Larriann Miller
Ms. Lehmann
English 1~1A
October 10, 2019
The Ideal American Dream
Jullian Castro once said, “In the end, the American dream is not a sprint or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don’t always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor.” Throughout American history, the struggles to attain an equal, united nation have been passed on. This essay will compare how Anna Quindlen’s “Quilt of a Country” and Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” treat the issues of equality, unity, and patriotism in their visions of the American dream. Equality is the first ideal both authors discuss.
Quindlen and Lincoln both discuss equality in their works. Both authors agree that equality is an ideal worth striving for even though we have not yet achieved it in our nation. Quindlen explains that our nation has held onto the value of unity since its creation. She writes, “America... is held together by the nation that all men are created equal” (Quindlen 3). Here, Quindlen highlights the value of equality not only as something we should fight for, but also as a value that has held our nation together. Quindlen also saw the difficulty in attaining equality, though. Quindlen points to cultural inequalities in our nation, but Lincoln faced much more severe issues surrounding slavery. Lincoln, like Quindlen, saw the inequalities in the way people in our country are treated but he fought a civil war to free slaves. In his speech he says, “We here highly resolve that... this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom” (Lincoln 28). Lincoln wanted equality to keep our nation together, but he didn’t see the fruits of his labor. Both authors value unity as well as equality.
Quindlen and Lincoln both discuss two different types of unity, but they both value it. Quindlen knows unity is important and that we often fail to achieve it. She writes, “This is a nation founded on a conundrum, what Mario Cuomo has characterized as ‘community added to individualism.’ ‘These two are our defining ideals; they are also in constant conflict” (Quindlen 4) Quindlen says that individualism is one of our national values, and it doesn’t always align with unity. Quindlen urges readers to keep trying for unity anyway. While Quindlen wanted the country to be more united socially, Lincoln was trying to put the U.S. back together after the south seceded during the civil war. Both Quindlen and Lincoln wanted to unite the US, but they sought for different kinds of unity. Once Quindlen and Lincoln started to find a solution to diversity, they brought patriotism into their statements.
Quindlen and Lincoln agree that unity is a big thing in America. For both Quindlen and Lincoln, patriotism requires pride in America. Quindlen says patriotism means being proud that our country is diverse, but we come together as one and are proud to be united. She writes, “But patriotism is a partly taking pride in this unlikely ability to throw all of us together in a country that across its length and breadth is as different as a dozen countries and still be able to call it by one name”(Quindlen 6). Quindlen defines patriotism as pride in our struggle to stay together despite our differences. Quindlen’s definition of patriotism isn’t the same as Lincoln’s. Lincoln needed more than pride. He needed devotion to the nation. At the dedication of the national Cemetery, Lincoln said “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that that nation might live” (Lincoln 27). Lincoln’s definition of patriotism was being devoted enough to fight for, or even die for, our nation. Both authors agree that patriotism requires pride, though Lincoln also wanted devotion.
Equality, unity, and patriotism are all ideals that Quindlen and Lincoln share, though they value them in different ways. Both authors see that equality is something that we should strive for, but they recognize that we have not achieved it. Quindlen and Lincoln both agree that different races have their own problems, but they come together as one country that is united. Quindlen and Lincoln both think patriotism is a good thing but that is hard to obtain. So, Julian Castro’s ideas about the American dream are proved by Lincoln and Quindlen; it’s a relay, not a sprint.
Page Break
Work Cited Page
Lincoln Abraham, “Gettysburg Address” Collections, edited by, Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack and, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 27-28.
Quindlen, Anna. “Quilt of a Country” Collections, edited by, Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack and, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 3-6.
Compare and Contrast Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
2. What qualifies this paper as a compare and contrast essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? You compare the two authors stories and find that they both talk about the equality of how our world works.
3. Tell me about one challenge you faced writing this paper and how you overcame it. I overcame the challenges during this paper by rewriting and rereading through it finding all my mistakes and correcting them.
Ms. Lehmann
English 1~1A
October 10, 2019
The Ideal American Dream
Jullian Castro once said, “In the end, the American dream is not a sprint or even a marathon, but a relay. Our families don’t always cross the finish line in the span of one generation. But each generation passes on to the next the fruits of their labor.” Throughout American history, the struggles to attain an equal, united nation have been passed on. This essay will compare how Anna Quindlen’s “Quilt of a Country” and Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address” treat the issues of equality, unity, and patriotism in their visions of the American dream. Equality is the first ideal both authors discuss.
Quindlen and Lincoln both discuss equality in their works. Both authors agree that equality is an ideal worth striving for even though we have not yet achieved it in our nation. Quindlen explains that our nation has held onto the value of unity since its creation. She writes, “America... is held together by the nation that all men are created equal” (Quindlen 3). Here, Quindlen highlights the value of equality not only as something we should fight for, but also as a value that has held our nation together. Quindlen also saw the difficulty in attaining equality, though. Quindlen points to cultural inequalities in our nation, but Lincoln faced much more severe issues surrounding slavery. Lincoln, like Quindlen, saw the inequalities in the way people in our country are treated but he fought a civil war to free slaves. In his speech he says, “We here highly resolve that... this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom” (Lincoln 28). Lincoln wanted equality to keep our nation together, but he didn’t see the fruits of his labor. Both authors value unity as well as equality.
Quindlen and Lincoln both discuss two different types of unity, but they both value it. Quindlen knows unity is important and that we often fail to achieve it. She writes, “This is a nation founded on a conundrum, what Mario Cuomo has characterized as ‘community added to individualism.’ ‘These two are our defining ideals; they are also in constant conflict” (Quindlen 4) Quindlen says that individualism is one of our national values, and it doesn’t always align with unity. Quindlen urges readers to keep trying for unity anyway. While Quindlen wanted the country to be more united socially, Lincoln was trying to put the U.S. back together after the south seceded during the civil war. Both Quindlen and Lincoln wanted to unite the US, but they sought for different kinds of unity. Once Quindlen and Lincoln started to find a solution to diversity, they brought patriotism into their statements.
Quindlen and Lincoln agree that unity is a big thing in America. For both Quindlen and Lincoln, patriotism requires pride in America. Quindlen says patriotism means being proud that our country is diverse, but we come together as one and are proud to be united. She writes, “But patriotism is a partly taking pride in this unlikely ability to throw all of us together in a country that across its length and breadth is as different as a dozen countries and still be able to call it by one name”(Quindlen 6). Quindlen defines patriotism as pride in our struggle to stay together despite our differences. Quindlen’s definition of patriotism isn’t the same as Lincoln’s. Lincoln needed more than pride. He needed devotion to the nation. At the dedication of the national Cemetery, Lincoln said “We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives so that that nation might live” (Lincoln 27). Lincoln’s definition of patriotism was being devoted enough to fight for, or even die for, our nation. Both authors agree that patriotism requires pride, though Lincoln also wanted devotion.
Equality, unity, and patriotism are all ideals that Quindlen and Lincoln share, though they value them in different ways. Both authors see that equality is something that we should strive for, but they recognize that we have not achieved it. Quindlen and Lincoln both agree that different races have their own problems, but they come together as one country that is united. Quindlen and Lincoln both think patriotism is a good thing but that is hard to obtain. So, Julian Castro’s ideas about the American dream are proved by Lincoln and Quindlen; it’s a relay, not a sprint.
Page Break
Work Cited Page
Lincoln Abraham, “Gettysburg Address” Collections, edited by, Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack and, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 27-28.
Quindlen, Anna. “Quilt of a Country” Collections, edited by, Kylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer, Lydia Stack and, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 3-6.
Compare and Contrast Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
- Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific. We read stories took notes and found the similarities and the differnces throughout the two stories.
2. What qualifies this paper as a compare and contrast essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? You compare the two authors stories and find that they both talk about the equality of how our world works.
3. Tell me about one challenge you faced writing this paper and how you overcame it. I overcame the challenges during this paper by rewriting and rereading through it finding all my mistakes and correcting them.