The+American+Dream

=What do I need to know about ... The American Dream?=

Brief Description
The American dream is an ideology held (often by those outside of the United States) wishing to make their lives better by immigrating to America in search of wealth and a better standard of living. They hope to gain respect from their peers not only in the community but also in the workplace. For those living within the United States already It can also be described as having the freedom in life to achieve ones goals through hard work. Marco and Rodolpho come to the United States in search of the American Dream as they are without work in Italy and can no longer provide for themselves and their families: they therefore try to find work in America to fulfill their needs. Marco is prepared to spend 4 or 5 years away from his wife and children in order to ensure their survival Marco - comes to America to work and earn money for himself and his family back in Italy. He has three children of ages four, five and six, with the oldest sick. His own wife feeds out of her own mouth (probably metaphorically) to stop their children from starving. The American dream represents hope and a way out of his family's poverty.

Rodolpho - comes to American in pursuit of economic wealth and his citizenship. He plans to acquire this through the job that the syndicate provide for him at the docks and also through his marriage to Catherine. However, unlike Marco, he also comes to America to have fun and wants to explore, "I would like to go to Broadway once, Eddie... Since I was a boy I see pictures of those lights." This suggests Rodolpho's romanticised and somewhat childishly naive image of what life in the United States would be like.

Key Quotations
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 * Pg. 30 **“Me, I want to be an American. And then I want to go back to Italy when I am rich, and I will buy a motorcycle."** - Rodolpho. This relates to his wish to obtain American citizenship through his marriage to Catherine. Despite this he still conveys some nostalgia towards his love of Italy, and plans to go back to his home country rich, for him to show off his 'newfound wealth'.
 * Pg. 27 **" No. But as long as you owe them money, they'll Get you plenty of work."** - Eddie. This portrays the sense that the American dream is not what it seems, and even though Miller does not focus on this part of the theme, it is still made clear with Eddie's statement. It is subtly conveying that the dockyard owners are not men to be trusted and that the dream is not the life of glamor they expect.
 * Pg.29 Marco says **"what can i do? the older one is sick in his chest. My wife - she feeds them from her own mouth"** This shows the value of the American dream in the eyes of the foreigners as they hope to gain economic wealth by moving to America. Marco has come to the realisation that such work is no longer available to him in Italy. It also demonstrates the extreme poverty of Italy at that time.
 * Pg. 29 Marco inquires uncertainly **"Dollars"** in response to Eddie's mention of how much he would get a week from working at the docks, as if he can't believe that he would be paid that much. This portrays the fact that where Marco came from he was paid little for the work he did. His use of **"Dollars"** shows his desperation for work and therefore money in order to stop his family from starving causing an eventual death.
 * Pg. 31 **"When you have no wife you have dreams"** This statement by Marco suggests that having a wife makes you forget about dreams and forces you to focus on earning money and making sure there is food on the table every day. Rodolpho does not have to face this task which allows him to buy records and shoes with the money that he earns whilst in America. It also reinforces the sense of family duty and responsiblity associated with Marco throughout the text as well as the endearingly excited childish sense of adventure that we associate with Rodolpho.

Its Role in the Novel
T he American dream blinds the immigrants and creates a false ideology of a better life by working for the dockyard owners. They believe that their economic gain will be vast and they will be able to live a life of luxury. In this novel Miller reveals the idea that the American Dream is just a dream and by the time the immigrants find out the truth, it is too late to turn back. Arthur Miller wrote ‘A View from the Bridge’ to convey the harsh realities that they faced during their time at work. He was able to describe this so effectively as Arthur Miller chose to work with these men at the dockyards even after obtaining fame. This allowed him to fully grasp the situation these men faced in their every day lives.