Everyone wants to achieve the American Dream. But what is the American Dream? Extravagant mansions? Fast cars? Endless money to splurge? To many people, that is the ideal dream but to some, simply having a roof over their head, paying their bills on time and having a contentful career is enough. In the poems, “Let America Be America Again” and “I, too” by Langston Hughes and the poem, “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns, they both demonstrate through their work on how the American dream is just a facade for Americans and the real civilization is really corrupted. Many people came to America to find a better life but instead they found cages that bind them. In the poem, “Let America Be America Again”, Hughes wrote, “I am the Negro bearing the slavery’s scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-And finding only the same old stupid plan of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.” (Hughes 8). This stanza spoke about the low class civilians who never escaped the cycle of corruption. The African Americans who were told a great future could be found in America but instead were enslaved when they arrived. The Native Americans who signed treaties that promised them land but were…show more content… In the poem, “I too” by Langston Hughes, he wrote, “I am the darker brother, they send me to eat in the kitchen when company comes” (Hughes, 1). In this poem, because the brother is darker, he is shunned away from the guest and denied because of his skin color. A white man will receive better treatment than a black person. If there was a decision between giving an opportunity to a white or a black person, the white person will likely receive it. “Work hard and you will achieve your goals” is the motto but the system sets you up to fail. You are limited due to your skin color. The American Dream does not belong to everyone, it belongs to the white men; the White American
