American Dream Vs American Dream

From a young age, children all over the world are taught that America is the "Land of Opportunity". Their parents and their parents ' parents have experienced some type of fulfillment from the American Dream which prompts them to relay belief in it to the newest generation of Americans. However, nowadays, populations of Americans have become increasingly critical of the American Dream and what that dream entails. That particular group claims that the American Dream is now dead due to many different facets of society. Is it possible to demand the "death" of an ideal that is essentially the backbone of a powerful country such as American? There are people who argue strongly both for and against the death of the American Dream with the "for" side focusing individualism and the "against" side focusing on declining conditions in America. The passionate arguments from both sides make it clear to see that the Dream is unlike what it used to mean, possibly requiring it to evolve to fit a changing nation.

“Hispanics and the American Dream” from Imprimis starts off with a description on how Hispanics are one of the biggest and fastest growing races in the United States. Even though Hispanics are growing at an alarming rate, it was noted that their economical history could have been seen as the worst out of all the minority groups. Hispanics were seen to be at the bottom of society and reaching the American Dream was farfetched. This is the image many individuals in society see, and it is the image that covers up the success that many middle class Hispanics have had on the economy and culture.

To America, the American dream was not living in a huge, fancy house, but to have a “house, a yard, maybe a TV and a car too – nothing fancy, no palaces like the gringos built – just four walls and a roof” (Boyle 29). The typical immigrant does not come to American with the intentions of becoming wealthy. They come to American to have a better opportunity in life. To be able to own a home, work and have a family. According to The New York Times, “The phrase “American dream” was invented during the Great Depression. It comes from a popular 1931 book by the historian James Truslow Adama, who defines it as, “that dream of a land in while life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone.” “In the decades that followed, the dream became a reality. Thanks to rapid, widely shared economic growth, nearly all children grew up to achieve the most basic definition of a better life — earning more money and enjoying higher living standards than their parents had.” Learning that us Americans are likely to achieve the American dream shows that it is all that much more difficult for immigrants and even more so for illegal immigrants. T.C Boyle, in Tortilla Curtain, attempts to show the separation between the American dream of the community of immigrants and the American dream of the whites.

In history, there are many recurring themes, one of the biggest is the “American Dream”. Many people resonate the words dream, freedom, equality, and the opportunity to achieve their utmost desired and achievable dreams. This definition of a perfect land that helps you achieve your dream has been termed the “American Dream.” The “American Dream”, which is supposedly available for all Americans, has unfortunately become untrue for those who are minorities or immigrants. The “American Dream” is dictated by the American society that is controlled by a racial hierarchy that does not give access to the American dream for those who are not part of the preferred race and who don’t fit into its structured box of singularity. Overall, The American

Thesis Statement: The achievement of the American Dream, represented by social classes and opportunities available for social advancement, is unrealistic. The American Dream is propaganda for capitalism, rooted into the minds of believers that are used for labor. Capitalism’s fixed social classes leave no room for immigrants or for the hopeful to move up towards material success and wealth.

Like many Americans today, a successful life is something every family endeavors to achieve. Whether you are native to this land or an immigrant, everyone is pursuing their idea of the American dream. Whereas every dream may be different, the journey to each dream is both trying and straining. In both articles written by Hogan and Shteyngart, we find two families striving for a better life as they encounter their own struggles along the way. Although Native Americans and immigrants are different as Native Americans are indigenous, while immigrants are foreigners, the authors illustrate they are also similar as they both have adversities, pervading family influences, and are strangers in a world they attempt to call home.

Gish Gen and Barbara Ehrenreich’s works outline the struggles and challenges that the Americans undergo today in their pursuit of the American dream. Gen points to a Chinese family that is weaved between maintaining ties with their traditional Chinese way of life and culture, and adopting the American dream (Gen 107). Through this rather humorous and attention catching treatise, Gen confirms the struggles the American immigrant population face in order to streamline their thought, actions and philosophy with what the American dream represents. A majority of immigrants survives on low wages and struggles to put food on the

The American Dream is the national ethos that people’s lives would better and more abundant with many opportunities. Although the “American Dream” is still possible, many minorities, a vast portion of people in middle class, are affected by the lack of social mobility see the realization of the American Dream because of the advantages upper class have like being more wealthy. With money, the upper class can affordable anything they like high tier education in privates or better health insurance. This is a problem because not everyone in the world have the same chance to succeed. In “ LA’s Crisis: High rents, low pay, homelessness rising, and $2000 doesn’t buy much” by Steve Lopez and “Class in America -2012” by Gregory Mantsios share how the lack of mobility affects many individuals in the world. In conclusion, low income individuals are suffering within our society because of

America historically owns the reputation of being the land of opportunity, and for generations immigrants have fled to the United States to experience the freedom and equality our government lays claim to. At the root of this reputation is the American Dream, the belief that with hard work anyone can succeed based solely on his or her merits. While definitions of success vary, the American Dream defines it as the ability to become a "self-made man," thereby rising to a more-than-comfortable state of living. The American Dream is believed to be blind to race, sex, or socio-economic status and at a first glance, seems to be almost Utopian. Conversely, repeated examples and statistics of the lower-classes, those continually facing the harsh

The American Dream is the national ethos that people’s lives would better and more abundant with many opportunities. Although the “American Dream” is still possible, many minorities, a vast portion of people in low to middle class, are affected by the lack of social mobility. As a result, minorities fail to have a sense of the realization of the American Dream because of the fewer advantage and more problems we have to endure. Some advantages comes from the upper class and how they are fortunate to be wealthy to obtain good education and wealth. Ultimately, minorities are suffering within our society because we face intersectionality issues, having fewer opportunities, and are often struggling The article by Steve Lopez, “ LA’s Crisis:

When people think of the American Dream, most think of the good that arises with it. They don’t consider the hardships and obstacles one must overcome. Many immigrants come to America in hopes of accomplishing their dreams and aspirations, and if they can’t, maybe their children can. Haspel debates how “The U.S. has changed drastically in the last several decades. The middle class, which was the heart of the American Dream, is dwindling, and the disparity of wealth among social classes continues to grow.” (41) This defends the popular phrase “The rich get richer while the poorer get poorer.” In essence, the American Dream can be viewed as the aim to climb the economic ladder. As the economic gap between the different social classes grow, it becomes harder for certain groups to see the American Dream as an attainable goal. The American Dream entails a variety of opportunities, and it is hard for minorities to grasp such opportunities with limited resources. Haspel also debates that “Another issue contributing to the decay of the American Dream is the country’s changing family

There are many versions of the American Dream. For many that have recently come to America,

There has always been stories and films about many people coming from everywhere around this vast world to America so that they can make it big, achieve their dreams, and become extremely wealthy. The concrete definition of the word, "American” is someone who is a citizen of the United States, but it is not the only  definition of the word American. An American is someone who is not satisfied with what they have. Natives of the United States do not realize how lucky they all are. There are some people that have more things than others, but are still not completely satisfied with what they have. There are examples of this phenomenon in the movie,” The Queen Of Versailles", the book “The Great Gatsby” , and many other sources. One of the things that help mold someone into an American is the American Dream itself. The American Dream involves goals of success, whether it's a goal for wealth, material possessions, or anything else you could possibly dream of.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” This statement of declaration holds the founding ideas of the American Dream that “all men are created equal with certain rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. American culture has implanted the idea that we live in a land of opportunity where the American Dream is possible for all citizens. Millions of people from across the globe travel to the United States with the hopes of gaining a piece of the pie (The American Dream). This declaration sounds convincing and easily obtainable, but it is? In his article, “Master of Desire,” Jack Solomon states “The American dream has two faces: the one communally egalitarian and the other competitively elitist…Even as America’s great myth of equality celebrates the virtues of mom and apple pie, it also lures us to achieve social distinction, to rise above the crowd and bask alone in the glory”. Simply put, the American dream promotes the concept of “one for all and all for one” yet entices its citizens with the idea that to succeed it’s every man for themselves. Jack Solomon was right in his claim that the American dream incites competition, yet competition is necessary to achieve success.

Can people still rise from poverty to success? Over many years the widespread phrase, “The American Dream” has been used to describe the ideal life of what every American hopes and dream of having. The American dream can best be described as, “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement” (Adams). The topic of whether “The American Dream” is still alive today or has since been departed, has been an ongoing discussion for many years. Although in the eyes of Americans the “The American Dream” is often seen as dead, the dream in the eyes of immigrants is brighter than anything else and is willing to be achieved through hard work