The American Dream in Behold the Dreamers

The definition of an American can vary from person to person. In my eyes, an American

is someone who is committed to their individual pursuit of liberty and happiness. America’s

Declaration of Independence famously states the three unalienable rights: life, liberty, and pursuit

of happiness. Because of this, there is no surprise that what it means to be an American is not far

off from those ideas. The book, Behold the Dreamers, is a great display of what it means to be an

American, despite being of different races, lifestyles, and backgrounds. In my eyes, a side

character in the book: Clark Edwards, provides the most accurate resemblance of the means to be

an American. The story follows a Cambodian immigrant of the name Jende Jonga, who moved to

the United States in hopes of achieving a better, more respectable life where he and his family

can live comfortably, as well as freely. Jende finds a way to provide expenses for himself and his

family by being a personal chauffeur. The man he chauffeur’s for, Clark Edwards, is a white

businessman who works for the Wall Street Company, Lehman Brothers. He is perceived to be a

self consumed work-aholic, but does not enjoy work as much as the next person. In actuality, the

reason for Clark’s consistent dedication of himself to his work is because he wants for his family,

specifically his two sons: Mighty and Vince, to live comfortable lives and have the opportunity

to fulfill whatever their dreams turn out to be. His son Vince is miserable with his current career

path: law, and is struggling to find meaning in it. Instead he wants to move to India aspiring to

share his philosophical ideas and find dramatic enlightenment. Clark, who wants his son to be

successful expressess “I can understand why Vince doesn’t want it…these days I don’t want it,

either. All this shit going on at Lehman, all this stuff we would never have done twenty years ago

because we stood for something more” (Mbue, 121). Clark emotionally expresses how much he

genuinely does not enjoy working nowadays. He truly states his discontent with the way his
workspace is, which leads one to believe, why would he be working there? Well Clark also states

how when he was Vince’s “age, all I wanted was the life that I have…now. This exact life, this

was what [I] wanted” (Mbue, 121). Clark saying this aligns with the concept of what it means to

be an American because of his dedication to living a life without oppressions and receiving

happiness in return. Clark is a prime example of the American person because he not only is a

selfless human being, but additionally bases his living off of his ability to have a life that

stimulates living without oppression, whether it be from economic, political, or financial causes.

This in turn, sparks the joys of living.