The United States has a long, rich history of immigration, and most U.S. citizens today can trace their lineage back to an immigrant family. Immigrants faced many hardships both in traveling to the United States and in making a life here once they arrived. The movie "Far and Away" addresses many immigration issues as it follows the lives of two Irish immigrants, Joseph Donnelly and Shannon Christie, in the late 19th century.
Immigrants viewed the United States as a land of promise where their dreams could come true, and many people immigrated hoping to find a better life in the new world. In the movie, Shannon Christie is the daughter of a rich landowner. Although she lives a life of privilege in Ireland, she feels constrained by the traditional rules governing female behavior and wants to escape these boundaries. She declares that she is running away to America because she is "going to be modern" and America is a modern place. Shannon also believes that in America women can act however they want to and declares that in America she will ride her horse however she wants to and no one will tell her it's wrong. For Shannon, the United States represents freedom from tradition. The other main character of the movie, Joseph Donnelly, also travels to America in search of freedom. In his case, Joseph is seeking freedom from the landlords who control Irish farmers. Early in the movie, the landlord's men burn down the Donnelly farmhouse because the rent is past due. Joseph is enraged and wants to live in a place where a man can own his land and be free from the oppression of the landlords. Therefore, both Joseph and Shannon, like many immigrants, travel to America seeking freedom and hoping to have a better life.
Once the immigrants arrived in America, they faced many challenges. Shannon and Joseph have little money, and it is difficult for immigrants to find jobs and housing. However, the ethnic groups tend to stick together and help one another. Through the help of local Irish, Joseph and Shannon find housing in a brothel and jobs at a chicken factory. They earn little money and most of it goes towards room and board, which makes it very difficult to save money to travel to Oklahoma and get their own land. The immigrants also face prejudice; at one point in the movie, Joseph begs a man for work only to be told, "I don't hire Irish." This prejudice often made it harder for new immigrants to find work and survive in the US. The immigrant groups are also prejudiced against one another, which may be a result of competing against each other for jobs and housing. In "Far and Away," this prejudice is shown through the Irish and Italian immigrant groups who detest one another. This prejudice often created conflict among immigrants. The new immigrants came to America with big dreams, but they had to face poverty and prejudice before these dreams could come true.
In "Far and Away," Joseph and Shannon achieve their dreams and obtain their own land. Even today, the "American dream" of the immigrants exists in our culture. This dream maintains that if a poor person works hard, they can obtain success and wealth. Do you think the "American dream" was a reality for most immigrants or only a fairy tale? What about in today's society? Is it realistic for someone from a poor background to dream of being rich and successful someday or is this just a false hope?
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I believe it depends on where and what circumstances you are coming from as far as whether the American dream is a reality or not. If you come from an area of the world that has war, poverty (unlike what we have experienced in the last century), famine, and heinous acts of violence against men, woman, and children, then yes, the American dream is a reality. Merely escaping some of these situations and not living with the daily fear of death by starvation, war, or other violence is a dream for a lot of people. I would hope that success isn’t always associated with the amount of wealth one assumes but merely the quality of life they live. What we in this country may believe to be the American dream and what immigrants coming in here think of can be two radically different things. Like I mentioned above, having three meals a day to someone coming from a country that experiences constant famine is a dream. I think to truly appreciate the idea of the American dream the immigrants themselves are the best ones to consult.
ReplyDeleteI think most immigrants come to America seeking their dreams, whether that be wealth from working hard and earning money, or raising their families in a more safe environment from their less fortunate country. These immigrants I believe come with determination to succeed. At first this may seem like a fairy tale, but will quickly learn that their dreams can come true with determination and hard work. I also completely agree with the comment above. Success is in the eye of the beholder. When you have immigrants coming from third world countries starving and struggling with diseases, their hopes and dreams will be nothing compared to the typical "American dream".
ReplyDeleteI agree with the United States is one of the countries which has a long and complicated history of immigration. I suppose there is anywhere else place like America in the world-various culture, race,and language are mixed up. This fact makes easy for immigrants to be successful because people likely to judge others by their backgrounds but by the content of their charactors. In a sence, I believe "American dream" is exist.
ReplyDeleteI find that it could be both, in the movie Shannon is coming to America for land, but has no clue as to how hard she will actually have to work to get it. It is not just there when she arrives she has to put effort in to get it. To those people that come the United States thinking that all their troubles will be anwsered as soon as they get here well then yes, I think for them the American dream will look like a fairy tale. For those who come here thinking that it will not be easy and they may have to stuggle for along time then their effort I believe will be rewarded. We live in a great country compared to those who are living in extreme cases of povery and war. People coming to America from those countries may have a better chance at finding a job and making a living than what they had in their country and to them the American dream will be every thing and maybe more.
ReplyDeleteI've often heard people from other countries talk about how much we don't appreciate what we have here. I have known people that have come to America and started businesses, received educations, and then went on to be successful in what they believe success means. For some it could just be the basic freedoms we enjoy every day. For others it could be shelter, education, food that has to pass inspection. I believe that the American dream is different for everyone who comes here.
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