Essay about Desecration of the American Dream in Glengarry Glen Ross

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

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.

The beginning of it all 1980, (month and date unknown) 37 years ago. The journey for a better life began. My mom was only 11 when they decided to immigrate to America, when she herself also decided to go to America. She knew in Vietnam there would be no future for her and she wanted a life improvement. She understood all the hardships that they were facing in Vietnam and how in America, it was vastly better. She heard stories from many people in Vietnam about America, and all the joy and hope there was compared to where she was. Although, she was young, she had set her mind onto doing everything she could to support the family in order to get to America. She wanted to live in place that didn’t have horrible health care,

To me the American Dream is something in the past, and it no longer applies to the present American society. The American Dream fueled our nation from the beginning. The American dream was in the mind of immigrants coming to America in search of a new and better life, a new beginning where you can start fresh and reinvent yourself and become successful. But now the Dream no longer exist in our nation, but it still exists in the mind of immigrants. America was a place where immigrants came to seek a brighter future not only for themselves but also for their children. The dream is still believed to exist by immigrants but their expectations are not met once they arrive here in the United States. The land of opportunity for everyone is now the land with opportunity for the few. So I personally do not believe that the “American Dream” still exists in this country, it is just a memory now.

Created by John Truslow Adams in 1931, the American Dream is, “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American” (Fontinelle). The American Dream was first conceived by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence which states, “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.” The American Dream is achieved by hard work and sacrifice. It is earned not won. If you work hard, you’ll make it. In this day and age, new obstacles stand in our way. Now, hardwork may not be enough to be successful. There is a controversial question that looms over America today- Is the American Dream dead or alive? The answer to this question, based on factual evidence, is that the American Dream is dead because poor people are likely to stay poor, education costs are increasing, and expenses are rising.

What does it mean to be an American? America is the land of opportunity, with a free society that affords all people unlimited opportunity to compete for success. And in this competition there will be winners and losers, often determined by the choices we make, including the choice of our attitude. In Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, the primary character, Holden Caulfield embodies the dark side of the American dream, by choosing the negative sentiments of judgement, isolation and fear.

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.

The American dream is all but a figment of the imagination that is unrealistic to attain since it is becoming harder and harder for any middle class to sustain itself in the middle or the poor society to prosper to the intermediate class. What once was possible is almost impossible to achieve success and wealth through hard work, persistence, and action. The top one percent of the American society is making it impossible for the lower class to hold on to hope for a better future. The richer are getting richer by remarkably increase profits. Yet, the lower class wages have either decrease in some sectors of employment or have remained stationary resulting in “income inequality. That is “…the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among a population” (inequality.org). Today it is even more evident that the lower class is stuck, unable to go nowhere. Savings is almost none existence to the middle and poor classes yet, they are working harder than ever before. Fortunately by having a free democratic society take control over “wealth inequality” the economic difference can stabilize through unionization for all low-wage labor.

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.

Flashback to the stigma of anti-Communism in the 1950s, communism places extreme emphasis on class divisions, specifically the unfair nature of the upper class’ domination of the working class. To admit class divisions was to invite revolution and socialism. So instead, we told ourselves that, in this country, class did not exist; that a free-market capitalist society permits anyone who wants to improve his socioeconomic status to do so. In his essay "Class in America: Myths and Realities" published in Re-Reading America Cultural Context (2009) Economist Gregory Mantsios believes that the American people refrain from discussing class distinctions and its impact on our lives and instead revel in the notion that

The American Dream is the result of possibilities and success. The term “American Dream” was been invented by James Truslow Adams in 1931: “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.” Another reference to the American Dream appears in the Declaration of Independence (1776). The author wrote that people are “endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” The question of the debate was: “Is the American Dream Still Alive and Well?”

In David Mamet’s play, “Glengarry Glen Ross”, a group of sales representatives, Shelly Levene, Richard Roma, Dave Moss, and George Aaronow, are placed into a competition that sets all of them against each other. Their bosses challenge the four men to compete against one another in a sales competition where the winner with the most sales will receive a brand new Cadillac and the two people with the least sales will lose their job. With the ultimatum of losing their job, the men struggle to out due each other in hopes that they will come out on top (Mamet 21). Through dialogue and tone, Mamet presents the characters with a sense of desperation and determination; thus, he propels the story into countless affairs of deception and cheating, and

On a brisk September day in 2011, in the commercial district of Manhattan Island, a minute protest in Liberty Square commenced against the fiscal atrocities committed by economic establishments leading to the financial crisis and subsequent economic recession in 2007 and 2008. Over the course of the month, the movement protesting the miscarriage of justice and democracy following the economic catastrophe and the overall inequitable and unfair wealth distribution diffused to over 100 American cities as well as 1,500 cities worldwide. The revolutionary movement was named Occupy Wall Street and through occupying and protesting the symbolic location of the financial elite, Wall Street, the crusade aimed to “[revolt] against the corrosive power

Beyond this similarity, however, lies a profound relevance that concerns American social values. In his play, Miller demonstrates an American society in which success equals money, and success alone serves as the measure against which a man's value is measured. Willy lives in the world of business competition; he succeeds only when he dominates the competition to get the sale. The play develops the idea that Willy is not, however, the exception to the rule; he is a reflection of the materialistic society that has produced him. Moral values and personal integrity have no meaning in Willy's competitive business world. Only success, as measured in money, is valued, with the result that Willy and his family are destroyed in several different ways.