Cruz's story contrasts the idyllic themes of Alger in very obvious ways. Horatio Alger's stories about Ragged Dick consist of one omnipresent story-line: Ragged Dick is poor and has all the odds against him but he overcomes them through hard work, merit, and a tad bit of luck. Horatio Alger's stories attempt to offer every American hope: that if you work hard enough, and you're a good person, you can get as far in life as you want. Stephen Cruz shares that he first believed in the Ragged Dick stories. Cruz himself was rising up in society. But he realized that it wasn't just because of his hard work as he wanted to believe. Cruz was moving up because of the laws regarding racial equality in the workforce, because he was a Latino who could speak English like a "white person". Essentially what Cruz realized was that the American Dream is not available for everyone. Had it not been for the racial equality laws, minorities would have no equality in the workforce at all. But that doesn't mean Cruz is satisfied with the laws then, as he realizes that he isn't being kept around for his skills and hard work, but to make the company look good legally.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Idyllic Themes Contrasting
Blog – In what way does Cruz’s story contrast the idyllic themes of Alger? Are they also similar in some ways?
Cruz's story contrasts the idyllic themes of Alger in very obvious ways. Horatio Alger's stories about Ragged Dick consist of one omnipresent story-line: Ragged Dick is poor and has all the odds against him but he overcomes them through hard work, merit, and a tad bit of luck. Horatio Alger's stories attempt to offer every American hope: that if you work hard enough, and you're a good person, you can get as far in life as you want. Stephen Cruz shares that he first believed in the Ragged Dick stories. Cruz himself was rising up in society. But he realized that it wasn't just because of his hard work as he wanted to believe. Cruz was moving up because of the laws regarding racial equality in the workforce, because he was a Latino who could speak English like a "white person". Essentially what Cruz realized was that the American Dream is not available for everyone. Had it not been for the racial equality laws, minorities would have no equality in the workforce at all. But that doesn't mean Cruz is satisfied with the laws then, as he realizes that he isn't being kept around for his skills and hard work, but to make the company look good legally.
Cruz's story contrasts the idyllic themes of Alger in very obvious ways. Horatio Alger's stories about Ragged Dick consist of one omnipresent story-line: Ragged Dick is poor and has all the odds against him but he overcomes them through hard work, merit, and a tad bit of luck. Horatio Alger's stories attempt to offer every American hope: that if you work hard enough, and you're a good person, you can get as far in life as you want. Stephen Cruz shares that he first believed in the Ragged Dick stories. Cruz himself was rising up in society. But he realized that it wasn't just because of his hard work as he wanted to believe. Cruz was moving up because of the laws regarding racial equality in the workforce, because he was a Latino who could speak English like a "white person". Essentially what Cruz realized was that the American Dream is not available for everyone. Had it not been for the racial equality laws, minorities would have no equality in the workforce at all. But that doesn't mean Cruz is satisfied with the laws then, as he realizes that he isn't being kept around for his skills and hard work, but to make the company look good legally.
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