To be an American in the 20th Century meant that you were in pursuit of the American Dream, or, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative”. The finish line shown in our mural represents the American Dream, with each character seeing a different goal for themselves at the end of it. The four different lanes represent the different paths the characters had to take to achieve their dream. This was the uniting goal that linked all Americans to each other. The American dream has long been an ideal of prosperity for Americans. The promise of a better life attracted hopeful immigrants before they could even call America their home. In the twentieth
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While remembering what her mother told her about growing up and getting married, Esperanza decides “not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain” (Cisneros 88). By expressing marriage through the metaphor of ball and chain, Esperanza makes it clear that she is opposed to conforming to gender stereotypes. Because of her experiences with gender bigotry, Esperanza wishes to be free of misogyny and become successful on her own in order to live in the affluent community of her dreams. In an excerpt from Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, she writes that instead of having dreams, “all [a woman] had to do was devote their lives from earliest girlhood to finding a husband and bearing children” (Friedan). Friedan uses sarcastic irony to express the ridiculousness of the idea that women should not pursue the American Dream. This is parallel to Esperanza’s idea that she should be able to mold her own success in order to be liberated from her current setting. This is why for Esperanza’s obstacles, we put a ball and chain and a window to represent how women became trapped after marriage, and a few coins and dollars to represent the poverty that she faced in her community. Esperanza wanted to overcome these obstacles in order to get to her dream of living in a luxurious house. Latino and African Americans experienced many hardships throughout their journey to success, but even white Americans, with barely any obstacles, participated in the nationwide effort towards the American
While remembering what her mother told her about growing up and getting married, Esperanza decides “not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain” (Cisneros 88). By expressing marriage through the metaphor of ball and chain, Esperanza makes it clear that she is opposed to conforming to gender stereotypes. Because of her experiences with gender bigotry, Esperanza wishes to be free of misogyny and become successful on her own in order to live in the affluent community of her dreams. In an excerpt from Betty Friedan’s book, The Feminine Mystique, she writes that instead of having dreams, “all [a woman] had to do was devote their lives from earliest girlhood to finding a husband and bearing children” (Friedan). Friedan uses sarcastic irony to express the ridiculousness of the idea that women should not pursue the American Dream. This is parallel to Esperanza’s idea that she should be able to mold her own success in order to be liberated from her current setting. This is why for Esperanza’s obstacles, we put a ball and chain and a window to represent how women became trapped after marriage, and a few coins and dollars to represent the poverty that she faced in her community. Esperanza wanted to overcome these obstacles in order to get to her dream of living in a luxurious house. Latino and African Americans experienced many hardships throughout their journey to success, but even white Americans, with barely any obstacles, participated in the nationwide effort towards the American