Michael Barry
Comparative Essay
The stories of Madam C.J. Walker and Samuel Zemurray were truly everything anyone wanted when it came to the American Dream. They both faced terrible odds with gender, race, and religion and still became extremely successful and well respected. Walker was an African American female that became one of the first female millionaires ever. Zemurray, by the time of his death, was one of the richest people in the world. In this essay, I am going to analyze how these two stories made the American Dream possible against all odds including race, gender, and religion.
Madam C.J. Walker was born in Louisiana into a bit of a rough family life. Both of her parents were freed slaves and they lived day by day with their …show more content…
To make matters worse for Walker, her parents both died and left her as an orphan at age seven. If you stop here, you could easily finish the story with the idea that Walker never succeeded and she lived a hard life until she passed. The fact that she was not only African American, but also a female, just doesn’t come to the conclusion of someone being very successful and respected. This is very similar and different to the start of Samuel Zemurray’s life in America. It is similar because both Walker and Zemurray started out against all odds. It is different because Zemurray was facing a different set of hold backs to society. He was born in Russia into a Jewish family. They moved to America when he was fourteen and he had no education. He worked for his Uncle who owned a store and that is where this banana king’s story began. Coming from a Russian social setting where there were no advancements to be made, America was open water for him. He wanted to make a name for himself and gain respect. This is where I see Walker and Zemurry disagreeing. Zemurry wanted to be on top of the social ladder from the beginning. That was his goal. Walker, I believe, started out just wanted to create a product that
Comparative Essay
The stories of Madam C.J. Walker and Samuel Zemurray were truly everything anyone wanted when it came to the American Dream. They both faced terrible odds with gender, race, and religion and still became extremely successful and well respected. Walker was an African American female that became one of the first female millionaires ever. Zemurray, by the time of his death, was one of the richest people in the world. In this essay, I am going to analyze how these two stories made the American Dream possible against all odds including race, gender, and religion.
Madam C.J. Walker was born in Louisiana into a bit of a rough family life. Both of her parents were freed slaves and they lived day by day with their …show more content…
To make matters worse for Walker, her parents both died and left her as an orphan at age seven. If you stop here, you could easily finish the story with the idea that Walker never succeeded and she lived a hard life until she passed. The fact that she was not only African American, but also a female, just doesn’t come to the conclusion of someone being very successful and respected. This is very similar and different to the start of Samuel Zemurray’s life in America. It is similar because both Walker and Zemurray started out against all odds. It is different because Zemurray was facing a different set of hold backs to society. He was born in Russia into a Jewish family. They moved to America when he was fourteen and he had no education. He worked for his Uncle who owned a store and that is where this banana king’s story began. Coming from a Russian social setting where there were no advancements to be made, America was open water for him. He wanted to make a name for himself and gain respect. This is where I see Walker and Zemurry disagreeing. Zemurry wanted to be on top of the social ladder from the beginning. That was his goal. Walker, I believe, started out just wanted to create a product that