Dreams from My Father - Part III (pages 153-229)

Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1995.

In this section, Barack has just begun his organizing career in southern Chicago. He is working with a white man, named Marty. Marty has a very interesting view on his job, which i think puts this whole section in a new light. Marty tells Barack during the interview that he must be angry about something, because otherwise he wouldn't want this job. I thought this was applicable to lots of situations in real life. It seems to me that a lot of times, someone you have never met can tell you something about yourself that you never knew. There are some things that people take for granted about themselves. A lot of people have almost no idea how their personality makes people categorize them. Barack didn't know he was angry about the situation until Marty told him he was, and then he realized that was true. He was angry, and he wanted to make a difference for the people. Marty warns him about the racism in Chicago, and when Barack experiences this for the first time, All Marty says is "'I did warn you,' Marty said, opening the door to his car. 'I told you Chicago's polarized and that politicians use it to their own advantage" (162). Barack learns that organizing is more than going around getting people to help you. He now knows that a lot of people are too scared to help out, too scared to take sides. This same idea occurs in many peoples lives, and I realize now it can be tied into All My Sons, as well. Joe Keller was afraid to admit his wrong, and so he made an unethical decision. A lot of people are too afraid of the consequences and they over think the ethics. They live feeble lives because of their reluctance to admit to their actions or ideas. Barack is realizing how little power he really has in the organizing business. When he first came to Chicago, he was expecting to gain monolithic support in the community and be completely sure of his actions. In reality, he realizes that not everybody wants to stand up for the right thing. Now he isn't even sure what is right or wrong anymore. He says "I realized then, standing in an empty McDonald's parking lot in the South Side of Chicago, that I was a heretic. Or worse- for even a heretic must believe in something, if nothing more than the truth of his own doubt" (163). Barack has heard so many opinions and so many conflicting views he is too confused to know what he believes anymore. This is a great example of the way society influences us. The more we see or hear somehting in society, the more "ok" it becomes in our minds, and since Barack is being constantly bombarded with opinions and ideas, he has no idea of right or wrong anymore.