In the essay “Stephen Cruz” Studs Terkel gives a strong opinion on the American dream. He says, “The American dream, I see now, is governed not by education, opportunity, and hard work, but by power and fear. The higher up you go, the more you have to lose. The dream is not losing.” (Terkel pg. ) This is interesting to me because I have never viewed the American dream with a negative outlook. History classes always put the idea that the American dream was a fantasy of a perfect life. It went along the lines of having a nice house, white picket fence, expensive car, beautiful family, dog… and the list could go on. After reading “Stephen Cruz” I’ve come to recognize the illusion that the American dream has been made out to be. When Studs Terkel …show more content…
A communist war where they set out to kill anyone educated, or anyone that was smart enough to stop them from taking over. They came to America to have a better life for them and their children. Their dream for my brother and I is to live a comfortable life where we do not have to exhaust ourselves from a job just to live paycheck to paycheck like we do now. My father first came to America and got a job in a factory. A couple years later he got hired at F&F Concrete where drives and pours a concrete truck. He is one of the best workers at the company. His bosses love him and the customers love him. I remember last year he got offered a job at a different concrete company. The benefits were great. He wouldn't have to do as much labor and he would still get a better pay. The boss offering him the job heard so many good things about him that he kept asking my dad to accept the job. It's too bad that my father was scared of the “what if’s”. He did not want to risk leaving where his job and pay was secured for something that could be better. He said he was too old to switch now jobs now and that he doesn't want to risk anything that would get in the way of him putting my brother and I through college. My dad was scared of