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The American Dream

Decent Essays
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Pranav Saravanan
Mrs. Kaplita
Period 4/ English III - Honors
10/6/17
What it Means to be an American - Rough Draft
Americans are people who are citizens of the United States of America. As Americans, they have the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the right to vote, the right to bear arms, the right to a fair trial and the freedom to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. America is a country made by immigrants and almost all of them come with what they call their own American Dream. Throughout the United States, people believed in the American Dream, which is the idea that every citizen has equal opportunity to be successful and prosper through hard work. In the 1800’s and the early 1900’s, not everyone had the opportunity to pursue their American Dream because minorities were subjected to racism and discrimination from white people for being inferior and insignificant. Women also did not have the same rights as men and were denied their American Dream. Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education”, Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech and Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too” each show examples of discrimination and segregation and because of this, they each have their own views of the American Dream.
Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education” shows a year by year account of his schooling from 1971 - 1984 and what it was like for him being an American. Sherman Alexie was a Native American and because of this, was subjected to stereotypes and discrimination. For

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