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.