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Jessica Bui

Dr. Cruz Medina

English 1A

1 November 2023

Challenging the American Dream & Meritocracy

Meritocracy is one’s belief in a system or society where individuals' success, status, and

opportunities are mostly decided by their own abilities, talents, and efforts rather than by factors

like status in society, family history, or inherited privilege. However, many people, including first

generation students, may believe the opposite, such as me and Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez.

My dad came to America at 19 years old and had to immediately work as a framing carpenter.

He didn't have a chance to go to college and because of this, he lost many job opportunities. My

dad had more experience than his younger brother (my uncle), so he taught him everything to be

a good carpenter. Because of my dad’s sacrifice, my uncle had the privilege to go to college. My

uncle had a degree so employers hired him and looked down on my dad although he had worked

so much longer. Unfortunately, many employers felt experience had no value when compared to

formal education. Likewise, Rodríguez believes gatekeepers segregating racial and social classes

to only help the privileged white people, leaving everyone else to suffer in despair. In Capo

Crucet’s book, My Time Among the Whites, the harsh reality of the American Dream during her

education in Nebraska is exposed at a deeper level through Rodriguez’s lens of meritocracy,

revealing how people of color may experience discrimination from education due to racism and

class. The American Dream is inaccessible due to segregation that keeps people of color from the

resources they need.

Capo Crucet’s realization that being a white passing Latina gave her privileges in the
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world is explained by Rodriguez’s view on white supremacy segregates. Crucet concluded

during her experience in Nebraska that having pale skin had been a privilege that she had abused

and that it had kept her out of difficult situations like buying an apartment. She mentions, “Please

continue to think I’m white and therefore as complicit in your racism, because I really want this

apartment. It was a stance I could take in part because of my light skin and the privileges it

affords, and I felt guilty for intentionally accessing such privileges,” (Crucet 53). Using

Rodriguez’s lens of meritocracy that race plays a role in having advantages and opportunities,

Nevada "benefits white, wealthy parents because their kids are isolated in a bubble of privilege,

and it benefits schools because they get more funding,” (Rodriguez 77). Although Crucet’s

experience in this quote was not related to her education years, it’s still important to understand

there will be white supremacy anywhere you go like Nevada in this case. Knowing that people in

Nevada “benefits white” and they are “isolated in a bubble of privilege” makes Crucet afraid to

reveal that she’s not white or she’ll lose her “ access to privileges.” Crucet’s privileges associated

with her light skin is the same as how young kids have privilege because of their “wealthy

parents.” Meritocracy is being questioned here because Crucet demonstrates how racism can

exist in various forms and that it's not solely based on one's self-identification but also on how

others perceive and treat them. She never would have observed this if she did not pass as

“white.”

Capo Crucet recalling her mom (Maria) dealing with racism due to language barriers and

expectations of teachers can be explained by Rodríguez's perspective that there are certain

expectations and characteristics that individuals must possess to achieve success. Crucet recalls

her mom’s unpleasant childhood recollection of a teacher who refused to let her use the restroom

despite her pleading in this quote:

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That suffering is what earns us the right to call ourselves Americans! It made us stronger,

you will someday tell these two children of yours after relating horrific stories of how in

first grade you were made to pee in your chair for not having the English words to ask the

teacher—who shook her head at your begging in Spanish and said, “Maria, you must ask

in English,” her directive not even hinting at the noun you needed to say—to use the

bathroom, the word bathroom a key you were to conjure from nothing. (Crucet 28)

Rodrgiuez gave reasoning to why Crucet’s mom experienced racism by saying, “Gatekeeping

taught these adults which traits were indicative of success, and they perpetuated them onto us,”

(Rodriguez 69). “Gatekeeping” things such as restricting someone who does not know English to

“must ask in English” shows how adults may believe that speaking English is a “indicative of

success” while speaking “Spanish” in the US isn’t. Such belief causes students of color to

believe that they will never succeed in America and lose their American Dream as their first

language may not be English. Meritocracy is refuted here because no matter how diligently

Maria worked, she wouldn't be able to come up with the word for "bathroom." Maria's trouble to

find the right word is not a reflection of her abilities but rather a consequence of unequal access

to resources, specifically language resources that her teacher gatekept. Maria’s teacher did not

tell her what the word “bathroom” is in English further showing how she was trying to

“gatekeep” the English language from people of color.

Additionally, Crucet’s acknowledgement to how most first-generation students come

from rural backgrounds can be explained when Rodriguez discusses the necessity of having

parents with stable careers in order to succeed. Crucet highlights how she and her “first-gen”

students have a common identity: they are all born from first-generation parents. She says, “I had
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this in common with them, but there was a key difference: Many of these first-gen students came

from rural backgrounds, from families where work centered on cattle and corn. I'd grown up in

Miami, had gone to a high school whose population rivaled that of some entire Nebraskan towns.

With the last few weeks of summer ahead of me, I decided that to be better at my job, I needed to

see the real Nebraska, whatever that meant,” (Crucet 100). In explaining the different privileges

that students face, Rodriguez brings up the ideal type of parents you need to succeed. She says,

“This was not a competition for who could work harder to get an A; this was about whose

parents had provided their kids with enough access to succeed at this academic level,”

(Rodriguez 80). The fact that “many of these first-gen students came from rural backgrounds,”

essentially shows that first-generation students, who experience differing degrees of privilege

and “access” to resources depending on their family background, may find it difficult to achieve

the American Dream and meritocracy. They challenged the idealized story of equal opportunity

in American culture by bringing attention to the differences in “academic” outcomes. Crucet and

Rodriguez emphasize the significance of pursuing a higher degree while having “enough access

to succeed at this academic level.” The cultural and socioeconomic environment that people of

color or first generation students are raised in have more of an impact on their

education/academic successes than their hard work.

Lastly, Crucet’s recalls when Trump made his presidential campaign revolve around

Mexicans, threatening to deport them can be explained by Rodriguez’s mention of gatekeepers

that deflect blame onto the working-class and working-poor. Crucet refers to Trump's derogatory

remarks regarding Mexican immigrants made during his announcement of his presidential

campaign in this quote: “This was the summer of 2015, and this call took place just days before

Trump announced his run at the Republican nomination by slandering all Mexicans as rapists
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and murderers” (Crucet 99). Rodriguez uses the concept of “gatekeepers” to demonstrate why

“meritocracy” is false. She mentions, “Gatekeepers use the myth of meritocracy to distract busy

working-class and working-poor folks with so much self-blame when they fall short that they

will not think to revolt against their oppressors” (Rodríguez 63). Though Rodríguez's quote does

not specifically mention Trump, it does apply to his style of politics. Trump's presidential

campaign and administration frequently promoted the idea that success depended only on an

individual's ability and hard work. As a result, this turned into a culture of self-criticism among

marginalized communities by shifting the blame for socioeconomic gaps onto those who did not

succeed. By “slandering all Mexicans as rapists and murderers,” Trump caused them to have “so

much self-blame when they fall short that they will not think to revolt against their oppressors.”

In this context, “Trump” could be considered the “oppressors.” Trump's immigration restrictions

and other policies were perceived as gatekeeping tactics that further discriminated against and

excluded vulnerable groups, like the Hispanic community.

In conclusion, Meritocracy, the belief that success is determined by one's abilities and

efforts rather than social factors, is often challenged by individuals like Prisca Dorcas Mojica

Rodríguez. She emphasizes the role of "gatekeeping" and segregation in hindering success,

especially for first-generation students. In Jennifer Capó Crucet's book, "My Time Among the

Whites," Rodríguez's perspective reveals how racism and class can prevent people of color from

achieving the American Dream through limited access to education and resources. This

segregation keeps them from the opportunities they need.

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Work Cited:

Crucet, Jennine Capó. My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education.

Picador, 2019.

Mojica Rodríguez, Prisca Dorcas. For Brown Girls with Sharp Edges and Tender Hearts: A Love

Letter to Women of Color. Seal Press, 2021.