Analysis Of The American Dream In The Glass Castle, By Jeannette Walls

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

When Jeannette’s family is picked up on the highway by a nice lady in a Buick. She says to them how she “can't leave those poor people out there” (Walls 121), referring to them as the poor people. In response to this Jeannette’s “Dad disappeared” (Walls 121) as soon as they were dropped off. this is a typical coping strategy often used by her dad when he encounters a stressful situation. Furthermore he uses alcohol as a way to relieve those stresses, but really only makes it worse as he broke his promise to stay sober for his daughter. Therefore sending him into a downward spiral of alcohol abuse, making him feel worse. This coping strategy was obviously not an effective strategy as it just made his life

Jeannette’s self-reliant behavior is frequently shown through her refusal of help from others. On one trip to retrieve her father from a bar, Jeannette’s father is so drunk that he can no longer walk. Another man offers to drive them home, and

Jeannette, during her childhood, always looked forward to building "The Glass Castle". Her and her father would always talk about how it would be self sufficient in the desert with solar panels and made completely out of glass. This gave Jeannette hope for the future. When Jeannette is an adult, she loses sight of believing in her family and tries to push them out of her life causing her to be more unhappy. But, by the end she came to her senses and went and visited her father while he was sick.

While her father’s dismisses his destructive nature, Jeannette becomes conscious of his actions which motivates her to make amends in hopes of leaving their desolate life. Instead of getting help for his childhood trauma, Rex immerses himself in alcohol causing him to become

Through everybody’s eyes is their own version of the American Dream. Whether it’s the stereotypical dream with a good job, a family, and a house with a white picket fence, or it could be just getting by at the end of the month financially. The American Dream doesn’t have a specific image but rather a particular mindset. Lots of people have a goal in their life that they have to work hard to be successful towards that goal, but in most cases that goal may be unrealistic.

What is the American Dream? Is it home ownership, gaining fame or wealth, having a great family or is it gaining a peace of mind? Many people have different versions of what the American Dream is, some people believe the dream is lost, and some people are right in the middle and still believe the American Dream is still alive. “The American Dream” by Brandon King debates about what the true state is left in the American Dream now. Throughout the essay, King asks if the American Dream is dead, alive, on hold or just changing due to economic hardship. King believes that the American Dream is still alive even though there are people who believe it's not, and is defined today as the ability to work hard, plan for the forthcoming and have a

David Kamp's 2009 Vanity Fair article "Rethinking the American Dream" focuses on the general perception of the ‘American Dream’ and how it has evolved throughout our nation’s history. It clearly states that as the average American household's lifestyle has become more and more consumer-oriented, the original spirit that invigorated and united its people from the age of western expansion to the Great Depression has begun to fade. The dream has been dampened as the vision of "success" has become more focused on gaining material/getting rich quick, rather than working hard all throughout one’s life to attain what they want and desire.

Over time, The American Dream has changed in an innumerable amount of ways. Past civilizations have laid the foundation for what we view it to be today. In the 1970s, people looked at a variety of aspects such as culture, political affairs (government), one’s appearance, and entertainment to fit their definition of “The American Dream”. The 1970’s helped shape and influence what people regard as the current American Dream.

Comedian George Carlin once stated, “That’s why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” Financial security, freedom to live how one chooses, retiring at 65 and living comfortably in old age, owning a home, knowing that working hard pays off: these are all fundamental beliefs tied to the American Dream. As newer generations are increasingly finding the dream to be unrealistic, people are beginning to abandon the concept; however it is still a very present ideology. While many believe the American Dream is a lively goal that everyone strives to achieve, it is actually a dying illusion that is unattainable for all but the wealthiest and used to propagate a classist society, causing a cycle of ignorance

Shortly after the incident, Jeannette turns ten years old. Her father asks her what she wants for her birthday and she tells him she is scared to tell him. Finally, she asks him if he could just promise her he would stop drinking as a gift for her birthday. Jeannette explains that “‘Mom would be a lot happier. Plus, we’d have the extra money’” (Walls 117) if he stops drinking. Her father then gets upset thinking Jeannette is ashamed of him. Although, he keeps her promise and stops drinking, but it did not last long.

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

People will journey far and wide, traverse the entire continent, suffer all manner of pain and suffering, if they believe that, in the end, they will be rewarded. That is why it comes as no surprise when people from other countries struggle to get to America, believing the ancient tale of "the American Dream", convinced that they will finally make it big in this land of riches. But they find out it is not like that.

The subject of the “American Dream” is so controversial that nowadays a unitary definition seems impossible. While Brandon King suggests in his essay “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” wealth stimulates the economy and argues it is vitally important to maintain a rich minority and their business methods in order to lead America back into an affluent society, the past tells us otherwise. The essence of his article is that the original words by historian James Truslow in his book “The Epic of America” describing the American Dream 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 and achievement.” can simply be redefined into an American Dream as the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and a safe future (611). Although I agree with King that wealth sparks the economy, I cannot accept his predominant assumption that the American Dream is intact as long as people believe they have a chance at

“Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange. -Inception” (50 Dream Quotes). Carroll writes Through the Looking Glass based off of the dream concept. This novel is strange compared to most because of the dream Alice has. In the beginning, Alice is playing with her kittens. As she drifts off to sleep, Alice goes through the mirror and enters Looking Glass World. While there, Alice joins a chess game as a pawn. She continues across the board and meets all sorts of characters who help Alice in her journey to become Queen. She meets the Red Queen, White Queen, Humpty Dumpty, and White Knight in different squares throughout the game. When she reaches the honor of Queen, Alice is