The American Dream is the ultimate goal for any and every family looking to live and survive in the beloved United States. Achieving the American Dream promotes internal success and is thought to be the ultimate goal in every family. Whether the American Dream being owning a home, purchasing a car, or even landing a stable job, the American Dream is a feeling of satisfaction that promotes internal happiness to all. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, How the Other Half Lives by Jacob A. Riis, and Siliva Ramos’ TEDx talk on the American Dream all share the common ideal that life for immigrants is difficult while achieving the American Dream. One common ideal enforced within these texts is that immigrants must endure an extra step before achieving their American Dream, and that extra step is being accepted within the communities of the United States.
The Jungle is an informative book that was originally written by muckraker Upton Sinclair in a successful attempt to expose the meatpacking industry of Chicago to the American public. However, Sinclair also provided readers with the plot of a Lithuanian family and their immigration story and struggles in adapting to the city of Chicago. Throughout the novel, Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant, discovers the unfairness that immigrants receive when arriving to America and attempting to assimilate within society. As stated in the novel, “A very few days of practical experience in this land of high wages had been sufficient to make clear to them the cruel fact that it was also a land of high prices, and that in it the poor man was almost as poor as in any other corner of the earth; and so there vanished in a night all the wonderful dreams of wealth that had been haunting Jurgis” (Sinclair 31). Sinclair’s purpose in stating this within his novel is to show the unfairness of the American Dream. Sinclair is attempting to state that immigrants have an unfair advantage as the American Dream looks very promising from the outside, however when they arrive to America, they face challenges such as high living costs with little wages. One other ideal that Sinclair attempts to persuade within his novel is the concept that the upper class cannot comprehend the lifestyle experienced by the poorer class. Although difficult to understand thoroughly, the lower classes lifestyle can never be understood by the upper classes, especially when dealing with the survival skills necessary to lower class immigrants. As stated by Sinclair, “Many of these professional mendicants had comfortable homes, and families, and thousands of dollars in the bank; some of them had retired upon their earnings, and gone into the business of fitting out and doctoring others, or working children at the trade. There were some who had both their arms bound tightly to their sides, and padded stumps in their sleeves, and a sick child hired to carry a cup for them. There were some who had no legs, and pushed themselves upon a wheeled platform—some who had been favored with blindness, and were led by pretty little dogs” (Sinclair 238). This quote by Sinclair attempts to show the reader the difficulties faced by the lower classes in response to the upper-class way of living. The purpose of this quote is to expose the struggles that immigrants face when assimilating into the low class “American Dream.”
How the Other Half Lives is a novel that includes pictures, written and photographed by muckraker Jacob A. Riis. Riis published his novel in attempt to illustrate the disparity among the tenement slums that immigrants were housed in New York City. One ideal that Riis attempted to enforce was the uncaringness of the upper class towards the lower class. As stated in the introduction of the novel, “Long ago it was said that "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives." That was true then. It did not know because it did not care. The half that was on top cared little for the struggles, and less for the fate of those who were underneath, so long as it was able to hold them there and keep its own seat” (Riis 6). In similarity to The Jungle, Riis speaks on behalf of the poorer class and how it is a struggle to receive and get basic necessities. This is due to the fact that the upper class does not notice the struggles faced by the lower class. Supporting this, Riis states, “There is nothing in the prospect of a sharp, unceasing battle for the bare necessaries of life, to encourage looking ahead, everything to discourage the effort” (Riis 119). Riis argues perfectly the fact that the lower-class battles to receive the luxuries promised to them by the “American Dream.” This supports the fact that the “American Dream” promised to immigrants is hollow, as it is unrealistic to achieve with the upper class in control of the economic systems in place.
The TEDx talk, “The True Cost of the American Dream” presented by Silvia Ramos reinforces the concepts provided in The Jungle and How the Other Half Lives in a modern reminisce. Ramos argues that although the “American Dream” is a true concept, the ideology behind the minds of immigrants arriving to fulfill the dream is inaccurate. She argues that to be accepted as a true American and fulfill the “American Dream,” immigrants must work harder than their fellow native white American peers. “You must first pay a hefty price to get in line. Economically, socially, and physically. While you’re in that line, you must access the things you will need to survive: housing, education, and jobs. You must be prepared to endure significant discrimination while you’re in that line. But you must always contribute to the surrounding communities, even when they don’t see the best in you” (Ramos: 1:19-1:46). Ramos’ perspective when she states this proves the ideal that hard work is needed to achieve the “American Dream,” rather than just moving to the United States and achieving the dream with no hard work. Another more modern approach that exposes the struggles immigrants face in order to accomplish the “American Dream” is stereotyping. Ramos states, “You must prove almost every day that you are not a criminal. Despite the fact that the only crime you have committed was seeking a better life for your family” (Ramos 1:47-1:55). In this statement, Ramos portrays the most modern approach to discrimination towards immigrants. As she states that immigrants must “put on a face” to prove they are not criminals, shows that immigrants must take an additional step in order to accomplish and fulfill their “American Dream.”
Overall, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair, How the Other Half Lives by Jacob A. Riis, and the TEDx talk by Silvia Ramos all portray the same common motif. All three texts enforce that immigrants must endure additional stress and overcome additional discrimination to achieve the “American Dream” that is promised to all by arriving in the land of the free. Although the “American Dream” is promised to all by immigrating to America, the real struggle does not lie within being allowed to work or purchase items. The real struggle lies within being accepted and loved in a community where the “American Dream” is enforced with the support of white or native privilege, which promotes stress and additional steps for immigrants to be accepted.