Essay Questions

How is racism tackled in Barack Obama’s Dreams From My Father?

The relationship between Obama senior and his love, Obama junior’s mother suffers greatly as a result of the different ethnicities of the couple. In particular, as a result of society's inflexibility as well as obstinacy in accepting a union between a white woman and a black man, the relationship between Barack’s parents is largely frowned upon. His father suffers a great deal of discrimination as a result of his race to an extent that he is called a monkey, an individual incapable of living in the civilized society. As such, the relationship between Barack’s parents hits the rocks, ending in a divorce that renders him without a father.

Ann Dunham’s family is supportive, caring, and loving. Is this argument justifiable? Explain.

The role of the family in one’s life is substantially brought out in Dreams From My Father. In this work, Ann Dunham’s family becomes an emblem of a supportive family as they accept her decisions without standing in the way of her happiness. The fact that this family accepts her decision to marry outside of her race is a substantial indication of their supportive, caring, and loving inclination. The family also sends Ann and Obama senior to Hawaii where they feel would be suitable for them. However, as a result of the racial prejudices that Obama senior suffers while there, the relationship does not quite end well. The argument that Ann’s family is loving, caring, and supportive is thus justifiable in this way.

Explore the character of the narrator as brought out in Dreams From My Father.

Obama junior is brought out as a hardworking individual who is also determined to achieve success and uphold his family’s reputation. He studies law at the Harvard Law School in his determination to uphold his father’s legacy of being a politician which he achieves with tremendous effort. As one of the minority groups in his class, it takes a lot of courage to overcome the problems and challenges posed by racial prejudices as well as self-conflicts related to the same. In this way, the narrator is brought out as courageous and brave. Love is also another trait that the narrator exhibits. He loves his family and even travels to Kenya to make peace with his father’s place of birth.