Fulfillment Of The American Dream

Does being American mean that you’re an American citizen, or does it mean that you have the same rights and decisions as someone who is a successful American citizen? These decisions include choices you make in order to better yourself in life, whether it has to do with your choice in career, or what you want to do in life. Making decisions, and having choices comes with freedom, as a person, and that reflects on being an American everywhere in the world, even though you’ve never been in America. To be an American means that you have the freedom, and rights to do what you want, be who you are, and be/ become who you want. This right of having the freedom to do what you want, can be elaborated by someone’s life chances.

After World War II, America had to take a step back and take a look at their country. The American Dream had been restored upon the atrocities of the war. In the 1930’s the American Dream was primarily focused on working hard, men providing for their families, and trying to rise from the depression. In the 1940’s, post World War II things changed and consumerism and feminism began to play a key role along with many other factors. There are many ways to describe the American dream and what aspects were influential to it, such as World War II, modernism, new technology and entertainment.

The American Dream has held a special place in the hearts of patriots since the very founding of America in 1776. It has been a subject of many authors who grapple with its attainability, and is a beacon of hope gazed upon by victims of circumstance. The Dream has been interpreted by great minds in various ways, and has been deemed both an evil deception and a great promise of a better life. However, the American Dream has morphed from this promise of opportunities and second chances--in fact, it has become viewed as a cause for societal competition and the reason for decreasing happiness among the American people. As Americans attempt to “achieve their goals,” and “keep up with the Joneses,” they subject themselves to the materialistic cycle of greed. Success, and the goal of the American Dream, has been redefined. To be put simply, the American Dream is now to be richer than one’s neighbor, despite the fact that happiness--and thus, the Dream--cannot be achieved solely through wealth and material goods.

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.

The American Dream can be defined as the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Lots of people during the Great Depression had an American Dream. The problem was, was that the American Dream was never attained because of the somber time period that these poor people were going through. Back then and still today, people say to one another to chase their American dream or never give up, but when faced with difficulties or obstacles, it is hard to overcome the American dream. In the novel, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck all of the characters had some sort of American Dream whether it was big or small during the Depression time period that they wanted to be reached. But none of their American Dreams were attained because Steinbeck’s message was that dreams are supposed to be imagined and not achieved. Although people will argue that the American Dream was achievable during the Great Depression, it actually was not because of people’s disabilities, tough job competition, and the harsh discrimination toward those who were different.

What truly is the “American Dream”? Furthermore, during the Great Depression, even the concept of the “American Dream” was not readily available and was no more than a fallacy at the time. For the 2 protagonists in Of Mice And Men, their dream, like many others, was to “live off the fatta the land” and become independent. However, this was not such an easy task at the time, not just because of the rough economic times, but because people of that era still had World War 2 still very fresh in their minds, with the harbored hatred and untrust that came along with it. Nevertheless, for the millions who died in the course of the war, this “American Dream” was not only something worth living for it was something dying for too. However, in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the author emphasizes that the dreams and hopes were delusions and has a grim outlook on living life in search of a dream.

The "American Dream" is an idea that has always been different throughouttime. It changes in diverse forms and in the end involves success. The "American Dream" was a phrase used by the American people and peoplewanting to become American. It was always the idea that you can become a success. This is true in a partial way, but the true "American Dream" is that with somework and determination anyone can build themselves up in the economic classsystem.

For years upon years, we have heard the concept of an “American Dream” repeatedly. In school, at home, and there’s probably several who have mused about it on their own during their time by themselves. It seems that, also, several have concluded that the Dream is dead: gone, disappeared, poof into thin air. Some argue that it’s nothing but a pack of lies our predecessors were fed to believe that perhaps America had a better future lingering just around the corner, or that it’s changed much from what it was ‘back in the day’. The American Dream has remained unchanged since the Great Depression, but the nation we are today may slowly be killing it. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the Dream is to have that equal opportunity for success, the same as in Bobby Jindal’s and Ellen Powell’s articles, but it seems that inequality may be killing the American Dream.

The American Dream as it is defined cannot simply hold true without preservation of it’s ideals. An ideal is maintained by the people. Enjoying the benefits the American Dream promises requires each person to uphold its ideals among his fellows. If this were the case, the original definition might have been preserved. The problem is that other factors kicked in which prioritized wealth and status among people which interfered with the ability of others to pursue the dream. From there, the American Dream gradually changed from hard work to status.

   The story of America is an exciting one, filled with swift evolution and an amazing energy unprecedented in world history. In America's short existence, it has progressed from a small collection of European rebels to the economically dominant nation that it is today. Mixed up in the provocative reputation of America is the celebrated ideal of the American Dream, the fantasy of complete independence and self-reliance mixed with the opportunity to attain wealth through one's labors. On the surface, this reverie seems almost enchanted, offering people the unprecedented prospect of achieving success regardless of one's race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is exactly what it appears to

Americans drastically shifted from wanting the basics in life as the ‘American Dream’ to wanting more than they ever thought was attainable; this fueled American spirits after the Great Depression and gave them something to aim for. The term ‘The American Dream’ was coined by historian and author James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book The Epic America. He spoke of “. . . a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement . . .” (Adams 214). In the beginning, this Dream simply promised the country to climb the social ladder through labor and ingenuity and live amongst the rich;

The idea of the American Dream has been around since America was founded, but until 1933, it was not put into words. In the article American Faces 1933’s Realities, by James Truslow Adams, he defines the American Dream as “ ...a vision of a better, deeper, richer life for every individual, regardless of the position in society which he or she may occupy by the accident of birth” (1). The American Dream does not have to be described as having copious amounts of wealth. To some, it is only a vision of a better life for themselves and their families.

The American Dream, in a sense, is fundamentally the most important ideal when observing the history and growth of this country. The American Dream can be defined by “Dictionary.com1” as “a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S.” As discussed in class, the stereotypical “American Dream” can be traced back to the 1920’s; A time where an average American would be exposed to opportunities of astronomical proportions, and be offered a chance to rise to a position of personal economic wealth. But clearly with a large majority of the population in such disbelief and turmoil it poses the question, is it still in the people's best interest to keep a principle alive that itself is being put

America is a substantially different world now than it was at the time of the initial “American Dream”. “The optimism of the

The American Dream is surely based on the concept of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” but it is above all, a matter of ambition. James Truslow Adams, an American writer and historian, in 1931 states: "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”, which not only points towards a better standard of living for Americans but also denounces a degree of greed in the US society. Ambition not only “killed the cat” but killed relationships as well in texts like Sister Carrie and Death of a Salesman. While the American Dream was supposed to be a collective success at its initial stage, ambition, along with a pinch of greed and materialism were perfect ingredients