Zitkala-Sa'a story is, in my opinion, an attempt at fulfilling the American Dream. After she receives a prize from her second speech competition, at the end of the story, she says, "the little taste of victory did not satisfy a hunger in my heart" (438). She attempts to climb up in society, and she wants to achieve her goals in life, but at this time in American history, there is no way for her to truly fulfill her goals. She gets a "little taste of victory" when she wins the competition, but there is still so much animosity toward Native Americans. The spectators at the competition are a perfect example of this; one of them holds a flag with a racial slur against Native Americans and displays the extreme prejudice she faces throughout her life.
Even if she was able to achieve her American Dream, there would be one party that was against her. Her Native American mother did not support her decision to pursue her education at the university. The general population of her origin does not support her assimilation into "white" culture, and it takes time for her to embrace both her native history and her new culture.
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