American Dream Article SOAPSTone Essay

The idea of the American dream revolves around attaining happiness, success and equality. For higher wealth classes obtaining these components aren't a concern; but for many, the American Dream has become a nightmare. For the poor being able to obtain simple necessities such as food, clothing and shelter is a daily struggle. The price of being poor is a lot costlier then those in the realm of the wealthy. Based on the current economic and social systems in America it does not provide everyone with a fair chance to achieve the “American Dream”. In todays society many Americans believe money is the only way to happiness. True or not true, money certainly isn't a hindrance to obtaining the necessary components for survival. But if the American Dream is no longer about happiness and freedom it becomes solely about wealth and possession. "Money cannot buy happiness." (Anonymous, Spring Board pg.81) represents the concept that money doesn't necessarily play apart in your emotional well-being. Today, materialism is more important than character. Money isn't everything; you don't need it to be happy and certainly not to achieve "The American Dream". In addition to that, although money can jump-start your future it can also drive you into the ground. Dana Gioia, the author of "Money", says "...Money holds heads above water..." Implying money plays a crucial part in keeping your dreams alive while America demands so much. Although finances are a building block to ones version of the

    The American Dream is a lifelong objective that many Americans aim for. This Dream is not the same for every person in the United States, and throughout the course of American history, it has changed gradually. From the beginning of time, the dream was to own land and to live off of it, but now it has branched out into so much more.  According to Google Dictionary the American Dream is “the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” This is not always the case because though Americans work for what they have and to be where they are, the American Dream is not always attainable. Some believe that the American Dream is just a dream and sometimes it is, but it can also be a reality. To attain the reality of the “dream” there are obstacles that differ for everyone. Of these challenges are wealth, gender, inequality, race, and social class. The American Dream can remain a dream or become a lifestyle depending on the hard work one is willing to put in.

First, let's define "American Dream". "American Dream" is what you would consider a "perfect life." It can be full of happiness, money, love, food, cars, whatever you desire, everyone has a different opinion. One person’s American Dream may be totally different from someone else’s, that is what makes us all individuals. My American Dream would include a good job and lots of money, spare time for my family and I, and most importantly, healthiness.

The American Dream started as a belief that anyone could come to the U.S. from any background, any economic profile, and find work. They could work hard, earn a living, and achieve happiness and financial security. In The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold by Brandon King, the author quotes a line from a New York Times survey that states “… Americans still believe that it is possible to start poor, work hard, and become rich in America” (Seelye, 2009). This quote perfectly embodies what the American Dream used to mean to people. The quote is from 2009 as well, so even seven years ago people had this opinion. It also states that when American’s were asked what the American Dream refers to, most of them said something like “financial security” or “being able to retire without struggling”. It

Everyone 's idea of The American Dream is to able to be happy and successful through hard work and determination.

The term “American Dream” is defined as an idea which believes that all people have the possibility of prosperity and success. The idea first came from James Adams, a noted American writer and historian. He claimed, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.” Therefore, the core concepts of the American Dream were closely linked to hard work and opportunity.

The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.

When there isn't money there isn't much all society could do because if they save it's bad and if they don't it's bad too. This leads up to people getting fired or getting work hours taken off. Which means less money and less opportunities to actually getting to where they want to be. Money issues makes a huge impact in achieving the American Dream. However the American Dream is now dead because not everyone works they are getting support from the State which makes it harder with the economy because the country is giving money out to so many people creating a bigger dept

However, we must remember an important fact: our generation of American faces the same wall of hopelessness that stood before those who lived through the Great Depression – and they overcame it. What we can take from them, is that we can succeed if we accept the simple fact that we must do what must be done, even if it isn’t desirable. If we graduate with a degree in fashion marketing and fail to secure employment, we work at a retail store in order to pay rent and get the bills paid. Running around for hours to work in a store takes grit; being underemployed takes gut; learning from experience and applying it to one’s life creates character. And one day, we grow. That in my belief is “the Dream.” For too many versions of “the Dream” equate prosperity to happiness, happiness I feel is not so simple. This makes it seem that the American Dream may always remain tantalizingly out of reach for some Americans, making the dream more like a cruel joke rather than a genuine dream. Perhaps, what our generation needs is to

The American Dream is often defined as the idea that desc0ribes an attitude of hope and faith that looks forward to the fulfillment of human wishes and desires. In my opinion, the American Dream is an idea or belief people have in which coming to America means achieving all your dreams and goals and obtaining the wealth and opportunities you couldn’t have in your country of origin. The American Dream, to me, means achieving my goals of going to college and becoming a neurologist and succeeding in life in a way that will make me happy and allow me to live a better life. While my definition and view of the American Dream include achieving my goals and dreams, there are others for whom the American Dream means equality in the U.S. and having

When you hear the term "American Dream," what do you think of? Like many others, you may think the American Dream is about being rich and living in luxury, but it's a lot more simple and essential than that. In reality, the American Dream is the idea that every American citizen has the opportunity to be successful through their own hard work. Many wonder if it's even still attainable, but I strongly believe that the American Dream is more alive and well than ever because of our freedom, opportunity, and the rise of small businesses.

Nowadays, many Americans wonder if the American Dream is still alive. At one point in our country, people felt that they could achieve success by working hard. However, after the economic hardships and recession of the 21st century, a number of Americans not only lost income, but some also lost their jobs. Although there has been slow progression to improve the economy, there are those who question whether or not the dream of Americans can ever be achieved again. With unemployment levels still high and salaries failing to increase, there certainly is doubt in most of Americans. In his essay, Brandon King formulates ways to redefine and change the way to look at the American dream. After analyzing King’s essay, one can see his view as believing that the dream is still very much intact. As he points out, the American economy is a very complex system that has had downfalls, but there is always a way to get back up from it. Regardless of your economic status (poor or middle class), if one has a working job, it is possible to succeed based on how much someone is willing to work to achieve their goals. As King would agree, the American dream is not only still alive and well, but anyone can reach success.

From these and other statistics, many experts have concluded that the American Dream is becoming unattainable for an increasing number of Americans … indeed, it has become the common wisdom in many circles that the American Dream is either dying or dead” (Marsico). Another statistic shows that white non college Americans, especially males, no longer seem to believe that hard work and determination is enough to achieve financial success (Dickerson).

Wealth and money are apparent in the American Dream. When someone has money, they say that they are ‘living the American Dream’ because Americans crave money. According to Kevin and Kay Marie Brennfleck, money has a seductive power. This means that we think of money as a driving force to succeed and be happy in this country. We crave money to be able to do things that we wouldn’t have had the opportunities to do without it, almost like needing money to function. Without money, people automatically assume debt. No one really wants to have the burden of debt as a worry in life, as it leads to more underlying problems such as anxiety and depression. Making money, however, may take a while to earn, which may cause stress and frustration for not being able to have a lot of money at a specific time. It takes a

The American Dream has been a long growing concept in the United States since around the Great Depression. Recent surveys have been conducted that show that 6 out of every 10 Americans today believe the dream is unattainable and 63% say it is impossible to attain. Also, 63% of adults think that their children will not be better off than them economically, especially for the reason of college debt. For the survey, no person in the sample was given a set definition, so every person had their own idea and results were still majority unattainable. (CNN) The American Dream obviously is losing the meaning that it once had because of how many people are starting to show that it is not realistic anymore. Although some believe that the American Dream is attainable for anyone who puts in hard work, the American Dream is only attainable to some, due to inequality in racial and wealth situations.