We had a good chat today about your summer reading books. Thank you for participating!
If you recall, I made a bold statement at the end of our discussion. I said:
All of the following texts: Dave Eggers' Zeitoun, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and even, for those of you out in the hallway, Richard Rodriguez's "Does America Still Exist" explore the American Dream.
Using the text of your choice, defend or dispute the statement with evidence from your reading. Root yourself in the text, be specific, and think deeply about your author's purpose as you build your case.
Please post a comment below by Friday, September 24th.
As many people in class stated the American dream can represent a variety of things, but the most reoccurring representation was freedom and equality. The story told in Zeitoun begins with a Syrian man living the stereotypical American Dream. He came to America, got married, and started a family and a business that was flourishing. During the aftermath of hurricane Katrina Zeitoun saw a side of America that most people have never seen, and never will. After being wrongfully arrested he was not read his Miranda rights, wasn’t allowed a phone call and was continuously mistreated. Months went by without his family knowing his fate. Zeitoun decided to take action, he asked another man to risk his life just so his family could know he was still alive. Finally his wife contacted a lawyer and with a struggle Zeitoun was released. I myself had no idea something like this could happen in America especially to a legal citizen. During our discussion my faith in the “American dream” faded a little bit, it seems like a person needs to fit a specific criteria in order to fully live out the American dream.
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ReplyDeleteThe book that I read was Extremely Loud and Inredibly Close. I believe hat this book is close to the opposite of the American Dream. This is because when the story tells about a boy who lost his father in the 9/11 attacks. While we went over the ideas of the american dream i did not once hear one persons dream as growing up without a father. Even the story behind Oskars in that his grandfatherhad lost almost all of is family including his lover. And the on top of that the 9/11 attacks killed thousands of people which lso killed their dream.
ReplyDeleteI read the Book Zeitoun. This book represents both sides of the American dream. In the bigining of the story you see a man who is working very hard and will stop at nothing to keep his dream of his buisness alive. But twords the End were he is thrown in jail for his looks and this damages his ideas of the American Dream and that Americans are not what he expected. He used to see them as be able to recieve outsiders and after 9/11 all those ideas went out the window. But he never believed that he would be descriminated for his looks.
ReplyDeleteI read Zeitoun by David Eggars. It has a great connection to the American Dream. A part of the American dream that it can be seen with is the idea of everyone being equal with the same rights. When Zeitoun was held in the makeshift prison for no apparent reason, that goes against what the Constitution gives us in terms of rights. Also, the whole reason Zeitoun stayed behind and tried to wait out the hurricane was to protect his business and home so that his family could prosper once Katrina passed. Zeitoun, being muslim, was the target of racist behavior. His race was the reason he was put in jail, which is also completely against U.S values. Overall, Zeitoun has a lot of connections to the American Dream, but these are just a few.
ReplyDeleteZeitoun by David Eggers was the book that I read. This story is a great example of the American Dream. Abdulrahman Zeitoun, an immigrant from Syria, came to America to live any immigrant's American Dream. He was looking for a new, better paying job, education, a home, and food. When Hurricane Katrina was approaching New Orleans, Zeitoun decided to stay because he wanted to protect everything that he and his wife worked so hard for. He did not want to loose everything and end up like he was in Syria, poor, and without food. Zeitoun experienced a whole other side of America that he never thought existed. Because of Zeitoun was Syrian, and he was Muslim, he was labeled as a threat (more specifically Al Querida) by the much unorganized law enforcement that had remained in New Orleans. All of his rights as a citizen, even his human rights, were violated. Zeitoun was not allowed a phone call, not read his Myranda rights, and thrown in a makeshift jail cell that was described in the book as a dog kennel. This was devastating for Zeitoun, but he was relived when his wife, Kathy brought a lawyer with her to the prison. I believe that Zeitoun was grateful that in this country, there is such thing as a lawyer that can help one who is in legal trouble. Zeitoun is a perfect example at showing how one could be living their American Dream, and the next second, that could be taken away.
ReplyDeleteI read Does America Still Exist? by Richard Rodriguez and he talks about the American Dream. Richard discusses that immigrant parent's expect their children to go to school and get an education even if they have to send their kids away. His article is talking about the American Dream because it is talking about how people survive in school and groups of kids and their education. Education is apart of the American Dream. Richard talks about how different races of groups are at the same school and are in classes together. He talks about how the generations have changed and how it is going to keep changing. Moving to a new place without your family is hard and that's kids had to do to get an education. It was and still is important to get an education, it is a privilege for us to be able to have a school with a lot of teachers and all that we have. The American Dream is all around us even if we don't realize it.
ReplyDeleteI read "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" for the English portion of the summer reading, and I think that this story reflected the negative side of the American Dream. Oskar Schell was left with no father due to the horrid events of 9/11, along with thousands of other unfortunate families who lost their loved ones in the tragedy. I think that even though the people who died in 9/11 were living the American Dream, it was taken away from them. They had a great job, and most of them had families at home waiting for their arrival after the work day. In connection with the American Dream, as easy as it seems to have the so-called American Dream, it is just as easy for that one dream to be taken away.
ReplyDeleteI think that America still exist because you can come here to get away from opression, violence, and drugs from where they live. If you can come here and say that you came for all of those reasons than you can state that America still exist. In the book Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close it shows that people come here away from violence because his granparents came here from Europe after they were bombed. It shows that they cam here to get away from violence and for future generations to feel safe. This shows that there is still a "American Dream".
ReplyDeleteI read the book: Zeitoun by David Eggers. This book explains the life of Abdoulrahman Zeitoun (mind the spelling) who was an immigrant from Syria. His entire family conquered many feats, and set many world records; with his brother swimming across the entire Mediterranean Sea. Zeitoun came to America to live his dream. Zeitoun boarded a ship that was going to dock in America and unload it's shipments. This is, of course, after his life of sailing. Once the ship made it there, he traveled to New Orleans and started up a family. He started a family business with his wife Kathy. They had children, and a dog. When Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Zeitoun stayed in New Orleans, and let Kathy and the kids and the dog drive out to stay with family out in Baton Rouge. During the aftermath of the storm, Zeitoun went around helping out random people and animals. He then met up with some of his clients (3 of them to be exact) and they stayed in the same house, with a working telephone. The police and military have been watching them because there was some groups spotted robbing stores at gun point. So, the police arrest Zeitoun and his buddies, and bring them to a "portable prison". Zeitoun, being muslim, is then charged as being a terrorist, and is then treated like dirt. After that jail, he is then moved to a maximum security prison, and is finally let out and re-joined his wife and children. This story follows the American Dream because this immigrant, Zeitoun, had gone from barely anything to owning his own company and prospering.
ReplyDeleteOne thing the American dream represents is security and protection. In America we want to feel safe and it is the governments job to protect us. The book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, goes against this dream. The tragedy of September 11, 2001 killed many Americans and in some ways damaged many American's sense of safety in the country. Another way that I believe the story goes against the American Dream is the idea of family and stability. People of America want a stable family, not one without a father. American's want their family to be healthy and happy. Oskar's dad is dead and it makes Oskar unhappy because his dad is not alive and well anymore. Oskar says that he has "heavy boots" about his dad's death and ever since he has died, Oskar has "heavy boots" an unhealthy amount. He is depressed and even hurts himself sometimes, usually giving himself a pinch. Also, another American Dream that the story explores is the dream of love and having someone there to love you. Oskar's mother gets a new boyfriend because she is in search of love. She does not want to be alone for the rest of her life, just because her husband is gone now. Overall, I think the book went against the American dream because American's don't dream of struggle, they dream of success and happiness which is close to the opposite of what the book is about.
ReplyDeleteI read "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close", and I feel that this has parts to do with the American Dream. I think that Oscar's grandparents are a good example of the American Dream, and although it means different things to different people, to them it must have been that coming here would mean putting their past behind them and being able to start over. They originally came from Germany, and when Dresden was bombed they decided to come to America, were they met once again and finally got married. The American Dream is all about finding a new place to "hang your hat" and feel safe. Oscar's grandparents were able to live seperate lives, and have a child that the grandfather didn't know about. They made a rule that they wouldn't have kids, but they ended up having one anyway, and it changed their lives forever. I think that everyone in this book received closure, because Oskar's grandfather finally gave all his letters to his son, Oskar came to terms with his father's death, and Oskar's grandmother, after having a lifetime of rules, got a child and felt complete. In a way, the American Dream does define this, and although this book goes both ways, I can't say that it doesn't show promise of the American Dream in these desperate characters.
ReplyDeleteI read "Extremely loud and incredibly close" I think this book does have a little bit of the american dream in it but it also has some stuff that i feel goes against the american dream. It goes along with the american dream because it shows you the Oskar's grandparents immigrated from dresden to get to america and have a better life, which is what everyone who comes to america hopes for. It tells you how they had built their lives together here and became successful, this is the american dream, they had achieved it. But the other half of the book with Okar having his dad die in 9/11 was like everything against the american dream. Being in america, to live the american dream means that you can feel safe with your family and secure at all times and not have to worry about this kind of tragedy happening to you. But for Oskar it did happen, and it left him with an unsettling feeling that nothing was secure, almost that he wasnt safe at all after 9/11, plus he never really knew what happened to his dad. He just needed to find closure in knowing how his dad really died. So this book represents a little bit of both, it shows you that living in america can go both ways; with the american dream or against it in a lot of different ways
ReplyDeleteI read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and I think that this book doesn't exactly represent the American dream. For starters, 9/11 shows that our country is not safe. Also, the attacks took Oskars father away from him. And after his father passed, Oskar searched for the answer to that key and he wandered the streets of New York. Because he did this every weekend and his mom didn't seem to care that her young son was on his own, they grew distant. Also, Oskar grandfather wasn't in his life until the very end of the book. The only family Oskar is really close with is his grandmother, and though some may say this is all you need for the American dream.. I don't exactly agree. I can see both sides of it though, this book in some ways represents the American dream, but it mostly does not.
ReplyDeleteI think that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close could go both ways. The reason why i think it represents the american dream is because, in the book, the boy pursues the mystery about a person he loves. i think that's a part of an american dream because when a person loses the person they love, i don't think they would want to dismiss the fact of not knowing why they're gone. i think this book shows the opposite too, because the 9/11 incident was a national disaster, and i doubt that national disasters are part of anyone's american dream.
ReplyDeleteThe book "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" displays the opposite of the American Dream. People have a dream to be safe in America and to be happy with their loved ones. Oscar was not able to feel either in the book. Due to 9/11 so many people and their families were affected in a negatively way showing that the American Dream is not always possible. People also have the right to be with anyone they want to be with as part of the American Dream. This was taken away from Oscar's mother along with him. They could not be with their family due to this event.
ReplyDeleteThe article I read in the hallway was Does America still Exist. I think that this article did not represent the american dream because Rodriguez believes this question should be answered with urgency. He doesn't think that the "American Dream" has taken place for most Americans. Rodriguez can speak for a lot of those poor people who don't grow up with the best surroundings, and doesnt support the idea of the American Dream because he didnt appreciate it too well. I support Rodriguez because if I put myself in his shoes, I would not be able to say that I was living the American Dream, but the dream is different for every American citizen, and viewed differently among different people.
ReplyDeleteI read "Extremely Loud an dIncredibly Close". i found that the story was compelling. it showed teh american dream. to do something. to change something. Oskar went out to find teh key. now sure he only wanted to figure out its connection to his father but he changed things. he changed himself. he changed the people he met. he changed teh world around him. all small acts can changed something. being bullied can change a persons outlook on life. just one bad comment can ruin a day. strange how the bad effects us more. one bad comment can knock us down. it takes so many good things to get us standing again. Oskar did good. he entered peopel's lives and changed them just a bit. good things. he showed them something new. determintaion. he made their days a bit brighter. that is the american dream's way of showing through that story. to be able to live with those around you and be happy.
ReplyDeleteI read extremely loud and incredibly close. I believe that this book is the opposite of what people want the American dream is. September 11 was not a great thing on America’s part it brought discussion on how people now know that America is not as safe as they think it is. When having the discussion people were all saying that anything involving a trading in America sets off a red flag to others in different countries.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I believe that the book is also what people want the American dream is when going through the book Oskar goes on a journey to find things about his father and to find the meaning of the key but in the end he was only looking for closure. I believe that part of the American Dream is having closure to life and having closure takes either pain or just makes a person a sense of ease and that’s what Oskar was looking for. Those are the reasons why I think the book extremely loud and incredibly close showed what the American dream is and what the American dream isn’t.
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ReplyDeleteI felt that Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close covered an extremely wide range of topics. The American Dream being one of those topics crossed my mind but it felt like it was just a side thing in the story. Sure, Oskar's family had roots in Germany and some of the story was told there, but it was just to clear gaps in the story. The main story, I felt, was with Oskar and his search for the meaning of the key and links to his dead father. It seemed that Oskar's grandfather's story was just a side story. The main story was about tragedy, not exactly opportunity and freedom. For example, Oskar's grandfather seemed to be wrapped up in his own personal problems with his ex-wife. Even though he left Dresden for new opportunities and a new life because he lost everything, that was just a small portion of the book. He spent a greater deal of time trying to work out his own problems with his ex and his grandson in the present. If Mr. Foer did intend to use The American Dream as a theme in this book, it's a very small theme compared to everything else. I don't think that he intended to explore The American Dream.
ReplyDeleteI read the book Incredibly Loud, and Extremely Close. This book shows the American Dream by example of Oskar's grandparents. In the story, their lives are destroyed, and they embark on a journey to America, in the hope to escape from their old lives, and start fresh in America, which is the embodiment of the American Dream.
ReplyDeleteI read the book Zeitoun by David Eggers. In some ways this book does represent the American dream, like at the beginning for instance. A serian man moves to America and is able to start his own business and live as a free American. He is successful, happy, married with a family, and is living his life as a citizened American.
ReplyDeleteBut, after the hurricane hits, all of his rights and dreams soon became the past to him. Until us Americans are able to look at a man of another heritage, race, or religion and think of them as our brother in America, then we will not fully reach the American dream. The American dream is to reach full equality, a place where everybody and coexist together and respect one another and live worry free. At first, Zeitoun had this, he had a business where people didn't look at him like a stereotype, but they looked at his hard work and dedication. After Hurricane Katrina however, because of the conditions guards started placing blame on anybody they could(especially those not of American descent). With Zeitoun it seemed rational for them to place the blame on him. They figured it was somebody else that had caused the natural disaster and automatically assumed the worst. And, as soon as his friends were found with large amounts of cash, he along with his friends, became a higher "threat."
Once people can make it past race, religion, and heritage then we will know the true American dream.