The American Dream is the widespread assumption of a better life in the United States of America. It has long been believed that America is the epitome of a land that brings almost ultimately only prosperity and success to everyone who dares to dream the American dream—regardless of his or her origin. No wonder many people from the poorest countries of Asia dare themselves to fly thousands of miles away from the comforts of their homes to challenge the unknown and find out what is in store for them in the land that promises so much to people who are willing to work hard. With the bright city lights that promise far-reaching opportunities in life that are meant for everyone who is willing to do everything to succeed, the dream of a bright future in every person—no matter how far he or she may be—is kindled. But the aspirations and hard work, no matter how strong, are not always enough to put the dream into materialization. As we analyze four (4) literary artworks done by Asian-Americans who braved the waves and tried their luck in the foreign land of USA, we may be able to see the challenges they had to face and how they stood up or fell with their struggles.
Poetry within Earshot: Notes on an Asian American Generation 1968-1978 is an annotated collection of excerpts from literary artworks by numerous Asian-American authors within 1968 to 1978. It is written by Russell C. Leong and published in the Amerasia Journal in 1989. Leong points out the significance of literature—especially poetry—in revealing so much of the actual struggle endured by Asian-Americans—mostly of Japanese, Chinese, and Filipino lineages—during the times of various turmoil (e.g. Vietnam War, World War II, etc.) which tested their strength and loosened their bonds to their culture. And among the many events that touched the literary pieces Leong stated in his writing, the Asian-Americans’ journey to America seemed to be the unifying, central point that served as the backbone of most of the writings he studied (Leong 169). Leong intricately collected excerpts of writings of many Asian-American authors and annotated parts of their writings to reveal the real definition behind the descriptions, the narratives and the written picture. In relation to the American Dream, Leong has featured the Filipino author, Carlos Bulosan, who had written different forms of literatures mostly in 1960s. The rediscovered writings of Bulosan in the 1960s have shown the Filipino writers’ “heightened sensitivity to the promise, contradiction, and lie of the American Dream” (Leong 170). Bulosan and some other Filipino and Asian writers included in Leong’s journal article seemed to write to wake up other people—especially the Asian-Americans—of the “lie” of the American Dream. By incorporating their own experiences of nostalgia for their own homeland and cultures, and bitterness of being subjugated by another—more powerful country—Asian-American writers such as Bulosan were able distinguish the reality and the fiction in American Dream and their writings appealed to the hearts of those Asian-Americans who once dreamt the same dream—regardless of their failure and success.
Another literary piece that shows actual Asian-American struggle in the lands of USA is the Poems of Angel Island by Emma Gee. Poems of Angel Island features a collection of poems written by Chinese peasants who were incarcerated in the Angel Island Prison in San Francisco Bay from 1910 to 1940 (Gee 83). These Chinese prisoners of Angel Island were forcibly detained by the US government on grounds of discriminatory immigrations laws and were gathered according to race and class (Gee 83). Despite their capture, Chinese prisoners—out of boredom, loneliness, and hopelessness—were able to write poems by carving the wooden walls of their prison cells, writing words that unleashed what they had in mind and in heart. There were feelings of anger and cries for vengeance, pleas for help, prayers for mercy, and requests for forgiveness from disappointed families and frustrated people that relied on their failed American Dream (Gee 84-85)—all bursting out in the prison cells of Angel Island: unheard, unseen, unanswered. The Poems of Angel Island is more an evidence, rather than a literary piece meant to entertain us, that shows actual struggle at the wrong end of the rainbow by Asian-Americans who wanted no more than their piece of the promised success and equal opportunity through their patient and enduring pursuit of the American Dream.
Tongues Afire Workshops is a literary workshop established by the Khmer Girls in Action (KGA) to provide lessons that will boost the writing prowess of young Khmer Cambodian girls (Nguoy 189). Tongues Afire holds a collection of different poems written by Cambodian girls to express what they thought and felt about their move to America. There were feelings of resentment towards the move: toward the uncomprehending Americans who judge without knowing the real story, and sometimes even toward their family members who find it hard to show support and concern during their daughters’ adjustment to a foreign land (KGA 192 and 193). But other Cambodian girls who wrote for Tongues Afire Workshops also wrote poems and other anecdotes that tell about how brave their families and other Cambodians are for enduring the rough times in their homeland during the emergence of Khmer Rouge force (KGA 190 and 191). These poems tell about the effect of American move to girls who had to experience it at a very young age.
Failures at attaining the American Dream also influenced even the fictional literary pieces written by Asian-Americans who know and acknowledge the evasiveness of American Dream coming true to Asian-Americans who dared pursue it. One fine example is the short story written by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni titled Clothes. In Divakaruni’s short story, a fictional Indian girl named Sumita, who lives in a small village with her family and friends, marries an Indian man, Somesh Sen, who lives in USA with his parents and works as a storekeeper in one of the numerous 7-11 branches common to the wild cities of USA (Divakaruni 139 and 141). As Sumita decides to follow her parents’ arranged match for her, feelings of fears for the unknown with contradicting pinch of hope for a brighter future in the great land of the West overwhelm her (Divakaruni 139 and 140). But just weeks after her move to the USA with his groom, as she starts to adjust and live more “Westernized”, her husband got killed when the shop he guards late at night got robbed (Divakaruni 143-145). Left alone, Sumita has to choose between living in the USA alone or going back to the India as a widow (Divakaruni 146). This shows yet another failed American Dream—or in a much precise term, an almost American Dream. The ambition, the move and the tragedy of Sumita’s life is but a mere depiction of what most Asian-Americans who failed at pursuing their American Dream experience. It shows the sweet hope of a promise, the fear of conquering the unknown, and the bitterness of the promise never fulfilled—which is most likely the case with Asian-Americans who dared to dream the American Dream.
American Dream is an evasive pursuit of success for most Asian-Americans. While not all cases of failure to achieve the American Dream may be attributed to discrimination of Asian race, it may be safe to say that only if Americans and their government will be more accepting of people regardless of their color and race, American Dream may perhaps be accessible and applicable to everyone who dares to dream it.
Works Cited
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee. “Clothes.” Arranged Marriage: The Stories, Michigan: Anchor, 1995. Print.
Gee, Emma. “Poems of Angel Island.” Amerasia 9.2 (1982): 83-88. Print.
“Khmer Girls in Action.” Amerasia Journal 35.1 (2009): 188-193. Print.
Leong, Russell C. “Poetry within Earshot: Notes on an Asian American Generation 1968-1978.” Amerasia 15.1 (1989): 165-193. Print.
