Friday Night Lights Research Paper

     Is High School football a sport, or is it more than that to some people? Recent newspaper headlines include such items as coaches abusing student athletes; fathers of athletes murdering coaches, and mother’s disabilitating cheerleading candidates to assure their daughters make the cheerleading team. In Odessa, Texas high school football is a major contributor to the society of a small town in Texas society. Every Friday night, 50,000 people fill the stadium to see high school students put their lives on the line to win a football game. H. G. Bissinger writes a novel called Friday Night Lights, about a year in 1988 where High School players prepare and play on the High School team, and what an impact they have

"I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family" expressed Sanford I. Weill. The American Dream is still alive and obtainable. Many people have a definition of what the American Dream that is obtainable in their minds. People all have unique individual lives.

Slavery was first introduced in the United States in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619 and became an integral part of American society for many years. Ira Berlin says that “[A]ny attempt to address the question of race in the present must also address slavery in the past.” This in fact is true as we must be able to understand years and years of different viewpoints and ideas to come to an educated conclusion as to why it began and continued to exist. Racism is still a hot discussion topic in the modern world with constant reminders that there is still tension. The biggest reason racism is the way it is today is due to slavery and its conflict in the United States. The popular show Friday Night Lights has an episode in which race is addressed. One

In H.G. Bissinger’s novel Friday Night Lights he goes in-depth describing the world surrounding high school football in Texas. There is nothing like high school football in Texas, it is the best thing to happen to many of the people that live there. Winning a high school state championship in Texas can make someone a hero for the rest of their lives. This being said, it causes a lot of difficulties once this peak in their life is over at such a young age. Many of these people do not know how to live with themselves after their days of football are over. They grow up and live through their kids. Sports and academics are two of the areas of life where parents attempt to live their dreams and ambitions through their children.

America provides opportunity to achieve the American Dream yet so many argue that it is impossible today. The American Dream consists of having opportunity to be someone financially stable and having success in your life. It is a long road to the American Dream with many obstacles on the way. Everyone is given an opportunity to start, with education being free. It is up to the person to decide whether they will continue their education to open more opportunities for their future. The American Dream is a reality that can be achieved today through hard work, self-perseverance and motivation to succeed.

The American Dream is mostly impossible because of the amount of money that America is in debt. If America wasn’t as in debt as it is, the American Dream could be possible, but it would still be hard to accomplish. The American Dream began before the U.S was even born, starting in the 1600s

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.

The American Dream is pivotal to America's upbringing and culture. It has existed before America has. Its is the belief that a person could achieve success in America through hard work. The American Dream is somethings everyone wished to accomplish, and for good reason. However, the dream is increasingly getting harder to achieve than ever before. Be it for prejudice, persecution, social constructs, or even sexism. For some people, the American Dream is still a reality, but for others it will always be a dream.

The “American Dream” is a complicated topic to discuss. It has many different meanings depending on who you’re talking to. To me it means to have a healthy and happy family with a nice house and to do what I love to do. For many people their dream or even my dream is not attainable. I do not think that the “American Dream” is attainable for everyone. Some people do not have the perseverance or are not born into a situation where they can get an education. Some people may have that drive or the education or talent needed to accomplish what they want.

Sustaining the ambitions of not only themselves but the alumni and town of Odessa, Texas is a lot to ask from a young adult. That’s exactly what Permian football provides to the people of Odessa, where the post economic boom of the oil business has left the town in a racially tense, economic crisis. The lights on Permian High School’s football field are the only sanctuary for the west Texas town. Socially and racially divided, Odessa’s mass dependence on high school football constructs glorified expectations for the football team to temporarily disguise the disappointments that come with living in a town tagged as the “murder capital” of

Despite the lack of athletic prowess gifted the Slack Jaw Punks writing staff, even the most nerdy among us (Iron Squid by a mile) can not deny the joy of watching a good sports film. Also we can't deny the appreciation and longing we have to be one of the guys. On the team, ya know. I think every nerd wants to that. The D&D crew just doesn't cut it. While I did play golf in high school (somewhere between Caddyshack and Happy Gilmore), and hung out with mostly jocks (geeks are be popular too) I can't really relate to the bond built during practices, road trips, victories and defeats or group showers. (The last one I could do with out) Despite, that I can and do enjoy films about those special relationships. While Undrafted, probably won't be mentioned in conversation the same way Slapshot, Major League, or Friday Night Lights are. It's still a really nice little

Friday night lights may be a Southern tradition, but Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night lights are the nights to wait for at the Vicksburg YMCA.

I think that even though the way of achieving “The American Dream” has become more and difficult saying “I have achieved my American dream” is heard not often, there is still a chance to really achieve it. All we have to do is forget about material success and live in the way our ancestors were living by finding a good husband or wife, by having kids and living from day to day. That was their dream, and we can always look and find that dream in our society.

Nowadays, a large number of people migrate to the United States to work and achieve the American Dream. According to the Article “What is the American Dream?” by Kimberly Amadeo, “The American Dream was first publicly defined in 1931 by James Truslow Adams in Epic of America. Adam’s often-repeated quote is, ‘The American Dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.’” There are many people that can have different perspectives when it comes to the topic of the American dream. Even though many people assume the American Dream is dead, it is a very controversial topic. The American Dream may have many different points of views, but it really does exist, after all, it takes an ambitious person to strive for success through hard work, dedication and determination.

The reality of the American Dream is that people are capable of succeeding. Success, though, requires one to work hard and be dedicated to