The “American dream,” as defined by James Truslow Adams, is the dream of “a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Everyone, regardless of gender or skin color, strives to attain this dream of success. In The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, characters such as Lily, a young white girl who tries to seek out the truth about her mother, and Rosaleen, Lily’s African American housekeeper who aspires for freedom, strive for the same goal of the “American dream.” However, Lily’s path and Rosaleen’s path to success differ widely due to their roles in society and how society views each of them. Therefore, throughout the novel, “the American dream” is
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Black people in the 1960’s and even today, still face these challenges of not being confident in what they choose to do professionally. During the 1960’s, when black people were finally legal to vote in America, it was still very difficult for them to be eligible. Rosaleen, at multiple points in the novel, stated that she wanted to register to vote. However, during her first attempt to register to vote, she was attacked by multiple white men “yelling for her to apologize and clean their shoes” (32). At this point, Rosaleen had done nothing to apologize for, yet they were assailing her with misogyny and racism, even though she only wanted to vote. Due to the sole reason that Rosaleen could not do the simple task of registering to vote without being tormented by racists and misogynists, it establishes that people of color face harassment even when following the simplest of goals. In the same way, Zach, Lily’s friend, had always dreamed of being a lawyer, even though he knew he could never reach this desire because he is black. Society had always told him that due to the segregation he experienced, he could not attain his aspiration. Lily, after hearing him say this, explained that she believed he …show more content…
White people will always be more privileged than people of color in all aspects of life despite their tries of attempts of acknowledging these struggles. Lily, at multiple occasions throughout the novel, displays this behavior toward people of color, African Americans particularly, for the obvious reason that she is white. When staying at the Boatwright house, where her mother’s housekeeper, August, lived along with her sisters, Lily thinks about her stay at the house and is surprised that August is more “cultured” and “intelligent” than any other black women she’d ever known, to which she immediately thought that she “had some prejudice buried inside of [her]” (78). During this instance, Lily revealed to herself as well as the reader the bias she held toward African Americans that they are “unintelligent” and “uncultured” usually, with August being the “exception.” Lily’s prejudice serves as an example of how white people view people of color, especially black people, as being people who are beneath them. Lily also shows her inherent racism toward the black people in her life when talking about how her relationship with her housekeeper, Rosaleen. Lily had always wished that Rosaleen had been her mother and had “daydreams in which she was white and married to T. Ray and became my
Black people in the 1960’s and even today, still face these challenges of not being confident in what they choose to do professionally. During the 1960’s, when black people were finally legal to vote in America, it was still very difficult for them to be eligible. Rosaleen, at multiple points in the novel, stated that she wanted to register to vote. However, during her first attempt to register to vote, she was attacked by multiple white men “yelling for her to apologize and clean their shoes” (32). At this point, Rosaleen had done nothing to apologize for, yet they were assailing her with misogyny and racism, even though she only wanted to vote. Due to the sole reason that Rosaleen could not do the simple task of registering to vote without being tormented by racists and misogynists, it establishes that people of color face harassment even when following the simplest of goals. In the same way, Zach, Lily’s friend, had always dreamed of being a lawyer, even though he knew he could never reach this desire because he is black. Society had always told him that due to the segregation he experienced, he could not attain his aspiration. Lily, after hearing him say this, explained that she believed he …show more content…
White people will always be more privileged than people of color in all aspects of life despite their tries of attempts of acknowledging these struggles. Lily, at multiple occasions throughout the novel, displays this behavior toward people of color, African Americans particularly, for the obvious reason that she is white. When staying at the Boatwright house, where her mother’s housekeeper, August, lived along with her sisters, Lily thinks about her stay at the house and is surprised that August is more “cultured” and “intelligent” than any other black women she’d ever known, to which she immediately thought that she “had some prejudice buried inside of [her]” (78). During this instance, Lily revealed to herself as well as the reader the bias she held toward African Americans that they are “unintelligent” and “uncultured” usually, with August being the “exception.” Lily’s prejudice serves as an example of how white people view people of color, especially black people, as being people who are beneath them. Lily also shows her inherent racism toward the black people in her life when talking about how her relationship with her housekeeper, Rosaleen. Lily had always wished that Rosaleen had been her mother and had “daydreams in which she was white and married to T. Ray and became my