Living the American Dream

The term American dream is often thrown around in everyday conversations and in high school history classes.  Whether the American Dream involves "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" or involves achieving incredible financial success in a land of vast opportunity, the term's definition often varies from person to person.  Thomas Wolfe stated "to every man, regardless of his birth, his shining, golden opportunity...the right to live, to work, to be himself, and to become whatever thing his manhood and his vision can combine to make him" and I feel that Bharati Mukherjee's character Jasmine reflects this definition.

Jasmine came from an environment that is vastly different than the United States.  However when Jasmine was confronted with a major event such as leaving New York for Baden, Elsa County, Iowa, the reader is presented with her unique optimism that Punjab is dull and flat like Iowa, and that dullness can be a luxery to certain people.  This experience living in harsh conditions allowed Jasmine to utilize her heritage while still trying to assimilate into a new culture.   Jasmine enjoys the notion of exchanging her "Gods" for Bud's "Gods of baseball."  Musial, Brock, and Gibson, all great baseball players, are renowned in American sports history and as a result of America's passion for sports, these names are recited and spoken often as highly as a diety or God in another culture.  However Jasmine grows to accept this aspect of our culture and learns about Bud's interest in an extremely hostile rivalry between the Cubs and the Cardinals.  As a Cubs fan, I can attest that Jasmine made a wise choice in not choosing a Cubs fan and inheriting an age-less American curse.

While much of the culture around Iowa is different than in the village of Hasnapur, Jasmine remains true to her heritage when preparing meals.  Her concoctions as she calls it appear to be a success at the dinnertable and as a result her friends and "family" have come to expect meals with something Indian on the table.  Bud never asks her about India which does not appear to demoralize Jasmine in any way.  She accepts Bud joking and calling her Jane and she states that she is content in being just plain Jane.  Jasmine's thought process is intriguing in which she is watching her favorite cable show, an activity she most likely rarely if ever enjoyed in Hasnapur, in which the INS caught illegal immigrants.  She compares herself to the illegals that get deported, however she is in the country legally.

Jasmine, the fifth daughter born to her family, was seen as a curse due to her being a girl.  She felt that she would never have the opportunity to marry and have a dowry of any significant value.  However Jasmine pursued her dreams and was able to avoid becoming something that she doesn't want to become.  While her pursuit of a dream has not led her to marriage, it has brought her a family that loves her and treats her as an equal.  For all intents and purposes, Jasmine is nipping at the heels of the American Dream.