The movie “Real Women Have Curves” tells the story of Ana Garcia, a high school graduate on her way to pursuit the American dream. Ana lives in barrio in Eastern Los Angeles, she is a brilliant student whom teacher really admire. Although she wants to go to college, her family, especially her mother, Carmen, tells her not to. In her mother’s eyes, Ana is a spoiled child who only thinks of herself. As the movie rolls along, the conflict between Ana and Carmen grows larger and Carmen turns into Ana’s biggest obstacle in achieving her American dream. Through this movie, it is important to take notice of how gender, education, class and traditional culture can influence a person’s journey to achieve the American dream. First, it can be seen that …show more content…
In “Real Women Have Curves,” Carmen seems to be very traditional with the way she raises her daughters and expect them to assume traditional roles of women in a household. Furthermore, this give her a belief that Ana should not go to college to receive further education since she only needs to stay at home and get married. This is due to the patriarchy ingrained in traditional culture, which has long been set up to remove women off power and rights. For example, in “The Patriarchal Family” by Gerda Lerner, the author states, “Patriarchy in classical antiquity and in its European development was based upon monogamy, but in all its forms a double sexual standard, which disadvantages women, was part of the system.” (253) Moreover, the system is sustained by, “gender indoctrination; education deprivation; the denial to women of knowledge of their history...by discrimination in access to economic resources and political power,” (Lerner 254) Hence, it explains why Carmen does not want her daughter to get a college education, since she is too influenced by the tradition, she thinks it is the right thing to do. As a result, tradition like this can hinder people from achieving their
Garcia Girls Essay Rough Draft For the Garcia girls, like many children of first-generation immigrants to the United States, sexuality is a complicated and far-reaching issue involving tradition, family, class, and identity. The Garcia Girls are coming of age in the United States during a period in which classic American values are constantly being called into question by American youth; this is the 1960s, a time that will stand witness to the blossoming of the sexual revolution. The traditional ideas about sex and independence found in their Dominican homeland come under repeated assault, as the family begins the assimilation process in their new homeland of New York City.
It is the matter of common knowledge that the American Dream is a conception referring to a desire of having a social regulation in which every male and female individual is capable of reaching the fullest importance that is normally unattainable, and be distinguished by the community for their true substance, despite the fortunate conditions of the status. Moreover, this idea denies any limits or boundaries and provides equal opportunities for people of any age, gender, or race. “The Great Gatsby” and “Bodega Dreams” feature characters that most clearly represent a desire or indifference to join such a society. After all, the American dream is not different for a person of color in “Bodega Dreams” and “The Great Gatsby” because both characters view it as money, love, having a knowing name as well as being successful. There is no reason for the dream to be divergent for a person of another race.
The fate of a woman From the beginning of a girl's life she is told what she can and cannot do. In Judith Ortiz Cofen's “The Changeling” and in Mary Lady Chudleighs “To the Ladies” a young Spanish woman and a wealthy older woman resist society's restrictions on women. In “The Changeling” the narrator is a young Spanish girl who makes up a “game/” to try to gain her father's attention. She is jealous of all of the attention that her father shows her brother.
Dating back to the creation of the United States, the ‘American Dream’ represented one of America’s most defining characteristics. Built on the basis of freedom, hard work, and equality, it granted everyone the ability to succeed. While most could argue that, over time, this ‘dream’ turned into a symbol of materialistic views and greed, it has a much broader meaning. The American Dream is best defined as ‘the ability to achieve’. Jimmy Gatz, of Eastern European descent, was a poor farmer in desolate North Dakota, while his parents, unsuccessful and prone to failure, were no help to his dreams either.
The American Dream, coined by James Truslow Adams, famously stated that “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.” Indeed, countless people have been inspired by, and pursued for, the dream of equality, prosperity, and a new beginning. The hired girls in My Antonia and the semplica-girls in “The Semplica-Girl Diaries” are amongst the countless dreamers: immigrating to America in pursuit of prosperity for themselves and their family. However, while the hired girls eventually achieved their dreams, the semplica-girls became items of show, seemingly never able to achieve their dreams. By comparing the two stories, we see that the American Dream does
The American Dream is something all immigrants dream of achieving when arriving to the United States. But what exactly is the American Dream? Some believe it to be the long-term achievement of a goal through hard work, while others see it as a new opportunity to redo life. The emphasis and interpretation of the American Dream changes between generations because it evolves with a sense of individuality in the new era of citizens, as they lack the background that deprived older generations their rights, which made them crave success and achievement when arriving to America, as illustrated by the relationship of Suyuan and Jing-Mei Woo.
The movie Real Women Have Curves was about a Mexican- American your woman by the name of Ana. Ana struggle to accept the traditions of her family that were heavily enforced by her mother Carmen. Ana has just graduated high school, quit her job, and dreams about attending college. Her mother had a different plan than Ana. After finding out that Ana has quit her job she forces Ana to come work in her sister Estela’s dress factory.
Sam Mendes’ film, American Beauty, is considered a master piece of the late 1990’s; it won several awards including Oscar’s for best picture, actor, director, original screenplay, and cinematography. The film starts by introducing the audience to the characters, and as the story continues the audience gets to witness each of the characters in the search of the American dream, whether it was Lester’s search for happiness or Carolyn’s search for wealth and success. Although the film is about people searching for the American dream, the film also challenges the idea of the American dream by suggesting that the American dream is extremely different then what we are raised to believe, instead the American dream is completely subjective and is
A big barrier that is stopping people from pursuing the American Dream now is the famous wall that divides Mexico and the United States. Not only does the American Dream not exist for people from other countries but also it does not exist for the own American people. The parameters being used with this are, the article, “Is the American Dream Still Attainable?” written by Nathaniel Parish Flannery, the movie, Sueno Americano directed by Jane Chabria, an image, published by UFP News, a novel, Who Stole the American Dream was written by Hedrick Smith, and the article, “The American Dream is Alive” written by Daniel J. Michell from New York Times. These texts will help prove and disprove that culture is very important. The American Dream is a dream does not exist any more due to all the physical barriers, economic barriers, and the own American
People have their own opinions of what they think the American Dream is or what it isn’t. In this paper I will be comparing and contrasting two articles that I read whom were both based on the American Dream. One article is titled Restoring the American Dream (Cover Story) by Fareed Zakaria. This article is written from the point of view of someone who had their mind set on their definition of the American Dream before coming to America and how his definition of the American Dream changed once he got here. The other Article I will be comparing and contrasting is titled “Globals” and the American Dream written by Robert C. Hauhart and Jeff Birkenstein.
Both the play Real Women Have Curves by Josefina Lopez and the movie adaptation make an attempt to communicate the message of female empowerment through their respective protagonists, Estela and Ana. Men resolve most of Ana’s problems, whereas Estela relies on herself and other women. The play conveys the theme of female empowerment because it is female-centric, successfully addresses the issues of body image, and focuses on women’s independence and self-validation. Lopez’s play serves as an example of what can happen when women uplift and depend on each other, as opposed to men.
“Daddy believed a woman with too much education would never find a husband” (pg.20). That sort of institutional sexism is what limit women. The sexist manner in which the father she grew up with figured that depending on your male spouse is how society should be. It wasn’t until all of the kids in the household Hooks grew up in, where her mother was allowed to work outside. Women were either seen to help with government assistance or to have an education and to be alone.
The view point of Diana is related to other authors, all, define the American dream as multidimensional which should include all aspect of human well-being. Also, Diana, as other authors, recognize the collective dimension of the American dream. This article will support my analysis of the Gran Torino film about the American dream. The definition provides in this article, will help me to prove the non-fulfillment of the American dream in different scenes of the film. "
The American Dream is often known to be a great thing, giving new lives and jobs to immigrants, but are their lives really better in The United States? Chimamanda Adichie reveals how The American Dream is not what it seems to be in “The Thing Around Your Neck.” Her short story follows the life of Akunna as she deals with all of the hardships like stereotypes, racism, and the struggles of finding a comfortable life that come from moving to the United States. From all of these hardships, the reader thinks about whether The American Dream is still relevant, and about if The American Dream still takes place today. Through the characterization of Akunna’s boyfriend as an inconsiderate person on the inside and the symbolism of the fortune cookies, Adichie implies that The American Dream is an illusion and lie towards people coming in from other countries.
When one thinks about the American dream, there are common themes that pop up in everyone’s dream of making it big in the USA. These dreams can span from living lavishly or just to make enough money to support oneself. In the play, Death of A Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, the character Charley believes that character and quality equate to success. Along with this, in an interview conducted with Atul Chodhry, my father who moved to America to try and complete his American dream, believes that like Charley, one mustn’t give up, and keep diligence in order to reach the American dream of owning a well operated business. Both my father and Charley believed that to achieve one’s American Dream, one cannot be afraid of the hardships that comes with trying to reach one’s goals, nor be afraid to give it time, and in the end, the dedication will pay off, and with great values, anything is reachable when one wants to go for his/her dream.