“That’s the thing. They can do anything they want, because of your status…If you fought him, he was authorized to rush you like a man, tackle you, pound your head on the floor…drag you out by the leg while you screamed under the cameras recording all of this in black and white.”

Zou Lei’s experience while incarcerated is the beginning of her disillusionment with the American Dream and the concept of America as a whole. This stark and violent imagery highlights the brutality and corruption of the American prison complex and judicial system that juxtaposes the freedom and choice that America is known to stand for.

“Did you know that there is a place that is better than any other?…Now, look, everyone there is full of joy. They spend their lives feasting and singing, so why wouldn’t they be? No one goes without. Everyone has what he needs…You don’t have to be rich. If somebody wants it, it will be theirs.”

Zou Lei’s father describes what he believes the United States to be. This image of luxury and fulfillment juxtaposes the reality that Zou Lei experiences when she immigrates to the United States. This fantasy represents the American Dream, and Zou Lei’s experience in the United States reveals the truth behind it.

“She was going to stay where everybody was illegal just like her and get lost in the crowd and keep her head down. Forget living like an American. It was enough to be free and on the street. She’d rather take the scams, the tuberculosis, the overcrowding.”

After her time being incarcerated, Zou Lei’s understanding of and belief in the American Dream begins to deteriorate. She lets go of the belief that wealth will come to her and holds onto the concept of freedom, which becomes extremely important to her after experiencing incarceration in the American prison system and seeing the corruption and violence there.