FREE ESSAY ON AMERICAN DREAM - FREEDOM

AMERICAN DREAM - FREEDOM

What was the dream that brought our ancestors to America? It was rebirth, the craving for
men to be born again, the yearning for a second chance. With all of these ideas comes the
true American dream—Freedom. This is the condition in which a man feels like a
human being. It is the purpose and consequence of rebirth. Throughout the life of
Langston Hughes he presented ideas in his writings that help to define his perception of
the American dream.In beginning, Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin,
Missouri. His father was James Nathaniel Hughes, a man who studied law but was unable to
take the examination for the bar because he was black. His mother was Carrie Hughes, a
woman who studied at the University of Kansas in an ongoing struggle to earn a living
outside of domestic labor. Langston's father left home to live in Cuba and then Mexico to
free himself from the Jim Crow laws and Segregation.
Hughes then went to live with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas until he was thirteen.
His grandmother, 
Mary Sampson Patterson Leary Langston, was very prominent in the African American
community of Lawrence. Her first husband was killed at Harper's Ferry while fighting with
John Brown; her second husband, Hughes' grandfather, was a prominent politician in Kansas
during the Reconstruction. During the time that he lived with his grandmother, however,
she was old and poor resulting in little to eat and forcing them to rent out part of
their small house. Unable to give Langston the attention he needed and his feelings of
hurt and rejection by both his mother and father caused him to grow up very insecure and
unsure of himself. In the second grade Langston was introduced to books and soon became
fascinated with them and found it as an escape from his world into the wonderful world
inside of them.
At the age of thirteen Hughes went to live with his mother in Lincoln, Illinois and then
Cleveland, Ohio where he went to high school. It was in Lincoln that Hughes wrote his
first poem after being elected class poet by his fellow classmates. Hughes, the only
black at his school, said that the only reason that he was elected was that his peers
felt that he must have a good sense of rhythm because of the color of his skin. This
position of class poet sparked Hughes' love for poetry and was the start of his life as a
poet.
Hughes soon began to write poetry quite frequently and he kept it all in a journal secret
from other people. Langston Hughes is most famous for his poetry yet he also had a number
of different careers throughout his lifetime. He was an author, poet, playwright, song
lyricist, and lecturer starting in 1921. In the years of 1920-1921 he was an English
teacher in Mexico. In the years of 1949-1950 Hughes can be credited with founding
community theatres in major cities across the United States such as Harlem, Los Angeles,
and Chicago. 
In following, what is the American Dream? When asked, this question would receive a
variety of responses, yet the main response would probably be freedom. The denotative
meaning of the American dream is given in the Random House Dictionary:
1.The ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to
every American. 
2. A life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by
individuals in the U.S. (66)
Many Americans persist in believing that America is the greatest country in the world and
that man is basically good and can be better and has the opportunity to fulfill his
productive capabilities. "The belief that America should offer equal opportunity to all
men is a fundamental part of the American dream."(Werner XI) 
Bibliography
What was the dream that brought our ancestors to America? It was rebirth, the craving for
men to be born again, the yearning for a second chance. With all of these ideas comes the
true American dream—Freedom. This is the condition in which a man feels like a
human being. It is the purpose and consequence of rebirth. Throughout the life of
Langston Hughes he presented ideas in his writings that help to define his perception of
the American dream.In beginning, Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1902 in Joplin,
Missouri. His father was James Nathaniel Hughes, a man who studied law but was unable to
take the examination for the bar because he was black. His mother was Carrie Hughes, a
woman who studied at the University of Kansas in an ongoing struggle to earn a living
outside of domestic labor. Langston's father left home to live in Cuba and then Mexico to
free himself from the Jim Crow laws and Segregation.
Hughes then went to live with his grandmother in Lawrence, Kansas until he was thirteen.
His grandmother, 
Mary Sampson Patterson Leary Langston, was very prominent in the African American
community of Lawrence. Her first husband was killed at Harper's Ferry while fighting with
John Brown; her second husband, Hughes' grandfather, was a prominent politician in Kansas
during the Reconstruction. During the time that he lived with his grandmother, however,
she was old and poor resulting in little to eat and forcing them to rent out part of
their small house. Unable to give Langston the attention he needed and his feelings of
hurt and rejection by both his mother and father caused him to grow up very insecure and
unsure of himself. In the second grade Langston was introduced to books and soon became
fascinated with them and found it as an escape from his world into the wonderful world
inside of them.
At the age of thirteen Hughes went to live with his mother in Lincoln, Illinois and then
Cleveland, Ohio where he went to high school. It was in Lincoln that Hughes wrote his
first poem after being elected class poet by his fellow classmates. Hughes, the only
black at his school, said that the only reason that he was elected was that his peers
felt that he must have a good sense of rhythm because of the color of his skin. This
position of class poet sparked Hughes' love for poetry and was the start of his life as a
poet.
Hughes soon began to write poetry quite frequently and he kept it all in a journal secret
from other people. Langston Hughes is most famous for his poetry yet he also had a number
of different careers throughout his lifetime. He was an author, poet, playwright, song
lyricist, and lecturer starting in 1921. In the years of 1920-1921 he was an English
teacher in Mexico. In the years of 1949-1950 Hughes can be credited with founding
community theatres in major cities across the United States such as Harlem, Los Angeles,
and Chicago. 
In following, what is the American Dream? When asked, this question would receive a
variety of responses, yet the main response would probably be freedom. The denotative
meaning of the American dream is given in the Random House Dictionary:
1.The ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to
every American. 
2. A life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by
individuals in the U.S. (66)
Many Americans persist in believing that America is the greatest country in the world and
that man is basically good and can be better and has the opportunity to fulfill his
productive capabilities. "The belief that America should offer equal opportunity to all
men is a fundamental part of the American dream."(Werner XI)