The American Nightmare

The definition of the American Dream is the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. In the book The Working Poor by David K. Shipler, the author makes interviews to people who are struggling in their every day life’s to live the American dream. Not everyone in the book becomes successful and some go through a lot of troubles just to be able to make it by. The issues in this book are presented differently as he shows the point of view of the employee and the employer. Shipler argues that the American nightmare can be seen in the characters of Caroline, Jung Hee Lee, and Rolando. 

Caroline

The author uses Caroline as a symbol of how the American nightmare is alive. Caroline is a single mother who has to take care of her daughter but must leave her by herself to be able to work. When daughter Amber told her teacher that she was scared to be left alone at night, her teacher told Caroline that she cannot leave her home at night or they had to report it. She had to make her choice to keep her daughter but still be able to support her. Shipler uses Caroline to show the American nightmare because everyone says what to do but no one is there to help.

Even at work it is difficult to get help:   “All she really needed was a month . . . But when Caroline called her boss at the factory, he told her that he could not leave the position vacant for a month and had asked the temp agency to find someone else; he needed workers” (Shipler 70). Caroline had to leave her job to keep her daughter, and the American nightmare for her was having to struggle in life with no one to help but everyone telling her what to do. 

Jung Hee Lee

The author uses Jung Hee Lee and her family to show another way of how the American nightmare is real. When they came to America they had different plans for their lives, and these did not go as planned. Lee and her husband had to work and both of their social lives were over. Lee says that in Korea she and her husband never argued and now they have a lot of problems and arguments.

The life that they are living is very different to that one they planned: “ I don’t have much time to spend with my family or husband. So it ends up, going to work, going home and sleeping, and coming out again. There’s no time to cook so they always have to go out and eat” (Shipler 94).

The American nightmare becomes a routine in which there is no choice but to keep going. A lot of families here in America lose the important thing, which is family and time with them. The author uses varies examples about Jung Hee Lee to show how the American nightmare is alive in her family.

Rolando 

The author uses Rolando as still another symbol of what it is to live the American nightmare. Shipler uses Rolando as a symbol of how the American nightmare is alive in many immigrants’ lives. Rolando and his cousins work earning the minimum wage in the cotton fields, working from seven to seven in the planting season, and from seven in the morning until midnight seven days a week during the harvest from October to December. 

The life of an immigrant in America is very hard, working every day to reach the American dream to only end up living the American nightmare. For example, Abel says “In three years, the cousin who had been here the longest, Rolando, had saved only $2,000 of the $5,000 he needed to build a house in Mexico” (Shipler 115). They had worked hard every day to try to reach their goals, but unfortunately they don’t get far.

Another example of an American nightmare in the American work force relates to a Wal-Mart worker. In this case, this worker suffers for a different reason: 

“After three years with the company, McLaughlin earns only $16,800 a year. “ And I’m considered high-paid,” she says. “The way they pay you,you cannot make it by yourself without having a second job or someone to help you, unless you’ve been there for 20 years or you’re a manager” (Olsson 1). Just Like Rolando McLaughlin works hard every day to support her daughter and sees no results. She is also living the American nightmare because no matter how hard she works she still does not earn enough to do better.

In all, Shipler shows how the American nightmare can be seen in Rolando because he works very hard everyday and still he has nothing to show for his efforts. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, David K. Shipler uses Caroline, Rolando, and Jung Hee Lee to demonstrate how the American nightmare lives through these three characters.  The theme of the American nightmare can be seen in these characters because a lot of people are suffering in many similar ways.

The frustration is wanting to succeed in this country and yet no matter how hard people work they get nowhere. According to the author, the theme of the American nightmare is alive and we can see it through the characters that show us example of what a nightmare America can be. 

                                           

Worked Cited 

 Olsson, Karen. “Up Against Wal-Mart.” Mother Jones: The Foundation for National Progress 1 Mar. 2003.
            Web. 30 Sep    2015.

Shipler, David. The Working Poor. New York: Vintage Books, 2004. Print