American Dreams Lost and Found

C. P. Ellis

The life that C. P. Ellis had was like trying a new kind of food everyday. You never know if you are going to love it or hate it before you try what is on the plate. At first, Ellis was strongly influenced by what his father had gone through and wanted to follow in his ideas, but to find a way to make life for his family better. Because his father never had much work, Ellis began looking for a job before even getting to high school. As a result of never being financially secure he started to blame his problems on African Americans. He says, "I didn't know who to blame. I tried to find somebody. I began to blame it on black people. I had to hate somebody. You gotta have somethin' to hate" (Terkel 65). He needed somebody to blame for all of his problems and decided that the African Americans are blamed for so many other things that one more person putting the blame on them would not make a difference. Just like his father, he became a Klansman and finally felt accepted in a group. He thought that since his father liked this kind of food, then he would too. He had not been exposed to everything in life yet. He felt good about where he was in the world once he joined the Klan. Ellis had not even talked intimately to an African American before and decided that all of them were horrible people. Once he did talk face to face with one, he decided that they were not as bad as he had thought they were. Like trying a new food, you never know if you are going to love or hate a type of food until you are willing to try a little bite. Talking to the African American was Ellis's hors d'œuvres to his future. Once he began to talk to African Americans more, the more he began to like them and realize that they are not horrible people, and should not be blamed for things that they do not do. He realized that he truly loved being with African Americans when he talked to Ann Atwater and realized, "At this point I begin to see, here we are, two people from the far ends of the fence, havin' identical problems, except hers bein' black and me bein' white" (Terkel 71).

Andy Johnson

"Your American Dream? You got a terrible-looking hole down in the ground where we used to live once. It's filled with water, and the wealth is taken out of the land. I don't know what it's good for. On the other hand, people live in nice houses, they're painted well. (Terkel 42)

We have talked about the American Dream on multiple occasions in class. To me the American Dream is becoming something amazing out of nothing. It is the opportunity to live your life the way you want to without the dictation of governmental powers. Being a Finnish immigrant, Andy Johnson is looking for the chance for life to get better for him, but it is not coming. He describes it as a "terrible-looking hole down in the ground," as if nothing good can come from being in America. He did not even get the chance to have a decent education that other children were getting. He says, "I went to school altogether less than five winters" (Terkel 41). That is not enough time for him to gain the education that is needed to achieve the American Dream. He sees how other people are able to succeed in America and own "nice houses" that are "painted well." He knows that the American Dream is possible for some, but the chance is not given to everyone. Johnson wants things to get better, but is not given the opportunity to thrive in this free country.