American Dreams: Lost and Found

My mother and her three brothers when they first moved to the U.S.

C. P. Ellis was raised in a hardworking family, barely making enough money to live off of. He had a strong relationship with his family, always searching for hope and happiness. He and his father felt inferior to the society, for they did not have a lot of money. Although they were determined, C.P. Ellis stated, "But it didn't work out. It just kept gettin' worse and worse" (64). Their family was barely breaking even, and they were not succeeding in life. Ellis' struggle reminds me of my grandfather's journey in America. My grandfather immigrated to Greece with barely any money and five children--the youngest being two months old and the oldest being six years old--for a better job and life. He worked hard to support and raise his children, accepting any job offer. He had enough ambition and strength to raise his family and help them succeed; all his children grew to be successful and raise children of their own. C.P. Ellis and my grandfather were very determined and hardworking, but C.P. Ellis struggled more with succeeding and finding a place where he felt welcomed. He joined the Ku Klux Klan, finding black people as his scapegoat and a new community. He became very involved, but then opened his mind to new ideas, concluding that black people were just like him. They both struggled in life even with constant hard work. Soon Ellis left the Klan and supported blacks' rights. I believe it was very bold and brave of Ellis to start supporting blacks, for he had just felt as if he belonged to something and left it; he had to regain trust amonst other people. Ellis had a successful life, for he learned right from wrong, noticing that judging others is wrong.

Vine Deloria was an American that struggled to live an American life, while still practicing his Indian traditions. He found it difficult to balance both his lives, for everyone was becoming 'Americanized.' He stated, "The world somehow is the garden of the white people, and everybody else kind of fits in someplace. And it's not demeaning to fit in, 'cause that's the way God wants it. You're not being put down. Western civilization's finding a place for you" (36). He makes fitting in seem so natural and easy, but truly it is the community's biggest difficulty. It is hard to accept people that have different traditions and practice different faiths. Most people stick to their kind, but with everyone trying to live the 'American dream,' traditions were being lost. Deloria and his family began to mix into the United States' melting pot, but soon decided that they would not, in order to save the Indian traditions and culture. It was very brave of them to not conform and live their life as they wished, without pondering to the future or erasing their ancestry and history. They are preserving customs, keeping America diverse.