Fixing The American Dream

What is American Dream? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? Although we all have the same ideology of what the definition of what the American Dream is, we can all come up with a different meaning, each one more personal to ourselves than to others. As we will see with the help of three different authors, regardless of age, race, sexuality, religion, or social status, we could possibly agree on the idea of the American Dream falling short and being a false sense of reality for many Americans to this day.

Brandon King, a law student who majored in political science, writes on topics of inequality and political structures in the United States. One of his published works, The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?, debates his interpretation of the notion of the American Dream and whether the concept is dead, alive, or on hold. The speaker emphasizes his belief that the common phrase is still alive within America and that one must work hard in order to achieve it. When it comes to the topic of the American Dream, King will eagerly agree that the idea is still alive and thriving in the minds of Americans; however, I deem that the idea is on hold within American society due to lack of upward social position and economic mobility.

Anyone coming or currently living in the United States has a dream, or better yet known as the American Dream. What is the American Dream? Well, Brandon King, author of “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” quoted James Truslow Adams, who wrote that the American Dream “is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement, regardless of coral class or circumstances of birth”(610). Everyone’s American Dreams are all different, but a majority of them all have a few things in common, that is becoming financially fit, acquiring a good education, and pursuing the opportunities that were not available. Brandon King expresses that the ideals and values of the American Dream are very much alive. However, Paul Krugman author of “Confronting Inequalities” bring up several excellent points as well, regarding that not all Americans can pursue the American Dream because of all the inequalities Americans currently possesses. Achieving the American Dream is not impossible, but it is harder to attain now than how it used to be with social, income, and racial inequalities being the primary cause. As of now individuals has to overcome many of bias barriers to reach the American Dream which used to be a lot easier to gain back in the 1940s-50s.

There is a twenty-five percent unemployment rate. People are desperate for lodging and food. Families are stretching every penny to support themselves. Government is trying to solve these problems through reforms and programs. This is what the world in the 1930s was like for Lennie and George, two migrant workers traveling across California, earnestly trying to achieve the American Dream. Even though these dreams seem impossible to accomplish, during the Great Depression a dream was a reason to get out of bed.

Why risk it all for a dream that is dead? The American dream is defined as having your desired career, home and family. Although many believe that the American dream is attainable, the truth is the American dream is not attainable because college tuition is expensive, there’s low wages and unemployment rate.

Americans are people who are citizens of the United States of America. As Americans, they have the freedom of speech, the freedom of religion, the right to vote, the right to bear arms, the right to a fair trial and the freedom to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. America is a country made by immigrants and almost all of them come with what they call their own American Dream. Throughout the United States, people believed in the American Dream, which is the idea that every citizen has equal opportunity to be successful and prosper through hard work. In the 1800’s and the early 1900’s, not everyone had the opportunity to pursue their American Dream because minorities were subjected to racism and discrimination from white people for being inferior and insignificant. Women also did not have the same rights as men and were denied their American Dream. Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education”, Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech and Langston Hughes’ poem, “I, Too” each show examples of discrimination and segregation and because of this, they each have their own views of the American Dream.

“That's why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” - George Carlin. The idea of the American Dream has been an ideology for a long time and it is about to proven not to be true. Various authors disproved the American Dream and spoke against it for the many flaws it had. The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald, “What Makes an American” by Raoul De Roussy De Sales quoted by The Atlantic, and “One Christmas Eve” by Langston Hughes all express the flaws in the American Dream and how it was really a “Dream” as George Carlin has said. These different pieces of literature in the early 1900s had proven that the American Dream was a pipe dream for most, and this was proven through the social and racial norms that held to be true.

Many years ago today, the United States of America was the prime example of prosperity and opportunity. It established America with the idea that its citizens would be guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Today, it is true that people have liberties and are free to pursue happiness. However, in recent years, in the worst recession since the Great Depression. Unemployment, growing economy inequality, and medical care have skyrocketed. Despite the odds, the American Dream is still a goal that many people strive for and hope to reach. In fact, an essay written by Brandon King, The American Dream: Dead, Alive or on Hold? He says, “the American dream is a dream in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with the opportunity for each according to his/her ability and achievement…” (King 610-611). Therefore, the problem with the American Dream lies not within the dream itself, but within the means people pursue to attain this dream.

Depending on who you speak to, or what pockets of society are examined, the concept of the American Dream is a relative concept. The mantra is depicted as if one works hard and saves money, then one can own a house, a car or two, and have a family with two children. This 1950s invention has proven to be highly reductionist. It paints a picture of the Leave it to Beaver sitcom, where a husband who works from 9 to 5, returns home after a day’s work to be received by a beaming wife, a hot meal and doting children. America is far different than the distortions of television. In fact, differences have always existed between race and class. In this context, the question to be posed is, whose American Dream has been packaged and sold to society?

The american dream is very achievable. If there people that can come to america and have jobs, raise a family, and make money. Then I can see that it is very achievable. Immigration always has a huge impact in American. People can come to america and have a greater chance of succeeding than any other country. That why you need to have faith, be trustworthy and have freedom. There is alot to describe on how to be an american. In america there are so many freedoms you can have. You have the us constitution and the amendments to defend you with all the laws. To be an american it means to be faithful, trustworthy, and have freedom.

John Steinbeck, the author of the novella Of Mice and Men, describes a world where the American Dream was about having a opportunity to be successful through all the hard work and dedication. Steinbeck paints a disturbing portrait of America in the 1930’s. Steinbeck reveals that times can be very unpleasant and anything can happen. During the Great Depression it was not very straightforward to obtain your American Dream. There were many obstacles you had to face and problems that came along. You never knew what was next. Social interactions were not always a guarantee neither was family. For instance, in the novella no character truly had a family or a home. When you think of the word lonely what do you think? Do you think of that pain

Certainly, the American Dream represents the flawless ideal for all people who constantly and honestly work to achieve their personal and family goals, because it constitutes opportunity, health, education, jobs, housing, among others. Nonetheless, in our nation, the shocking disparity between rich and poor, and how this imbalance continues to affect the financial future of the country, are challenges that nobody can ignore, but that unfortunately, no one can overcome by themselves. The gap has dangerously widened in all areas, and, what we can do ─ in the silence of our hopeless souls ─ is to cautiously wait until the nightmare

The American Dream changes, many times. There are some things that will never change. Everything having to do with The American Dream is very important. There’s Opportunity, Democracy, Rights, and Equality. In my opinion only one plays a very important role, but they all have their own importance. The American Dream is a huge part of all our lives.

The American ________. One could fit several words into that blank: The American Dream, The American Spirit, The American Revolution, and The American System. What are the definitions of these phrases? What does it really mean to be an American anything? If one wants to learn more about a culture the best place to start is by looking at their literature. Literature is the self-expression and exploration of the people who write it. Therefore, if one wants to discover what it means to be an American, they need to look at the American Literature.

In the most basic of terms, the American Dream is having “a happy life” (Hart, C). Many people in the 1920’s had to start from nothing, building themselves up to great achievements (Muir). Today’s youngers generations interpret the American Dream as creating a career based on their individual passions. Although the American Dream has transformed over many years, key elements still remain. Being successful, creating a career, and having a beautiful family are all parts of the dream.