately the population soon became ravaged by disease, warfare, displacement, and the European’s attempt to demolish all aspects of Native American life. As the Native Americans encountered the European explorers and mission Padres, the first effects of colonization corroded the Native American life and left damage that would be difficult to undo.