The American Dream in Anzia Yezierskas The Lost Beautifulnessand Carlos Bulosans Be American Is The American Dream just

a dream? People from across the globe wishing for a better life see America as a land of promises ; they give up on their own lives and try to build a new one, a brighter one in America. Anzia Yezierskas The Lost Beautifulness and Carlos Bulosans Be American are both great stories that represent real life lessons meant to point out the harsh reality of the immigrants in America. Yezierskas short story focuses on Hanneh Hayyehs desire to achieve the American Dream by fitting in the American society impersonated by Mrs. Peters figure; the author emphasizes the strength of her dream using original metaphors. Bulosans character, Consorcio is an example of ambition and will for everyone that has dreams; he is ready to do whatever it takes in order to fulfill his dream. Thus, being very well represented in both stories, the American Dream theme can be compared on the basis of how is perceived that concept by the two protagonists. Being herself an immigrant, Anzia Yezierska draws successfully Hannehs struggle to achieve the American Dream. A Russian Jewess, Hanneh tries to forget her life in Russia by building a new one in this new country. Finding support in her friend, Mrs. Peters which is part of the American Dream because she has always lived in America, the woman translates the American Dream in material possessions and social status. By contrast, Consorcio truly believes in America and makes the earning of the American citizenship the purpose of his life; he is not interested in social position and he doesnt care about others people opinion about him. The major difference on which is based the whole comparison is the way how is understood the American Dream by the two heroes. For Hanneh, her spiritual fulfillment, equivalent with the American Dream, is represented by beauty, in her case, the beauty of her kitchen. She cant see
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the sense of a life without beautifulness and that is why she tries to show off her feelings by painting the kitchen. Even if Hanneh claims that what she did is for her beloved son, she is very proud of her work. To feel entirely satisfied she needs to flattered, so she invites all her neighbors to see her work of art; but, the most important opinion is Mrs. Peterss. Ambitious like Hanneh, Consorcio is very confident in his ability of becoming an American: he talked about his Americanization with great confidence(1937). He looks for jobs, buys books, goes to a night school and really tries to learn about the American history. In order to accomplish their dream, both Hanneh and Consorcio sacrifice their time and money. To see her dream coming to reality Hanneh works hard and spends all her money. Although the husband reproves her, she is proud of what she did. Incited by Mrs. Peterss words about democracy she really believes that : Democracy means that everybody in America is going to be with everybody alike.(1254). Consorcio dedicates hit time to his dream: full of innocence he makes plans that, in the end, turn to be unrealistic. Even if in his way appear obstacles he continues to believe. The author describes the way that Consorcio used to be, an illiterate peasant(1936), pointing out the changes that he suffers: I found a new Consorcio. He aged and the peasant naivet was gone from his face.(1939). He faced the cruel reality, the impossibility of doing everything he planned to. Although the both stories present the Americanization process the protagonists dont share the same destiny; their end differs, being a consequence of the way they followed their dreams. On her happiness Hanneh cant see the real face of the American society where she lives, so she cant anticipate that her whole work and struggle was in vain. When the landlord raises the rent her faith in democracy, in a new world, supported on her friends sayings, is ruined. In the end she compares the landlords with the Russian czars, underlining the

ineffectiveness of democracy. She was assured that the war is to give everybody a chance to lift up his head like a person(1254), but life demonstrates the contrary: In America everybody looks out for himself(1258). By contrast, Consorcio does achieve is dream; he ends up defending the workers and upholding the rights and liberties of all Americans, native or foreign-born(1940). Becoming an American without knowing it, the Filipino started to change in an American when he began to think and write lovingly about our America(1941). Though the short stories share the same theme they are distinct and individual thanks to each author. Anzia Yezierska explores the generational and gendered conflicts within the immigrants population; Carlos Bulosan writes about Filipino American immigrants but he claims that all who came to the United States as immigrants are Americans too. Both stories speak about the immigrants desire to earn a prosper life; both writers make clear that the American Dream is not that easy to achieve. Works Cited Yezierska, Anzia. The Lost Beautifulness. Title of anthology: The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Between the Wars, Nina Baym, : New York, NY, W. W. Norton & Company, 2003, 1253 1263, Print Bulosan, Carlos. Be American. Title of anthology: The Norton Anthology of American Literature: American Literature Since 1945, Nina Baym, New York, NY, W. W. Norton & Company, 2003, 1936-1941, Print