Analysis of Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama - Term Paper Example

[Student’s Name] [Instructor’s Name] [Course name and code] 26 May, 2011. 1. What are the key issues that you find that affected his view of himself?  Personal experiences of the President Obama regarding race and inheritance form a major bulk of the book Dreams from my father. Consequently, issues related to race and inheritance form the bedrock of President Obama’s view of himself. These issues affected him in such an astounding manner and developed such an invigorating aura around him that he felt compelled to pay a visit to his paternal relatives residing in Kenya before joining Harvard law school. Actually, mixed heritage presents many challenges and unanswered complexities to the people and President Obama shrewdly explored many of those complexities, while taking care to present the facts to the common public after interpreting them in his own unique way. President Obama’s mother was a white American and his father was a black man who had come to America all the way from Kenya. That is why, mixed heritage raised interesting questions for him related to race, and as he grew up, his curiosity for finding an answer also strengthened. President Obama naturally gravitated towards the African half of his identity as he grew up, despite having the privilege of living with his white American mother and maternal grandparents. This shows that race impacts an individual in a phenomenal way and no person can remain uninfluenced from his/her racial background, because racial background is a stark reality which plays a major role in making the identity of a person. President Obama has offered the readers a broad range of thoughtful meditations on race and inheritance with special regards to his own racial background and racial experience while growing up in America. President Obama has also presented his views regarding whether a person who is half-black, like himself, should accept America’s designation of black people or not. Considering the fact that he is a person of mixed heritage, this question needs to be explored according to him. 2. What role do the men or family in his life play? Family, men, and particularly father are extremely important in the life of Obama. Obama is of the view that family happens to be the most important rock, an individual can build the structure of his/her life upon. The significance of father in the building up of that foundation can not be underestimated. Fathers serve as tutors and counselors. They are to be idealized. They are both successful themselves and also serve as a constant source of motivation for us to be successful. Obama says that if we conduct our self analysis as men, we shall come to realize why our society lacks too many fathers. In fact, the fathers are there, but they are behaving like boys rather than responsible men. The weakness of the foundations of family in the contemporary society can fundamentally be attributed to this fact. This, according to Obama, is specifically true for the African American community. It is a fact that a vast majority of the African American children are brought up by a single parent. Obama compares his own case to the people without fathers in the society in general in these words: I know what it means to have an absent father, although my circumstances weren't as tough as they are for many young people today. Even though my father left us when I was two years old … I was luckier than most. … I screwed up more often than I should've, but I got plenty of second chances. And even though we didn't have a lot of money, scholarships gave me the opportunity to go to some of the best schools in the country. A lot of kids don't get these chances today. There is no margin for error in their lives. So my own story is different in that way. (Obama cited in Shepherd). 3. What is the key role that mistakes play in his decision making? Obama has been committing a lot of mistakes in the childhood. He says that he used to be very mischievous and would be mostly found in the principal’s office. Teachers used to teach him to be serious about studies and not create mischief around, but he would hardly ever pay heed to them. Addressing the children of the Kenmore Middle School, Obama advised the children to follow his words, and not behave like him as he was himself a mischief making middle school student. He said: I've got a confession to make … This probably is right about the time I was at my worst. I was getting in trouble all the time. I was in the principal's office all the time. … Have fun, but listen to your teachers, listen to your parents … Make sure you’re doing what you need to succeed in school. (Obama cited in Phillip). In his book, Dreams of my Father, Obama has penned a lot of misadventures from his teenage period. Throughout the middle school, the high school and some portion of the college days, he was caught in misadventures. He also started to smoke when he was in the Occidental College in 1980s. Obama is now so resentful about his mistakes in the past that he has become over conscious about making decisions in his life. Before taking a decision, Obama takes sufficient time to evaluate all the possible outcomes that the respective decisions may generate, and only goes with the option that maximizes benefits and minimizes the negative impacts of the decision. He says that rational decision making consumes time. Owing to his habit of taking too much time for making decisions, some people consider him lazy. His indecisiveness has been criticized the most in his presidential campaign. Critics have interpreted his openness and the lack of objectivity of opinion in various matters as self suspicion. Obama is a kind of person who would listen to the opinions of others and evaluate their usefulness in comparison to that of his own opinion, and may as well abandon his own opinion if the other’s opinion seems more rational. 4. What does it teach us? “Dreams from my father” by Barack Obama throws light on various aspects of the societal structure and the factors, which need to be scrutinized in an order to add solidarity to that structure. What with President Obama’s riveting ability to describe the hidden societal aspects in any easy-to-relate-to manner, the readers can really not remain oblivious to the message that is conveyed through his book. As President Obama himself had to live all his life without enjoying the companionship of his father, he might have had no possible means of learning many important lessons of life had it not been for his mother and his maternal grandparents. It was through them that he developed sense about myriad significant realities of life. But, that does not stop President Obama from heavily reflecting on the importance of the role that should be played by fathers. It is the ultimate responsibility of the fathers to behave responsibly and take care about the upbringing of their children, because only a better-groomed and well-cultured nation can ensure the progress of a country. It is been seen these days increasingly that men continue behaving juvenile even after having a proper family, which produces devastating consequences for their children. It is because children naturally have to look up to their fathers for explanations about many intricate problems that they face daily. But, there is no possibility that a child would be able to develop a thorough understanding about any thing if his/her father does not spend much time at home, let alone sitting with his children and teaching them how to deal with life or handle various relationships. President Obama stresses on the parental role that should be played by fathers in his book because the absence of his own father influenced him in a profound way and led him to realize the importance of impact that can be produced by responsible and self-conscious fathers. Works Cited: Obama, Barack. Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance. Text Publishing Company, 2008. Print. Phillip, Abby. “Obama: Learn from my mistakes.” 2011. Web. 26 May 2011. < http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/0311/personal_lesson_c58a9d78-c7a1-480a-b4eb-fc5c5ca2094a.html>. Shepherd, Bob. “Obama's Bully Pulpit.” 2005. Web. 26 May 2011. . Read More