Shannon and the American Dream

The main character is Shannon. The text is an extract of her diary. Shannon was a teenager; she was almost sixteen years old. She was Irish. Her dad was a fisherman but unfortunately he died at sea. Then Shannon life became very hard, she left school and worked as a farmhand. So she decided to go to America to starting a new and a better life. She took the boat alone the 8 of May of 1892 (eighteen ninety two). She was frightened of the unknown but also excited. She was in steerage and the living conditions were bad: the air was filthy, the food scarce and they wasn’t enough toilets and clean water for everyone. What’s more, a lot of people were homesick. During the crossing, she met Patrick and they became friends. The trip lasted fifteen day, the 23 (twenty three) of May, the boat arrived to Ellis Island. Then, the immigrants passed examens. One of them was called “the six-second”. The doctors were looking for signs of weakness. Patrick’s uncle helped Shannon and sponsored her. She managed to stay in America but Shannon and Patrick split up. Shannon found a cheap room and a well-paid job. A day, she received a letter from Patrick where he said that he had found a very god job and invited her to join him.

I find that Shannon achieved the American dream. She managed to go to America and to find a job. She started a new life. I think that she has joined Patrick and they become rich and happy.

...