...Robinson ENG 108 Prof Shane Journal #2 Dreams of My Father Pre reading: As I looked at the cover of Dreams of My Father, I imagine the people on the cover are the most influential people in his life. You get a feeling of strong family values with military discipline mixed in. I expect to get a better understanding of a man who made history as the first African American president in American history. Looking deeper into the cover you see a diverse background to give me a feeling of someone who could have had a hard time with racial identity. A feeling of moving from place to place with a different idea of how people view you. every place never really knowing who you really are. I will see the Life of a man who will become our first African-American president before that idea was thought possible. During or active reading • Pg. 4 2nd paragraph “…I had grown too comfortable in my solitude; the safest place I knew” Jumped out at me because I feel the same way. To open your feeling leaves you exposed, best way to protect something is to cover it up. • Pg. 5 November morning while making breakfast aunt Jane in Nairobi told him his father had died in a car accident…you always get bad news at the worst time. I was on my way to work at a country bar and while there I get news I never wanted, reactions are different but always difficult. Barack didn’t really know his father but the news still brought out feelings of sadness. My bad news was about the woman who gave...
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...Crane QU101 9/13/10 Creating An Identity In Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama he talks about his life experiences and how it formed him as a human being. The story also shows his interpretation of what a solid community should consist of, as well as how individuals should interact with each other within the community. Through out his life he was discovering who he was by new meeting people and trying new things. An individual’s identity is formed through life experiences and cannot be sustained because it is ever changing. A community is a group of people that are brought together by friends, family, neighbors, and people with common interests. Communities are important because it gives people a sense of belonging and being wanted. And in Dreams From My Father, those were the needs and values that Barack was searching for. Communities are sustained through shared values, trust, loyalty, and a sense of safety. In a community people have moral responsibilities to other people and the community as a whole. Communities have moral responsibilities to their individual members because they need to keep their community together. Sometimes you get put into situations where you want to look out for yourself rather than the big picture with the community. You have to be able to put others in front of you sometimes so that you can avoid these types of conflicts. My favorite excerpt from the text came when his father was insulted by a man who said that he would not...
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...In the first ten chapters of the book Dreams from my Father, Barack Obama has had a tug of war with his racial identity. He has always been conflicted on the person that he is and is aware that he doesn’t fit in any kind of neat box. During his formative years, he was exposed to a variety of cultures, ranging from his grandparents and mother living in Hawaii, his father from Kenya, and his stepfather from Indonesia. By experiencing these other cultures and ways of thinking, his own set of ideologies wasn’t exactly the same as other people he has met on his life’s journey. This causes discourse in his self-confidence. He doesn’t feel authentic enough in either his father’s or his mother’s ethnicity and he constantly has a struggle with other people’s view of him. As the story progresses, he starts to realize the influence that hegemony has within groups of people and that it is not just a simple black and white world. The passage I chose to close read was when Obama introduces Joyce in chapter five. It is because of Joyce, Obama starts to realize the divide in his identity as a mixed race person is even bigger than he imagined. He meets her freshman year at Occidental College in the dorms that they lived in. He asks her if she was going to the Black Students’ Association meeting and she is offended by his question. She states that she is not black, but multiracial and goes to explain, “It’s not white people who are making me choose… It’s black people who always have to make things...
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...In the Name of Identity: Who are you? What makes you, you? How are you recognized as a human being? What makes you different than every other person in the world? These questions contribute to your identity regardless of what you look like or where you come from. Every single person in the world is different whether it is visible to others or not. Although we are all different, we connect and form relationships through common ideas, values, and goals. In the novel Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance, by Barack Obama, he recalls many different issues involving his identity as a whole in addition to the communities he lived in and principle values he was raised to believe. Throughout the story Obama creates a theme of struggle involving his own identity. He relates these issues towards his own community and explains how certain occurrences shaped his character values and personality. The word individual can be defined in various ways. It is a word that can apply to many different aspects of life as well as raising questions about who exactly we are as individuals and how we became the who we are today. Some factors that contribute to shaping our identities are social, educational, economic and historical. While Obama was growing up, identity was something he struggled with deeply. He was constantly moving, which forced him to experience different communities and ultimately aided in forming his identity. Looking back on it now, it seems beneficial, but at...
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...Back to School A country thrives when its citizens contribute and make an effort to make the most of what they are offered in life. President Barack Obama is very aware of this and has made it an important subject and goal in his presidential career to inspire youngsters in the right direction, both for their own sake and their country’s. Barack Obamas’ speech “Back to School” at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia was held in September 8, 2009. The age of the present audience varied to children from kindergarten and all the way up to twelfth grade. In addition to that, the speech was also broadcasted to students all over the country. The audience is obviously extremely great, and the speech will therefore have a tremendous impact on several individuals. The first thing Obama seems to focus on in his speech on the first day of the children’s school day are in fact the children themselves. He speaks directly to them, and initiates the whole thing by telling everyone that being nervous is perfectly normal. He has obviously tried it himself when he was their age. Very easily he finds a way to make everyone relate to him by telling stories from his own life. Barack Obama did not grow up under the best circumstances. He was raised by a single mother whom was very passionate about doing what was best for her son. She even sought to homeschool Obama, when he wasn’t at school. She wanted to make sure he would have the best possible future. This particular section of the speech...
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...in place just for people of color or minority and some that are set in place for all if the all fit in the category set forth in that particular law. To this day the law is not equal. Crucial Social and Political incidents When my parents moved our family from Newark, NJ to Piscataway, NJ in the early 70’s, my father wanted to find a place better than where we were coming from. He found a home in an area that the builder was told not to sell to blacks. The builder did not care, he cared that my father had the down payment and he was approved, so the builder let my father buy the home. There was a reason why blacks were not allowed in that area. It all started with the bomb threats, sugar in our car gas tank, screen door torn from off the front door and racial slurs written on the garage doors. That is just the tip of the iceberg. My father told us never to cross to the other side of the road. We could never figure out why, until one day we decided to ride our bikes to the school on the other side of the road. We were at the school no more than five minutes before three police cars pulled and with sirens hailing. They told us to drop the bikes and lay on the ground. He asked us where we stole the bikes from. We told them our father bought them for us. One of the officers then asked us, “Where are the receipts”. (Mind you we were 13, 9, and 8) We told them we did not buy them so we don’t have receipts. The officer said that he was going to arrest for stealing...
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...Obama entered the Illinois politics; the strongest cause that led Obama to run a seat in Illinois State Senate was that he published an autobiography, Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. This work was praised and translated into 25 different languages. The work also ushered him to win election in 1996 as a democrat representative (Barack Obama Biography). As a Senator, he have done great works. Such as Obama’s credentials led him to run for Illinois State Senate and he won the election as a Democrat representative in 1996 (Barack Obama Biography). As Senator he aided in “drafting legislation on ethics [expanding] health care services...early childhood education programs for the poor...state earned-income tax credit for...
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...Shreeti Sigdel Hamilton AP English III/5th 20 September 2013 The American Dream For generations, the American dream has floated around society in different forms. In the 19th century, it was viewed as an independent and cowboy-worthy lifestyle, whereas in the early 20th century, it corresponded to nationalism and unity. In today’s society, young generations often fantasize the lavish lifestyle of Beyoncé and Justin Timberlake while declaring it their American dream. The origin of the term dates back to 1931, where it was first coined in James Truslow Adams’ The Epic of America. Adams claims that the egalitarian nature of this dream began to take shape when the early Puritan colonists settled in America with the hopes of living in freedom from governmental persecution. Like the Puritans, millions of immigrants leave their country every year with the hopes of building a better life. Because of different generations’ perspective and individual values, it is difficult to assign a certain definition to the American dream. For example, to some people, the dream is often associated with success, while to others, it corresponds to future family stability. Whatever the version may be, America’s countless prospects guarantee every American the opportunity to achieve their dream through hard work and dedication. While every American has heard the phrase, “American Dream” at least once in their lifetime, every non-American has heard it at least a 100 times. The opportunity to live...
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...Dreams are shaped by ideals and families shape the beliefs we believe so strongly. I seek the capability to improve my life as well as the lives of those around me through an education career because my family has enlightened me that change can be positive and radical in altering lives; I hope to hold that ability someday. And most of all because of those who have raised me I dedicate a path of personal improvement and the formation of dedication individual who promotes good character. When my father was forced out of his country and immigrated to the United States, he left his passion behind because he was a teacher in Mexico and his chance to pursue that career in the U.S. was in reluctant by his limited ability to speak the English language. My greatest motivation is to keep my father’s dreams alive and to become an educator shaping and leading the youth. I watched my father’s future fall apart, I watched his devotion and ambition be burned down, and as I watched, I was unable to do help. Because of my father, I am determined and confident that I will revive those dreams he once dreamt. With the fire that fuels me, I want to become as great and as inspiring as my father is to me. I pursue to building a brighter future for my family, as well as myself, because when I was lost and confused I was clay and theirs were the artist’s hands. My...
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...Drastically transforming our lives over time, the winds of change have slowly but surely been affecting our nation, especially in regards to the America Dream. The core values of the American Dream may remain the same, but individual beliefs in the Dream have changed from generation to generation. While the American Dream shares some of the same values in each generation, it begins to change when it comes to specifics. A prime example of the evolution of the American dream is shown in the differences between the dreams of my grandfather, my father, and my own. My grandfather was born into poverty and worked his way through college. During my father’s life he worked his way up from the bottom to owning his own accounting firm. My grandfather’s...
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...My Personal Connections Dominic Cantori had a secret and did not want anyone to know it. Accidentally left behind on a school field trip, he went on an adventure back in the past through his dream. Within his dream, Dominic discovers himself as well as finds hope for his future.Dominic was holding onto a painful secret, and felt that he would be judged by his peers if they knew the truth. His dream is a small movie of the events that took place leading up to the life of Dominic Cantori. After reading the novel, I found many personal connections throughout the story. I can personally relate to Dominic, when he was left behind in the museum. A little over ten years ago, my father left me behind when we went hunting. We were heading home after...
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...sacrifice and determination on the part of those who are leading.” Colin Powell and President Barack Obama are two African American men who had to overcome much adversity to achieve their elite status in American politics. Both of their journeys varied greatly with Powell serving as Secretary of State under George W. Bush and Obama becoming the first African-American Commander-in-Chief. They also chronicle their journeys with autobiographies, with Obama recording this passage of his life in his 1995 independently written autobiography Dreams from My Father, while Powell recollects stories from his life with the assistance of Joseph E. Persico in the 1995 book My American Journey. On an important side note, both of these books were written before they have reached their respective positions in politics. Obama wrote Dreams from My Father when he was still only a state Senator in Illinois, awhile before he even considered running for President. While Powell wrote My American Journey where at the time he was already Powell was already a 4-star general which preceded the events that led to his appointment as Secretary of State, where he was the first African-American to hold the position and gave his notorious speech in front on the United Nations dealing with the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, which dramatically changed the public’s perception about him. Each story instead focuses on how they were brought up. While each book contains a different central message, Powell and Obama reveals...
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...Some people have their own dreams since they were young. And they are sure that they want those dreams to be their future. However, some people find their dreams after they have grown up. Most of the teenagers are still having numerous dream jobs in their mind. Most of them not sure of what they want to be but they knew where they want to be. They want to live without worries , and live happily in the future. For me, as a 17-years-old student, my only aim for now is to pass my O'level with good grades so that i can get into the course that i want. Even though my mind has been wavering with a lot of thoughts and people's 'suggestion'. It is really hard for me to stick on one dream as i am easily influenced by other people. I wanted to be a business woman when i was young because i saw a movie about a successful business woman and i thought she was cool. After a while, i wanted to be an engineer like my father, a hotel owner after i visited to a grand hotel as i thought it would be awesome and a ballet dancer when i saw a Hong Kong movie about a beautiful ballet dancer. As i grew up i had more and more dreams. I wanted to be spy, detective, singer, and lastly architecture. And now i had realized, no matter how many dreams i had, there are some common factors about the dreams that i want. I wanted those career because i thought it would be cool, famous and mostly money. The fact that i like money does not change. My last dream was to be an architecture because i thought it...
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...When a person thinks about the idea of the American Dream, the first thing that comes to mind is the notion that everyone is considered equal. Everyone has the same rights and opportunities as everyone else. What is the exact definition for the American Dream? It is defined as the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The concept of the American Dream originates from the 1920’s. In an article written by John Archer, the term “self-made man” combined with a hint of success and riches gave birth to what we now know as the American (Archer 11). From that day forward, this “Dream” is the inspiration for everything U.S. citizens do in their...
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...go for it! Though I may ultimately become envious, I enjoy seeing my friends and other people succeed. I encourage all my children to go after their dreams. I have dreams of my own and have received very positive feedback from several personal and business friends. I hold back for one reason, I don’t have any support from my spouse. To her, it’s a foolish and vain ambition. So with my entrepreneurial needs lying dormant, I encourage everyone I meet to go for it! My father is an attorney and his father was a cattle rancher. As I was growing up in the home, my father shared with me a dream he had, but he never fulfilled that dream. He didn’t go for it! His dream was to own and operate a premium cycling shop in Salt Lake City. At the time, back in the 1980’s there was Fishers in Sugarhouse and a few, less premium, shops scattered about the valley. Today, there are dozens of successful, independent, premium cycling shops along the Wasatch Front. My father saw the vision and had the passion, but did not go for it. I have a great friend and tax client named Steve Savage. We both worked at Datamark together. At the time of his employment at Datamark, he was their lead account manager over their largest client, Corinthian Colleges. Steve and I both left the company around the same time. Both of us took positions with other firms. As we would meet occasionally for lunch we would discuss our individual entrepreneurial dreams. Steve had mastered the online lead generation business at Datamark...
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