Babylon Revisited and Yo!

as They Relate to the Idea of the American Dream

What is the American Dream? What it is to one person is not what it is to the next. For the middle class man, the American Dream might be a mansion on a hill, overlooking the still waters of a serene lake, a Mercedes in the driveway, and a voluptuous model, for a wife. For a homeless woman, the American Dream might be as simple as a roof over her head, a warm place to sleep, and something in her belly, so she doesnt have to go to bed hungry, again. Just as the idea of the American Dream differs from person to person, it also differs between the ages. During Ben Franklins time, the idea of the American Dream was economic success, and the possibility of social a dvancement through financial gain, accomplished through thrift and hard work (Warshauer, n.d.). During the period following the civil war, the idea behind the American Dream was that anyone could succeed and achieve wealth, if they worked hard (Warshauer, n.d.). Today, the American Dream is to get rich quick, generally through means such as state lotteries, game shows, lawsuits, or any of the myriad of other schemes that are perpetuated and glamorized by the media. Today, the economic independence and success of the American Dream is more a matter of luck than hard work (Warshauer, n.d.). The stories Babylon Revisited, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Yo!, by Julia Alvarez, are wonderful illustrations of how the idea of the American Dream can differ, from one person to another. Even though Babylon Revisited does not take place in America, the protagonist, Charlie Wales, is an American. Because of this, his dream is a variation of the American Dream. Charlie is a man with a troubled past. Once wealthy, and prone to drinking, and wild partying, Charlie fell upon hard times with the crash of the stock market, in 1929. Charlie lost his wife, to illness, and his daughter, because of his inability to care for her. Charlie, however, has turned his life around. Charlie has not entirely recouped his losses, but he is doing well, for himself, and wisher to regain custody of his daughter. Charlies version of the American Dream is not of a fancy house and big cars, and beautiful women lining up at his

door. Hes already had that, as evidenced not only by Charlies own words, but by Lincolns, as well, when he says . . . you and Helen were . . . throwing money away . . . not even working toward the end, and getting richer and richer. Charlies version of the American Dream is that he wants a family; he want[s] awfully to have [his daughter] Honoria, and a stable income which provides him with the means to care for her. Through hard work, Charlie is slowly coming to realize his dream. He has maintained a stable lifestyle for over a year, has a steady income, sufficient to bring [his] sister over from Burlington to keep house, and is ready to take on the responsibility of his daughter. Due to an unfortunate reunion with past acquaintances, however, Charlies attempt at regaining custody of his daughter fails. However, Charlie vows that He would come back, some day; they couldnt make him pay forever. Charlie realizes that hard work is the only way that his American Dream will come to fruition. In Yo!, the protagonist of the story, Laura, is not American, but her dream is, definitely, a version of the American Dream. Laura, and her family, are used to a wealthy lifestyle, in their home country, as evidenced when Laura says I missed not having nice things, money and freedom, and the fact that Yo was mostly raised by the maids. Because of the political state of their country, however, Laura and her family fled to America, sacrificing all their money and nice things. While in their home country, Lauras dream is not for a big house and a fancy car, but for freedom, freedom which we, as Americans, often take for granted. Laura dreamed of the freedom to speak and act as she so chose, without fear of homes raided, people hauled off, torture chambers, electric prods, attacks by dogs, fingernails pulled out. Once in America, Laura now has that freedom, and her version of the American Dream shifts. Lauras version of the American Dream becomes that the immigration people wouldnt send us back, and financial stability so that she could pay for the warm clothes [her] kids would be needing once the cold weather set in. Laura is a housewife, and stays at home, with the children, so the task of bringing her dream to realization falls upon her husband Carlos. It is seen that Carlos goes about this the old-fashioned way, through sweat and hard work, as evidenced when Laura says that Carlos was

studying like cats and dogs for his license exam, and later, when she tells Mrs. OBrien My husband just received his medical license. So he has been working like a god every day, even Sunday. In the stories Babylon Revisited and Yo!, two very different versions of the American Dream, resulting from two very different sets of circumstances, are seen. In both stories the protagonists choose not to take the easy way out, and wait for their dream to fall into their laps; they choose to accomplish their goals the old-fashioned way, through thrift and hard work.

[Word Count: 920]

References

Alvarez, J. (2008). Yo!. In Baym, N. (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Shorter Seventh Edition (pp. 2792-2800). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Fitzgerald, F. (2008). Babylon Revisited. In Baym, N. (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of American Literature: Shorter Seventh Edition (pp. 2201-2215). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Warshauer, M. (n.d.). Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Changing Concepts of the American Dream. Retrieved from http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm#thrift

David Michalkiewicz