The song America (West Side Story) - Essay essays

The song America (West Side Story) - Essay essays The song America (West Side Story) - Essay From dishwasher to millionaire - for this sentence America is famous. But is it true that you have every opportunity in America? The songAmerica? from the musicalWest Side Story? written by Leonard Bernstein may have an answer for this question. At the beginning ofWest Side Story? we hear a song, a dialogue between Puerto Rican immigrants. The girls point out the wonderful sides of living in America, but the boys always show the hard reality and that the life for immigrants isn't easy. The girls see America as the land of freedom an opportunities, that everything is now possible for them. They can buy everything they want, even on credit. The answer of the boys is that the prejudice to immigrants is bigger than the trust,one look at us and they charge twice?. The girls? dream of their own houses and apartments with more space and terrace ends with the 'twelve in a room? theory, because everything is so expensive and the house owners slam the doors in foreigners? faces and even don't give them the chance to show, that they can live and behave like white people too. The girls speak of pride and honour, but the boys point out, that there is only pride and honour, if you 'stay on your own side?. They show that there is no way to belong to the high- or even middle-society, because there is no space for coloured people. The advantage that you arefree to be anything you choose? is also more or less for white people in America. Immigrants should be happy, if they get a badly paid job for example 'to wipe tables and shine shoes?. ?Life can be bright in America, life is all right in America?, the girls sing. In Addition to that the young men say:if you can fight and if you are white in America?. And unfortunately they are right. If you are a foreigner, you have to work hard to exist in America. You have to fight for your rights in the society. ...