Blog 5

Kevin Camarena Blog 5

Jason Alvarado

Sarah Burke

Behold the Dreamers 

The event in the story that we chose was where Jende gives up after being fired from being a chauffeur. The reason that this is so important to the story is because Jende, from the beginning of the book, was always trying to pursue the American Dream. He never gave up and tried to keep fighting to stay in America. However, here we see how he does not fight, but instead gives up and Neni becomes the only one trying to fight this. Jende had completely given up which he had never done before. 

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Cynthia “Cindy” Edwards passed away this weekend at her New York City home.

Cindy Edwards is survived by her loving husband of 15 years, Clark. The two were married in the Hamptons in 1993.

Cindy Edwards is lovingly remembered by her two sons, Vince and Mighty Edwards.

Cynthia enjoyed spending time with her friends, tennis, and attending grand events. The funeral will be held this Sunday evening at 11 in the morning. The service will be held at Redden Funeral home. A reception will take place at her favorite lunch spot, Le CouCou.

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Mo Money Mo Problems 

Kelly price sings, “I don't know what they want from me, It's like the more money we come across, The more problems we see”. The Jongas and the Edwardses both have their fair share of problems. However, as the Jongas set their sights on America, they dreamed of a more comfortable life. Neni even enjoyed shopping with her friend in New York. As the Jongas grew closer to the Edwardses, they witnessed the problems money can inflict. Clark is a workaholic, Cindy has issues with drugs and alcohol, Vince hates his parents and their/his elite culture, and Mighty is enduring all of this at his young age.

On the other hand, despite the song’s chorus, the verses of Mo Money Mo Problems feature very little disadvantages to being wealthy. A majority of the lyrics depict a glamourous lifestyle, one filled with money and luxury that the Edwardses never seem to lose despite the market crash. “Ten years from now we’ll still be on top.” The upper class is confident they’ll remain unaffected (so long as those they depend on--like the Edwardses depending on the Jongas--are taking the blow).

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Social classes are something prone in the United states. However, that being said, social classes should not be a real thing. The united states is divided into three sections, lower class, middle class, and upper class. No matter how hard you work as a lower class member or how hardly you work in the upper class, you will remain based on your income. Social classes shouldn't base or describe your entire life considering some have more opportunities than others. 

For example, not everyone has the chance to pursue in their education such as those who are undocumented. Undocumented individuals aren't easily allowed access into college, meanwhile upper class citizens are easily involved in pursuing their education. Factors like these make it nearly impossible to move up a social class. Social classes is an equivalent definition of citizen privilege. This gives those who are striving for a better lifestyle from other countries nearly no chance of being extremely successful.

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People in higher social class have an exaggerated belief that they are better than others:https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190520093452.htm

I chose this article morally because it relates a lot to our theme of social class. A huge problem in the United States is how careless those of higher class are. Most of them believe that they are better than everybody else and that the problems in the corrupt environment of the United States doesn’t really matter to them morally because it doesn't affect them. For example, those who are Trump supporters are mostly those of wealth who accuse immigrants to be stealing all of their money and work when in reality those of wealth spend their time not doing much due to their success. My favorite part of this article is how they clearly state that those who are in a higher class believe that they are the prime citizens of the U.S. 

It is also extremely common for those who are born into a higher class family, to remain in a higher class family when those who are traveling to the U.S for better living conditions usually strive to work their way up to the higher class. They believe their higher class determines they capability of everything when in reality, it does. However, for a country that stresses their equality, this isn’t fair to those who are depending on connections (such as education or a successful job) to work their way up to a higher class.

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Our theme really ties with our book because the book is based all on the American Dream. Immigrants from other countries come to the United States because they believe that they will have better living conditions. In the United States, there is lower class, middle class, and higher class which determines what state of economy you are in. What people don't understand is that we live in a very privileged country where our poverty levels aren't as low as those in other countries. For example, in Mexico, the poverty is extremely bad and if you have no money you have no choice to starve meanwhile in the United States, when you are consider poverty, you have access to places such as a homeless shelter, free meal organizations, and urgent health care if you really need it. 

This proves my point of how privileged our country is and how class has a lot to do with Behold the Dreamers. Someone from a country with lack of human resources will affect the state of life you live in the United States. When you come from being in poverty in a country that is not the U.S, it’s even harder to get on a good financial/economical level in the United States considering the economy here requires high expectations. Just like in the book, the author explains the difficulty of getting back on track or even making it to the United States for a better life.

Another example of interdependency in this book would be how accomplishing things really requires you to either fully depend on yourself or expect something from others. For an example, many Mexican immigrants rely on other people to risk their lives a citizenship just to get them to cross the border.. (Such as hiding in the back of an American citizens trailer to cross the border). Another way that interdependency isa prime factor in this book is the fact that you are able to determine your future generations lifestyle. Whether you want to live the American Dream or not, making a big step like this will heavily determine how future relatives live.. (such as either living in horrible poverty or being successful with the american dream).

Whether someone wants to take upon a task themselves, or rely on someone else to get them to a better lifestyle, it is all for better living conditions. Those in the united states take the social class systems for granted because in other countries it is much worse. The American Dream within social classes and Interdependency has also been proven to be a lie multiple times. No matter how bad you or the author of behold the dreamers wanted it, it will always depend on the corruptness of the united states system.

Blog 2

Kevin Camarena Blog 2

Jason Alvarado

Sarah Burke 

Behold the Dreamers 

The way in which the theme of Class and Independency manifests itself in the novel of Behold the Dreamers is by talking about the lives of two seperate families, one lower class and one higher class, and how each depend on one another to accomplish what they need. Throughout the story the audience gets to see how class affects both families in different ways because on is rich while the other is poor. The Jonga family struggled to find a good paying job because they were poor and were also immigrants. Not many people wanted to hire Jende and give him good pay. On the other hand, the Edwards family was good when it came to money. Clark worked at a renowned investment bank. 

When Jende came to Clark for a job as a chauffeur, it can be seen how interdependency will play a part of the story. Interdependency is the dependence of two or more people. From this, it is seen how this starts to manifest in the story as both people will be needing each other from now on. Clark will be needing Jende to take him wherever he needs to go and also where his wife or children need to go. Jende will need Clark for the money because of how poor he is and how he can not lose his job as it is the highest paying job he has ever gotten. 

In the case of Clark we see how class affects him as it is a positive experience for him because he is already part of the wealthy class. He doesn't have to worry about having enough money to give his family. The only big problems he has are with his job and keeping his family in check. He has to worry about doing good at his workplace and produce good results so that he can stay there. Another thing he struggles with is to keep his family in check, whether he knows it or not, he is slowly drifting them apart. As for Jende, he has a lot more to worry about. Because he is a part of the lower class, Jende has to worry about having a good salary for his family and being a good resident in the U.S. because of his immigration status as well.

Class and independency are an important theme in this novel because it describes the relationship between the Edwards and Jonga family. It shows the struggles that Jonga family stress about because of their social status and the struggles of the Edwards because of their social status as well. In a way the story itself compares the lives of people who are poor in America and also those who are rich by using these two families. The audience sees how a wealthy family relies on a less wealthy family for many things and how a poor family relies on a wealthy one to live in America.

Blog 8

Kevin Camarena Blog 8

Jason Alvarado

Sarah Burke

Behold the Dreamers 

The story begins by telling how Jende Jonga was in for a job interview at a renowned investment bank with Clark Edwards. Two very important characters are introduced at this point, Clark, a wealthy man, and Jende, a poor man. Jende is an immigrant who came to America from Cameroon to have a better life. Clark, on the other hand, was born into a wealthy class family and stayed wealthy throughout his whole life. After the interview, Jende had to wait a couple of days to see if he would be hired by the Edwards family as a chauffeur, which he was hired. Jende brought over his girlfriend, Neni, and son, Liomi, on a student visa and also applied for asylum with the help of Bubaker, an immigration lawyer, using a crazy story about why he had to stay in America. 

As Jende begins his job with Clark, Clark makes him sign a confidentiality agreement, which states that anything that he hears at the job can not be said to anybody. As a chaupher, Jende would take Mighty, Clarks youngest son, to after school activities, Cindy, Clarks wife, to beauty and lunch appointments, and Vince, Clarks eldest son, to wherever he wanted to go. Very quickly would this result in Jende knowing a lot about this family. Vince tells Jende that he does not want to stay in law school, he wants to move to India and pursue his own dreams, far from home. Jende explains to him that his parents do everything that they can to give him a better life and shares with him his own struggles in coming to America. He tries to make Vince see how much his parents are doing for him, but he refuses to see that and wants to move anyway. Jende also sees how desperate Cindy is to maintain a happy family and herself stay in the social circle. With Clark, he notices that he is stressed by his work as he does not want them to go bankrupt. 

Not only does Jende notice the things happening with the family, but also Neni. As she became the babysitter for Mighty, for a while, she noticed what was going around. One particular instance is that she saw Cindy passed out on painkillers and alcohol. The next morning Cindy tells Neni that she came from a poor family and is working hard to keep everything she has. She then makes an offer to Neni saying that she will give Liomi clothes and toys that Mighty does not use anymore if she does not tell anybody. Neni also hears an argument that Cindy and Clark had where they don't agree on how to handle the leave of Vince. Cindy really wants him to stay with family due to her background, but Clark does not care that he leaves. 

As time progresses, Jende notices how Clark gets angrier and more stressed with his job. Jende does not allow his Neni to tell Clark about Cindy’s problem because he does not want to get fired as that is his only source of good income as he had just gotten a pay raise. One day Clark forgets his tie at the Chelsea Hotel and Cindy demands Jende to write what Clark does at every moment and then tell her. Jende is obviously scared to do so. He tells Clark about this and he says to do it, but leave out everything about the Chelsea Hotel, Jende is happy by this and proceeds to do so. 

One day, there is an article stating that there was an escort who was paid for her services by several members of the bank and Clark was one of them. After this was out, Jende gets fired because Cindy demands Clark to do so. While Jende was defeated, Neni was not willing to give up so she goes to Cindy for Jendes job back. She refuses and then Neni shows her the picture of her intoxicated and Cindy gives her $10,000 and tells her to leave. Because Jende couldn’t find another job due to his immigaration status, he decides they will head back to Cameroon. Neni does not want to give up her dream so she plans to divorce Jende and marry someone else to get a green card, but that is short-lived as Jende does not allow her to do so. When Cindy died, due to intoxication, Clark and Mighty would move to Virginia with family and he gives Jende $2,000. Jende, Neni, and Liomi all leave America after 5 years and go back home to Cameroon.

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Jason Alvarado Blog 7

Kevin Camarena

Sarah Burke

Quote

“Our people say no condition is permanent, Mr. Edwards. Good times must come to an end, just like bad times, whether we want it or not.”

I found this quote to be very meaningful because I believe that it’s totally accurate. I can relate to it because I’ve lived experiences that I wish would last forever but I knew would eventually end. For example, I love going on vacation, but they only last two weeks which fly by and it feels sad knowing that you have to go back. That’s why I think that people should make the most of what they have instead of wasting it wishing it wouldn’t end. As for the bad times, no one wants them to happen but when they do, they will end as well. Someone told me that we shouldn’t live worrying about what’s going to happen or not happen, but rather enjoy everyday one day at a time.

blog 8 - book summary

The book starts off with our main character Jende Jonga entering Lehnman Brothers to Interview for a job as a Chaffeur for the investor Clark Edwards. Jende is an immigrant from Cameroon and has been living in America since 2004 and his first two years living there he was an undocumented immigrant. Jende brings along his wife Neni with him. Neni goes to community college and hopes to be a pharmacist.  Jende's job as a Chaffeur for the Edwards family makes him a decent amount of money, but has a lot of baggage that comes with it. He has to keep quiet about everything from what goes on in the Edwards family to everything that is going on with the Lehnman Brothers company as well. Jende's work days primarily consist of driving Clark to work, driving his youngest son, mighty to school as well as making sure Clarks wife Cindy gets to her beauty and lunch appointments. The two families lives seem to intersect. Jende learns various intimate details about the Edwards family while Chauffeuring them around Manhattan. Vince there oldest son plans to move to India to get away from his family's materialistic views. Neni is now a sub for Anna the permanent maid, and she starts to learn things about Cindy as well, while developing a relationship with Mighty. Cindy is desperate to keep the family together and starts to indulge in alcohol and pain killers. Clark and Cindy get into a huge fight about Vince leaving law school and Neni comforts Cindy, who cries alone in the kitchen. Clark is under an enormous amount of stress at work and isn't sleeping much. Clark and Cindy continue to fight and it contributes to the constant unhappiness of there youngest son Mighty. For both families there is an insermountable amount of stress. Jende loses his immigration case and Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy and crumbles. Jende Prepares himself to go back home to Cameroon as he is fired from his job with the Edwards. Neni is pregnant and has no money to support the child and herself. She blackmails Cindy for 10,000$ to keep silent about Cindy's addiction. Jende is tired of struggling and voluntarily wants to go back to Cameroon. Jende beats Neni one night after a huge argument about Jende's awful decisions. Meanwhile, Cindy dies after a nasty episode of drug and alcohol abuse. Clark is then a lobbyist for the credit union industry. The Jongas, using the blackmail money as a nest egg, return to Cameroon, where Jende plans to be an entrepreneur and live in Limbe. Neni sticks with Jende, despite her love for America and the anxiety that her children will miss out on everything that America has to offer.

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Blog 1

Jason Alvarado Blog 1

Kevin Camarena

Sarah Burke

Class and Interdependence

There were many themes in the book “Behold The Dreamers”, one of them being class and interdependancy. This theme shows the differences between low and high classes as well as the dependence of a family. Imbolo Mbue didn’t focus on this theme too much in the beginning, it was seen more towards the middle of the book. The author talks a lot about the economy and how the lower class were more affected compared to the higher classes. The Edwards have employees that depend on them, which scare the employees because they could lose their job at any time.

This theme pertains to the book because the economy is a big part of the story which fits with the two social classes. For example, in the book, when the economy crashed, the Edwards were unaffected, while those who work for them were afraid of ending up unemployed since they weren’t wealthy. Mbue shows how the class system places the lower class at a disadvantage, as they are always the first to suffer because of who they depend on. Jende was dependent of Clark because of his job, but he was fired because of how the company was doing, so Jende was the one affected. This shows how the lower class depended on the higher classes for jobs and money. Mbue does a good job mixing these themes into the book and show her perspective. 

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Blog #8

Behold the Dreamers Summary
Behold the dreamers is a novel by the author Imbolo Mbue. This book talks about many issues of today's society like immigration and the struggle to make income as well as come family issues. The book focuses on two families, the Jongas which are immigrants from Cameroon and the Edwards which are a white rich family. Jende Jonga is the husband of Neni Jonga, they struggle to settle and make ends meet. He starts working as a cab driver. Clark Edwards is wealthy investment banker at Lenhman brothers. He is married to Cindy Edwards and is a father of two.

Their luck changes when Jende Jonga starts driving for the Edwards family. It’s a better paying job and they start to see what this family is really about. Since Jende is always driving for them, he can hear everything they talk about, he then understands that they are unhappy. They all have secrets towards one another and worries about work and the company. Cindy is stress, she believes she is not enough for her husband so she leans towards alcohol to drown her pain.

       Both families start to get each other better and the secrets start to get discovered. At the beginning only Jende works with the Edwards but after a while Neni starts working with them while their maid Anna goes on vacation. She then discovers Cindy's addiction to alcohol and painkillers. Both sides of the story (both families) go through different challenges, the Jongas are struggling in regards to their immigration status since Jende has been denied his legal status to stay in this country.

         A series of events happen in where the Jongas stop working for the Edwards. Jendes request for asylum has been denied and he struggles a lot to find work. Because of all this he thinks the best decision for him and his family is to go back to Cameroon. Neni on the other hand isn’t okay with that decision, she doesn’t want to give up on her dream.  In the other household (the Edwards house) Cindy has died do to alcohol, she was drunk and choked on her own vomit. When this happens Jende and Clark meet for one last time, Clark is planning on moving to Virginia to be closer to their family.

         The book ends in Clark leaving to Virginia and the Jongas going back to their home country, and trying to start their new life over there after being in New York for five years. This book is a good demonstration of the difference between socioeconomic families, as well as giving a look into what immigrant families have to go through. It shows how the families struggle financially, but it also shows how the Edwards struggle because of all the money they do have.

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Poem/Rap
The modern immigrant experience is not easy Dreams and aspirations for a better life The risk is high but despite, Holding on to our dreams is only right Fight through the hard days and night The journey might be dark but at the end there is light
A better future for generations to come, First generations work for the future until numb, The american dream, a dream that seems so far, But whats a dream without a heart, But if we all do our part its a start, For when we lose heart, things get dark, And those dreams for the better start to fade, Our hearts grow with hate and dismay, Failures start and along comes shame,
STOP
We must keep the flame, its never too late, We must keep the amercan dream, For as impossible it may seem, Hard Work never goes unseen, For the start is a start for a better future, Newer and brighter, We are all fighters, not losers This country was built on immigrants, Immigrants with a motivation for the better, So the american dream is instilled in us forever.

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The Modern Immigrant Experience
I think this poem really portrays the modern immigrant experience because it relates to dreams and chasing them. How we can achieve anything we want to if we continue to work hard and chase them no matter what. One line that sticks out the most is:
“Some grow up and their dreams start to fade, Because of failure is what they’re afraid. When in reality you have to take a chance, To make sure that your future advance”
This line is so significant because it explains how we lose sight of our dreams sometimes and they start to fade because we are afraid of failure but in reality we need to take a chance and hold on to our dreams so we can continue to keep moving forward.
In the book behold the dreamers we see how our character Jende chases his dreams and goals to become a better man and help his family in america and back home. Jende and Neni come to the United States with high hopes of creating a successful life for themselves and for their children. But as the story continues they start to lose hope in their dreams. Even though Neni keeps faith in the American Dream until the end we see Jende lose it and comes to the conclusion that life as an immigrant is not worth the suffering for a goal that he may never achieve. Although that happens he gets asked why he immigrated to america and he says “I stay in my country, I would have become nothing. My son will grow up and be poor like me, just like I was poor like my father. But in America, sir? I can become something”
This poem really portrays the modern immigrant experience because dreams and aspirations is what drives them to come to another country and in this case america. The american dream is what we used to call it. The modern immigrant experience isn't easy but the dream is instilled and what drives the modern immigrant to push towards success.

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Blog 2
 How theme manifests throughout the book and through the characters. (Minimum 4 paragraphs, paragraphs that are 5-6 sentences)
The Modern immigrant experience is reflected all through the novel, through the stories and experiences of our main characters. Throughout the novel
In the novel Jende tried to take advantage of his opportunities in order to ensure he was able to stay in america by lying and claiming this story of a dangerous life back in Cameroon. While he’s not in imminent danger he still comes to America seeking better opportunities. Once here he was able to work hard and hope for the best. But he instead quickly sees that the immigartion process is much more than a good story and some paperwork. For years he would be working just as any other american citizen and paying fees to possibly of et his citizenship in the end.

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Behold the Dreamer by Imbolo Mbue is a fictional novel set during the global financial crisis of 2007 and analyzes its effects on the main characters Jende and Neni. This story simultaneously looks at the existence of the “American Dream” and immigration into the United States for financial stability. Throughout the novel readers are able to analyze and answer the question on whether the “american dream” is attainable or simply a myth that causes immigrants to be unaware of the actual challenges they will face once in America.
Unfortunately the modern immigrant experience is very similar to the story being told about immigration 10 years ago. I think you can also easily argue that the american immigration experience has become much worse in the current political climate. Now not only is there a struggle to become financially stable in the american economy now there are issues regarding safety. Currently there is an active search to rid America of people from foreign countries who come here seeking better opportunities and a better life and more importantly asylum. The current administration has placed negative connotations on immigration and immigrants and have really created a space for hate and negativity towards people who have done nothing and have little to nothing to do with the issues facing america. There are many ignorant thoughts being spewed about immigrants without much knowledge
The modern Immigrant experience is full of fear and doubt in particular for black and brown people coming to america. Instead of simply needing to prove they need help and asylum they are needing to prove they aren’t “criminals” themselves. All this while simultaneously paying the American government thousands of dollars just to submit paperwork.

blog #1 General Definition of theme

Our theme was sustainability of the American dream. To me this means being able to keep and maintain what is known to us as the American dream. The American dream is a lot of things, and lots of people come to America for the American dream. The American dream really consists of being able to have an opportunity to get a job, make a living and live a happy and successful life on your own terms.
                      America has been called "the land of opportunity" and that is why many immigrants from all over the world have tried to achieve and sustain the American Dream. This relates to behold the dreamers because Jende moves with his family to America, and seeks a better life, a life with a job and stable living. Throughout the story this is a main theme, as Jende hopes to sustain the American Dream and start a successful and happy life in the United States. Jende and his family believe that they have something to look forward to in the United States.

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Prompt: Create yearbook entry for 3 characters, add a quote they would say, a pic of what you think they would look like.    
Neni Jonga.                                           Liomi Jonga                                    Cindy Edwards 
“Life is bought through.                       “Success is being able              “Beauty is everything...we must
Hard work, at the price of sacrifice.”   To achieve all your Goals.”    Stand out in such an ugly world.”

Blog #7

Prompt :Choose meaningful quote from the book and explain why the quote interests you and then draw or find pics to illustrate quote

“It’s the fear that kills us, Leah,” Jende said. “Sometimes it happens and it’s not even as bad as the fear. That is what I have learned in this life. It is the fear.” The American dream sounds promising and once it is achieved, we are supposed to be in the glory of it all; but the big thing Jende was getting at was the fear before doing something that ends up not being so hard. An example of this would be immigrants coming to America that are afraid of going through the worst to get here until they actually take the first step. This quote stood out the most because as human beings, we are hesitant to make decisions that can result in the best phase of our lives, but fear is what holds us back. 

Blog #1

  Prompt: General Definition of your theme and how it pertains to Behold the Dreamers.

 Class and Interdependency 

Class, in an American society, has categorized groups of people by some measure of social status or economic status. Those who typically have the most money have the ability to change people’s lives, as well as make it difficult for others. In Behold the Dreamers, employees and people in the working class were at the disadvantage before they sunk to the lower class after the loss of jobs. On the other hand, people who were executives and considered higher class, were sure they’d be unaffected in an economic crisis. The Lehman Brothers were sensing a downfall, and those who are considered the “smaller workers” were at higher risk of getting laid off and left jobless. 

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      A song that relates to our theme about Family and Belonging is "Count On Me" by Bruno Mars. This song is basically stating different circumstances where you might need a family or friend and every time you may need someone to be there for you, they'll be there no matter the situation. This song came out on September 5, 2011. My favorite parts about this song is when it says, "You can count on me like one, two, three... I'll be there."  I like this part because it is basically saying that as easy it is to count up to three, it'll be just as easy to have someone there for you in hard times. 

   This song pertains to Behold The Dreamers due to the Jonga family. They went through hard times, for example, the years they were apart and Jende had to make a living by himself in America, he still supported his family even though they were back in Cameroon. Although he was across the world he didn't forget about them and eventually brought them over. Also when Jende lost his job, Neni stood up to Cindy because of it due to the fact that Jende appeared to be depressed and they didn't have as much money. As a result, Cindy gave Neni $10,000 and that fixed their money problem temporarily. This just goes to show that the Jongas will be there for each other no matter the situation. They'll always have someone in times of need. 

Blog #1

The theme for Behold the Dreamers that we were assigned was family and belonging. Family means a group of parents and children living together in a household. Belonging refers to fitting or feeling like you are important member of group. Altogether what this means is that in a family everyone feels like they belong with each other. Also everyone has each others back no matter the circumstance. This is the case for Behold The Dreamers because we have two situations about two different families. In this case one of them being the Edwardses family while the other one being the Jongas family.
Behold The Dreamers gives us two interpretations on how family and belonging pertain to this story. For example, for the first interpretation, the Edwardses; we have a family that is completely broken apart and has no sense of belonging. Vince, the son, plans to quit his school and move to India in order to get away from his parents materialistic views. Cindy, the mother, has an alcohol problem and constantly drinks due to family issues but hides her problem from her family. Finally, Clark, the father, who is constantly worried about work, doesn't get enough sleep nor spends enough time with his family. Here we have a family with no sense of belonging. No one in the family appears to talk anything out, nor care about what anyone is feeling. There is constant problems in the family and no one is taking initiative to fix it. No one seems to have each others back nor care for what that person is going through.
The second interpretation we have the Jongas family. Here we have an immigrant family that has came to America for the American Dream. Jende saves up bring his girlfriend (Neni) and his son over once he arrives. Jende and Neni both make the bare minimum in order to live and have a house in New York. During tough times the family does not give up on each other and communicate everything clearly. For example, when Jende gets fired Neni stands up to Cindy and gets cash back in order to help their situation. Also when they are all out of options they head back to their home town together. Here we have a family that has a sense of belonging. They work together in order to get through tough times and communicate effectively. They also have each others back no matter the situation establishing a sense of belonging with each other.

summary of the book

 behold the dreamers summary 

ende Jonga is a Cameroonian worker in the US on a brief visa pending his refuge case; Neni Jonga is a junior college understudy on a understudy visa. Clark Edwards is an official at Lehman Brothers, and Cindy Edwards is a nutritionist. 

In 2008, Clark Edwards employs Jende to be a chauffer. The employment bid comes as a much needed development in the Jongas' luck, which has been hard since they emigrated from rustic Limbe, in Cameroon, to a terrible loft in Harlem. As Jende drives the Edwards family about the city, he discovers that cash has not satisfied them. Clark appears to be worried about certain issues with his company’s books and the company’s debts at Lehman Brothers; further, he infrequently takes part in experiences with sex laborers. Cindy suffers from a disorder since she grew up poor and was conceived out of assault. Vince Edwards, a law understudy at Columbia, just takes his family’s money

The lives of these two families start to meet. Clark is extremely stressed because his company has shady book keepings and investments in real estate. Cindy is also stressed because she feels like she is not good enough for her husband. She goes to liquor and Vicodin to relieve her stresses over her marriage and missing husband. Vince, on the cusp of moving on from graduate school, turns down wealth he would receive by choosing to go to a retreat out West and later to India. He finds himself getting into more and more arguments with his parents.

Jende's life is complicated because his immigration case is pending, regulated by a skilled lawer named Bubakar, who always charges them for fees. Jende's request to stay in america was turned down and he knew at some point or another, he would be deported. Neni finds that she is pregnant. But also While at the Hamptons, Neni finds that Cindy is an addict and that she is extremely miserable. 

Matters reach a crucial stage for the two families. Vince upsets his family extremely when he told them he will go to India. Lehman Brothers declare bankruptcy. Jende loses his asylum and prepares to go back to Cameroon. Cindy finds out from a news article that her husband is cheating on her and forces her husband to fire Jende because he was covering up for him.

In the interim, Neni, who was not able work during the end phases of her pregnancy, also she left her job at Jende’s request. she tries to find a way to pay for her schooling so she decides to blackmail cindy for money to keep quiet about her addiction.  Jende is tired of struggling so he decides to go back to Cameroon. He ends up beating his wife because she got mad at his decision.

Cindy dies after a binge of drinking and medications. Clark turns into a lobbyist for the credit union industry. The Jongas, utilizing the blackmail cash as a savings, go back to Cameroon, where Jende plans to be an entrepreneur and live easily in Limbe.

blog 4- create a song/poem/rap [colin gentry]

1. come to america is what they say,
2. get any job and you'll be rich in a day.
3. but how true is this to what they speak,
4. if you work-hard you'll reach the american peak.
5. now sure it's a strange and foreign land,
6. but to many immigrants it can be quite grand.
7. people from all walks of life come to achieve their goals,
8. whether its for freedom, or love, or just a hefty pay-roll.
9. america offers opportunities for everyone and all,
10. but if you're not careful you might just fall.
11. but worry not at this fear,
12. as most people in search of the american dream make it to next year.
13. whether your a doctor, or lawyer, or just a house cleaner,
14. it doesn't matter the job just a strong demeanor.
15. now many people come to america with great plots and schemes,
16. but just remember that is the sustainability of the american dream.

Quote

Quote from the book

In the book it says “As far as Immigration is concerned, there are many things that are illegal and many that are gray, and by ‘gray’ I mean the things that are illegal but which the government doesn’t want to spend time worrying about. You understand me, abi? My advice to someone like you is to always stay close to the gray area and keep yourself and your family safe. Stay away from any place where you can run into police—that’s the advice I give to you and to all young black men in this country. The police is for the protection of white people, my brother. Maybe black women and black children sometimes, but not black men. Never black men. Black men and police are palm oil and water. You understand me, eh?” (behold the dreamers). This quote is important because it shows the struggles of immigration and how Black people are treated. This extremely important today with everything that is going on.  Also this quote is important in the book because he needs to get to America and he cant get in trouble other weise he won’t be able to make it here. So this is good advice he got in the book.

blog 3- find a song (Colin Gentry)

I picked the song America by Neil Diamond which he wrote in 1994. I picked the song because it relates heavily to our theme about the sustainability of the America dream. The main premise of the song is people coming to America in search of freedom and the American dream. The song also states that people are coming from everywhere to America to live their dreams which furthers the theme of the sustainability of the American dream. By proving that it is sustainable because a lot of people continue to come in search of it.  I didn’t have a favorite part I just liked the whole song in general because it has got a nice beat. And the singer sings a positive message about people coming to America. I personally agree with what I choose because during the time the song was written lots of people came to America in search of the American dream and for freedom which is why the song helps to reinforce our theme very well. And clearly this very heavily relates to behold the dreamers because the book is also about coming to America in search of the America dream just like the song talks about people coming to America to be happy and live free.

year book

Jende Jonga 

“Just trying to live my best life”

Vince Edward

“I just want to live in India”

Clark Edwards 

“Acquiring currency is all I care about”

skit

jende - waiting in the car for 15 minutes 

vince - sorry for making you wait! He says 

They start talking about law school

Jende- you should finish Law school, become a lawyer and go to India on vacation

Vince- I don’t want to become a lawer anymore because they are miserable and i don’t want to be miserable.

Jende- well my friend is a lawer

vince - is he happy?

Jende- well sometimes he is and sometimes he isn’t but you get that with every job.

Vince- but i cant stand law school.

Jende knows by his impassioned tone that it isn’t about law school it is about him becoming his own person.