Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps and Read This!
The American Dream. We’ve all heard of it. Though we typically imagine immigrants to the United States searching to accomplish the American Dream, U.S. citizens as well seek to achieve this goal. But what exactly is it? Defined by Merriam-Webster, the American Dream is “a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful.” Ragtime displays several characters attempting to reach this goal, with varying definitions of success. To Harry Houdini, success was making a living from magic shows. To Ford, it was profiting from an accessible car given to everyone rather than just a select few. To Tateh, it was ensuring a better life for his daughter, Little Girl. An immigrant from Hungary, Harry Houdini attempts to maintain the American lifestyle by “pulling himself up by the bootstraps,” or building himself up with no out...