Kirsten Wethern Ms. Lehmann English 1-1A 10 October 2019 The Ideals of an American Dream Julian 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 and contrast how Anna Quindlen's “A Quilt of a Country” and 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 values of equality since its creation. She writes, “America...is held together by the notion 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. Both authors argue that unity is good, but that it is difficult to obtain. Quindlen and Lincoln both want our nation to stay together because unity is hard to achieve but that unity is also very important. Quindlen explains that unity is justone ideal for our nation. Quindlen says “This is a nation built 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 is saying that the U.S. values unity, but we also value individualism, which doesn’t always align with unity. She urges readers to strive for unity anyways. 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. Quindlen notices that the country came together after 9-11, but Lincoln saw the country divide over the issue of slavery. Lincoln urges people to make sure the “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not parish from the earth” (Lincoln 28). Lincoln wanted to reunite the government so we would remain a united nation. Both Quindlen and Lincoln wanted to unite the US, but they sought for different kinds of unity. Both authors also talk about patriotism. Both authors say patriotism means being proud of your nation. For both Quindlen and Lincoln, patriotism requires pride in America. Quindlen says patriotism means being proud of your country even though everyone is different. Without it we couldn’t come together as one. She says, “But patriotism is 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 doesn’t require as much sacrifice 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 together to dedicate a portion of that field as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live” (Lincoln 27). Lincoln’s definition of patriotism is being devoted enough to fight for, or even die for, your 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 in “A Quilt of a Country” and the “Gettysburg Address,” though they value them in different ways. Both authors see that equality is something that we should strive for but they both recognize that we have not yet achieved it. Both Quindlen and Lincoln agree that unity is a good thing but that it is hard to obtain, but Lincoln wanted to unite the north and the south and Quindlen saw unity after 9-11. Quindlen and Lincoln both think patriotism is good, but Quindlen thinks that patriotism is having pride in your nation while Lincoln says that patriotism is fighting or dying for your country. So, Julian Castro’s ideas about the American dream are proved by Lincoln and Quindlen; it’s a relay, not a sprint. Works Cited Page Lincoln, Abraham. “The Gettysburg Address.” Collections, edited by Lylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer& Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 27-28. Quindlen, Anna. “A Quilt of a Country.” Collections, edited by Lylene Beers, Martha Hougen, Carol Jago, William L. McBride, Erik Palmer& Lydia Stack, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017, pp. 3-6.
Compare and Contrast Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific. The first thing that I did was read an essay by Anna Quindlen and a speech by Abraham Lincoln.Next I wrote some notes. The notes compared Quindlen and Lincoln and they also included quotes. Next I wrote the compare and contrast essay. Then I revised and corrected the essay then I made the final copy.
2. What qualifies this paper as a compare and contrast essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? A compare and a contrast paper shows the differences and similarities between two things. It includes evidence from the article that you read.
3. Tell me about one challenge you faced writing this paper and how you overcame it. The hardest thing for me in this essay was making changes and correcting the essay. To solve my problem I asked my friends for help and I also used the paper that you handed out that told us what the symbols meant.