Charming as a Verb

Henri Haltiwanger is an inheritor of the American Dream. His parents, both immigrants to the US from Haiti, gave up their past, their families, and everything they knew to give their son a better chance at more opportunities and greater stability. A distinct difference exists, however, in Henri’s parents’ Perceptions of the American Dream and how Henri experiences it. He does not know what it was like to have grown up in Haiti, but they do not know what it is like to grow up in America.

The American Dream is the idyllic idea that in America, working hard and being self-reliant creates opportunities that lead to financial success and power. The American Dream has long been referenced in American culture, in part because the nation was largely developed by immigrants who sometimes left difficult circumstances behind and found steady wages and more financial stability in America. The “rags to riches” story, however, is more of a romanticized notion than realistic.

American literature has long been preoccupied with the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic The Great Gatsby (1925) explores the limitations of the American Dream. Jay Gatsby, a man who comes to great wealth and power with the goal of winning back the love of an heiress named Daisy, learns that no amount of hard work and earning potential wins him a spot in America’s most exclusive spaces. John Steinbeck’s classic The Grapes of Wrath (1939) follows a family who escapes the Dust Bowl for the promise of wealth in California. Though the journey is arduous and the reality of life in California is the opposite of their dream, Steinbeck’s novel celebrates the American spirit of resilience and hard work.

Novels that feature the various aspects of the immigrant experience in America have become a steadfast subgenre of American literature and often address or critique the notion of the American Dream. These novels also explore diversity, cultural differences, the value of family, the importance of hard work and resilience, and the unique characteristics that make America a country of many cultures.