Post by cnelson on Feb 2, 2016 22:45:59 GMT
This poem in it's entirety does not directly address the American dream but the concepts that are present in the poem strongly connect to the idea of the American Dream. The most evident connection is the poems obvious illustrating of the self and individualism with the repetition of "I have". Ex: " I Have been one acquainted with the night". The American dream is extremely individualized and it's main and arguably most important aspect is the "I" individuality of everyone's ideal American dream. Much like Martin Luther Kings speech "I have a dream".
But while the poem is in first person and illustrates individuality it also creates a relatable tone. The narrator is describing their experiences and the struggles that they have faced throughout the majority of the poem. This connects to the real life struggle to achieve the American dream in life, because it is most definitely not an easy journey. It's the tough and rough experiences that we face through life that help develop us as a person and help us achieve our goals. Examples of this in the poem can be found in lines such as "I have walked out in the rain-- and back", which reveals how the author has had bad times (rain) but then a small since of calmness and then faced yet another obstacle (and back), as well as the line "I have looked down the saddest city lane". These relatable hardships that we all face while trying to pursue our "American dream" are what connects all our individualized and unique lives.
Another concept highlighted in the poem is time; it's power and its presence over our lives. Time plays a huge role in the American dream as well because many want to achieve certain things in a timely manner, and it may be too late if one waits or is delayed from obtaining their American dreams. The lines "And Further still an unearthly height "One luminary clock against the sky" "Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right" reveal how time can be an overwhelming concept but it is really not harmless nor helpful. If one chooses to use time wisely than time can't potentially harm their American dream (of course a bunch of other issues might), but if one decides to ignore time or forget to watch the time it could essentially prevent them from even getting a chance to go after their own American dream.
