Robert Cohn Racism
George Carlin once brilliantly noted, “They call it the American Dream because you have to be asleep to achieve it.” First defined by James Truslow Adams, the American Dream is the fabled ideal that every US citizen can achieve prosperity through hard work and initiative. The goal of attaining land deteriorated to the objective of attaining Instagram followers, and this dream has been warped and diminished throughout the generations. Despite America’s promise of equal opportunity, factors such as class distinction and race cause deep social rifts and economic gaps that make the American Dream reminiscent of a nightmare.
One of the most evident factors that impact the American Dream is race. Despite social reforms dating back to the Civil War, …show more content…
He finds it amusing that there is a white chauffeur catering to the needs of another race, showing that in this time period, the American Dream was not for those who are not white. Still, 90 years later, this ideology is not dead. However, racism does not just exist in black and white; America has a past with anti-Semitism. The Sun Also Rises depicts this through the portrayal of the only Jewish character, Robert Cohn. Cohn is described almost humorously negative, which is sign of Hemingway’s arbitrary racism. Society’s convictions towards Jewish people are displayed by the quote, “He cared nothing for boxing, in fact he disliked it, but he learned it painfully and thoroughly to counteract the feeling of inferiority and shyness felt on being treated as a Jew at Princeton" (Hemingway 11). This analysis is done by Jake to show how his “whiteness” symbolizes his privilege. Racism, in a historical context, has always been an accepted ideology. In the time of the Civil Rights movement, people who were not white could not even get an education, and the poverty gap between white people and other races grew rapidly. America’s experience with
One of the most evident factors that impact the American Dream is race. Despite social reforms dating back to the Civil War, …show more content…
He finds it amusing that there is a white chauffeur catering to the needs of another race, showing that in this time period, the American Dream was not for those who are not white. Still, 90 years later, this ideology is not dead. However, racism does not just exist in black and white; America has a past with anti-Semitism. The Sun Also Rises depicts this through the portrayal of the only Jewish character, Robert Cohn. Cohn is described almost humorously negative, which is sign of Hemingway’s arbitrary racism. Society’s convictions towards Jewish people are displayed by the quote, “He cared nothing for boxing, in fact he disliked it, but he learned it painfully and thoroughly to counteract the feeling of inferiority and shyness felt on being treated as a Jew at Princeton" (Hemingway 11). This analysis is done by Jake to show how his “whiteness” symbolizes his privilege. Racism, in a historical context, has always been an accepted ideology. In the time of the Civil Rights movement, people who were not white could not even get an education, and the poverty gap between white people and other races grew rapidly. America’s experience with