Discussion Members
The four members of the discussion would be Tina Pham, her father, Tony Pham, Tina’s grandmother, Linh, and Tina’s favorite cousin Thien. Each of the members of the discussion is associated with being a deep thinker, and they are likely to have good contributions to the discussion topic, particularly because, cumulatively, they have lived through a century. The main reason for choosing them is because they are intellects and they would provide a clearer view of the topic.
Discussion Topic
The topic of discussion in this setting would be the American dream and the factors associated with the quest. This topic is appropriate for the group because every member is an immigrant, and they had to start from the lowest point when they landed in America. The conversation would start with Linh and Tony Pham narrating their experiences in Vietnam before migrating to the United States.
Linh would discuss the many times that her family was internally displaced in war-torn Vietnam. She would vividly narrate the stories as a student trying to gain as much knowledge as she could in business management. She loved reading so much that she was nicknamed “library.” She would then talk about her years working for her mother’s company and how she lost her father. The discussion would then shift to the political changes that she witnessed in Vietnam and how they forced her family to migrate to the South after the nation was split into two. This would invite a discussion on the actual effects of war in nations pursuing revolutionary changes in their regimes and the negative effects of the course on the citizens.
Tony Pham would join the discussion by recalling his experiences during the Vietnam Civil War as he builds on the factors that led to his quest for the American dream. He would narrate about the many friends he lost to the war and how he was always afraid of dawn because every day was associated with more deaths and injuries of soldiers and citizens. He would then shift the story to the time he finally managed to escape from Vietnam after several failed attempts that landed him in jail. He would discuss his first impression when he landed in the United States in 1998.
The conversation would then shift to the main topic, which is the quest for the American dream. Tony Pham would talk about the expectations he had and the difficulties he met in the United States because of the lack of employment. He would clearly talk about the days he had to work several jobs to earn a living while still studying to get a better job. Tina and her Cousin would then join the discussion and talk about the fact that the same issues are being faced by Americans across the nation. They would talk about the cost of living, the cost of education, and the fact that the American dream is yet to be realized by immigrants in the nation. Tina’s grandmother would be interested to learn that while life was getting better by the day for her son and her grandchildren, the American dream is yet to be actualized for them.
Conclusion
The discussion would culminate with the inference that the American dream is still alive, but immigrants in the United States are yet to be adequately empowered to achieve it. The family would be glad that they survived the ordeals of war and hardships, but they would still be looking to achieve the American dream. Indeed, the American dream is still alive.