The Idea Of The American Dream In Volar By Judith Ortiz Cofer

Improved Essays
Volar analysis
As a young person grows up, he or she may have many dreams that one may be aiming to accomplish before attaining maturity. These dreams may be achievable or not according to their nature. Many of these young people may get misled by this dreams which may result in ruining the rest of their lives. “Volar” is form of a short story which is written by Judith Ortiz Cofer. The father to the author of this short story is a business man whose main aim for coming to America to seek for the America dreams to his wife as well as his daughter (Crimmins et al., 84). “The idea of the American dream has been attached to everything from religious freedom to a home in the suburbs… a world where anything can happen and good things might” (Hochild & Jennifer, 15). The young lady described in this context possesses typical America dream but she will never achieve this dream due to the circumstances that she is in.
…show more content…
What they mainly imagine of is a family which has two kids, mainly a son and a daughter and who are living in a good house which is in neighborhood to a white and which has a picket fence around it. This family owns more than two cars and they always leave for a holiday during each summer (Crimmins et al., 84). This is also accompanied by an abstract part which accompanies the ideal life of Americans. This abstract also involves freedoms which include freedom of press, religious freedom as well as freedom of speech (Kelly, 278). Other virtues of upright citizens such as liberty, respect, independence, honesty, as well as justice are also included to these freedoms. Many people with the young girl not exception make this dream their priority and their main aim is to achieve it in order to be satisfied (Crimmins et al.,

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    America has often been referred to as the land of dreams by many different cultures. The early nineteen hundreds gave the upcoming generations a different perspective of what the American dream consisted of. The ideas of this American dream are first mentioned in Zitkala-Sa’s Impressions of an Indian Childhood and Mary Antin’s The Promise Land. The American dream is referred to as being the land that offers life, liberty and happiness. America is essentially the symbol for a better life.…

    • 157 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Superior Essays

    We are taken into each chapter with the date and location listed first, establishing part of the setting. The first chapter details the siege underway that has “the Confederate army, under the command of General Robert E. Lee…pinned inside the city [Petersburg, Virginia] for more than 250 days by Union forces under the command of General Ulysses S. Grant” (O’Reilly, Dugard 4). Grant believes that if Lee’s army is allowed to escape south to the Carolinas “a reunified United States of America” (4) will never be realized; “America will continue to be divided into a North and a South, a United States of America and a Confederate States of America” (4). Lee’s men are starving inside the city and getting more desperate by the day so he “plans to…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    By now you might know that Hispanics are here to achieve the American Dream, well that is what Linda Chavez talks about in her article. Linda Chavez explains this by saying that there’s more than 21 million Hispanics living in the United States. She says that the population is increasing rapidly, but they are still not able to reach the American Dream. Linda Chavez says that Hispanics are perceived as the dreg of society. She also goes on to say that they represent an emerging middle class that plays an important part of our culture and economy.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A common image of the typical American is one of a person striving for money, status, and material possessions. This is not only an idea conveyed by non-Americans, but often by Americans themselves who consider this goal to be “The American Dream”. I believe such an extremely marginalized image is, in reality, considerably unfair and unrealistic. It sets short and strict guidelines on what should be considered success and prosperity. To me, the American dream is, at heart, an ideal of true happiness in life, and that happiness is dependant on a fluctuation of balance in all our societal functions.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Many immigrants all over the world come to U.S every year to seek their American Dream, which is a national ethos of the United States. Moreover, the American Dream is used in a lot of ways but it essentially is a set of ideas that suggest that all people in the USA can succeed through hard work. Moreover, anyone has potential to lead a happy, successful life. A lot of people believe that rising social mobility and success is possible in the U.S for everyone due to the American economic and political system. James Truslow Adams in 1931 defined the American dream as: "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.”…

    • 1927 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The first chapter of Spreading the American Dream by Emily Rosenberg focuses mainly on the American economic and cultural expansion of 1890 to 1945, with the help of liberal-developmentalism. Rosenberg opens up the chapter discussing the Columbian exposition in Chicago of 1893, and provides multiple examples of how it displayed America’s progressive advancements. The exhibitors of the exposition proudly displayed all the wonderful advancements the country had made so far, flaunting America’s faith. Some examples of the technological and scientific advancements included new types of machinery and transportation methods. Rosenberg also discusses the ideology of liberal-developmentalism and how it contributed to the progressive period in the…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream has inspired many people to improve their lives, by striving for money and power. It is considered a constructive idea, contributing the greatness of the United States as a nation. However, The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, and Fences by August Wilson paint a darker picture of this dream. Jay Gatsby died never quite achieving his image of the American Dream, Willy gave up on the American Dream and Cory hasn’t lost his hope for a bright future, and still lives to hopefully achieve the American Dream. America has a society which strives for success in every situation.…

    • 1186 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream Summary

    • 1013 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The immigrants experiences in the reading were overall very positive. The lithuanian and italian bootback bothers stories started off rocky due to the lithuanian listening to his fellow countrymen about how he must “ look rich even if you are not rich” using the little bit money he brought with him to America to buy a a expensive suit and to bribe to the police officer to help secure a job in the slaughterhouse. The bootblack brothers were taken advantage of as soon they stepped off the boat. Even though Bartolo saved the brothers from being sent back to italy he took advantage of the brothers and other men to help line his pockets with money.…

    • 1013 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Semplica Society The American dream; Americans, whether they were born here or immigrated here, have been chasing this fantasy of the perfect American life for ages. Unfortunately, the American dream is just that, an unattainable fantasy that inspires one to strive for it through hard work or fake it so everyone around thinks they have it all. We see this portrayed ,in an extragged sense, in the short story Semplica Girls. Semplica Girls critiques consumerism and materialism and shows the reader what the future could be like if society doesn’t stop valuing materials and people’s opinions of them.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Consequently, dream also conveys unattainable wishes or unrealistic expectations. More often than not, dreams are just words. Yet, what happens when one tries to live within a dream? What happens when a society tells itself that reality is not as ugly as it seems and that everything is okay and everyone is happy? In his book Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates not only outlines the results of such a situation but also unveils that this is how our society is functioning everyday, lost in a dream.…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When I started my high school, I often times stumbled upon people with different belief and experiences, but there is one particular incident that will always astonish and startles me. It was my junior year in Trinity High School, I was excited to start a new year in high school. The excitement of being an upper class was infused in my heart and my mind. As far as I can recall it, I met a colleague of in my theater class. He seemed to be amazed and surprised by everything around him.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In order to understand what dreams are, we must be able to understand how they occur while we are sleeping, the historical viewpoint of them, as well as the importance of their existence and symbolism. III. (Memorable Closing) John Lennon once said, “I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one,” and indeed he wasn’t. We are all dreamers, all people of diverse background, of varying experiences, and difference in ages experience dreams.…

    • 1734 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Great Gatsby Essay: The American Dream is an Illusion By: Nyashaateh Tut The American Dream. It is a Utopia ideal that has been absorbed by the minds of Americans.…

    • 1710 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is simply impossible to escape reality; however, that does not mean individuals can’t dream. Dreaming is one of the greatest adventures life can give a person. In the short story, “Volar” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, a family of Puerto Rican origins, who are now immigrants in America all fantasize about how their life would have been if their circumstances were different. The young girl in the book is finding a getaway for her self through the median of comic books and it’s all from her longing to fit in. Starting a new life in America for a foreigner is challenging, and no matter how much an immigrant struggles to attain “The American Dream” only a limited number of people will come across the chances.…

    • 921 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In his poem “Running to America”, Luis Rodriguez writes that trying to achieve the American Dream requires many sacrifices. The beginning recounts an immigrant trying to cross over the border. “They are night shadows violating borders, fingers curled through chain-link fences, hiding from infra-red eyes, dodging 30-30 bullets.” The sacrifice starts before entering America. People sacrifice their lives, getting around guards and dodging weapons in the night, unable to see a thing.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays