In the first chapter of Dreams From My Father, Barack Obama goes in-depth about his mother and his mother’s parents’ background. Something that is evident within the chapter is his Grandfather’s tendency to bend the truth to fit the life that he wishes he had. Obama describes his Grandpa’s dream as a form of revisionism. The dream his grandfather lived in was one of fighting back against racist America. In many of his retellings, he describes his actions as anti-racist. An example of this was when his Granfather explains why they left Texas. He claims it is because of how racist it was there, but his Grandmother explained that the move from Texas was because of the new job opportunities that had opened up to him elsewhere. This sets in the reality they lived in. Obama describes, “With his black son-in-law and his brown grandson, Gramps had entered the space age.”, revealing the reality they lived in was that of people who weren’t racist but didn’t realize the severity of racism until they met their son-in-law and had their Grandson. While Obama serves the role of distinguishing truth from the stories his Grandfather told, he also played the role of change in his grandparents’ lives. Through him, they were able to understand the racism within American.

“…my father became a prop in someone else’s narrative. An attractive prop-the
alien figure with the heart of gold, the mysterious stranger who saves the town and wins the girl-but a prop nonetheless.”

This excerpt from the chapter explains how in Obamas’s life, his father had become this figure within Obama’s life that was fascinating, yet untouchable. I like the way Obama describes him as an “attractive prop”, calling him attractive because of the way his family talks about him, but a prop because he is in the background and doesn’t interact with his life. I feel this excerpt helps to show Obama’s feelings about his father in early life.