The “American Dream”

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 The social expectations for dogs has always been harder. When a person decides to adopt a dog their expectation is that they are getting a new best friend. After all dogs are “man’s best friend.” However, many would be dog owners forget that a natural part of having a best friend is the fact that this best friend is a person. One day the two of you spend every second together and the next you are arguing who is a partly cloudy patriot and who is not. This narrative is exhibited in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s work “Swimmer.” In this work Dennis-Benn narrates her story of the expectations that were had of her being an immigrant. Specifically, the fact that she went to Cornell University but decided to take the creative writing path instead of pursuing medicine. This idea is exemplified when Nicole Dennis-Benn says, “I later blurted to the small group of three… “English,” I replied. With a creative writing minor. They fell silent.” This quote sums up the experience that many disadvantaged people have when they must choose between appeasement of their family, friends, and society or their calling in life. Furthermore, many people believe that life is like a movie and once you fail a couple of times there is going to be a peppy song that plays and magically everything works out. However, that is not real life. Many people move to America when they are just kids and when they are on their death bed the “American Dream” is no closer than the day they enter this country. This very narrative played out in Nicole Dennis-Benn’s life. She writes, “ I began to claim this American Dream, which my friends insisted I had achieved. Until one day it struck me - I was  nowhere near it.” The American Dream is one where anyone in the United States of America can achieve success through hard work and determination. However, how is this dream possible if by all standards a very successful immigrant, one we are learning about in school, has not achieved this dream. Isn’t the whole dream that it can be shared with many? 

Comments

  1. Vighnesh ChandaSeptember 21, 2025 at 2:22 PM

    'when they are on their death bed the “American Dream” is no closer than the day they enter this country'. I really like this quote that you wrote, it really just baffles me how people chase the so called 'American Dream' which in my opinion has been long dead, ever since the immigrant started setting up standards or more informally a fixed path that one must follow to achieve the American Dream, that's when the 'American Dream' ceased to truly exist. How can one call it 'The American Dream', when it isn't even a dream, instead a predetermined path that an immgrant must follow to achieve it.

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