Is The American Dream Still Possible

In the article “America and Americas: Is the American Dream Even Possible?”, written by John Steinbeck, he uses a series of paradoxes and generalities to show how Americans themselves are paradoxical and how they are never happy with what they have. For example, the author states “We fancy ourselves as hard-headed realists, but we will buy anything we see advertised, particularly on television, and we buy it not with reference to the quality or value of the product, but directly as a result of the number of times we have heard it mentioned” (Steinbeck). With the use of this paradox, Steinbeck is demonstrating how Americans claim to be realistic people, yet they will buy something that is unrealistic without even questioning it. “One of the

In my opinion, America does not provide access to the American dream as originally intended. The American Dream was the belief that hard-working citizens could better their lives, provide a better life for their children, and save enough money to live comfortably after they retire. Some would argue that the American dream is still accessible, however, evidence shows that Americans are struggling financially and not quite receiving the opportunities and access to reaching that “American Dream”. I think America does not provide access to the American dream because of the real stories and speeches shared about American people’s struggles and unfair realities in attaining their American dream. My counterclaim describes the originally intended

Does America still provide the American Dream? It does, after reading the three poems I have, learned that America does still provide access to the American Dream. And is alive, the examples I will give you, shows how alive the dream is in America. Introducing the first example I read, is the poem called "Ellis Island" the author Joseph Bruchac, you'll find that he's an American writer with both European immigrant ancestors and Native American, The speaker of this poem is not an immigrant just arriving in the United States. He's the grandson of immigrants who came to the U.S. almost a century ago. He rejoices for the Slovak immigrants who found new opportunities in the U.S., but for the ancestors who were here before the Europeans, the American

The American dream has changed drastically thru our history. Back in the 1950 and 1960 the American dream was to have the house with the white picket fence and the 2 ½ kids. Now the dream for a lot of people is to be able to pay their bills and maybe have enough money to go out for a nice little dinner that you did not have to cook yourself. The American dream is dead, it is because the concept has changed from the idea that everyone can improve their life through hard work to the idea that everyone can become a millionaire through virtually no work. The United State at one point used to have everything you needed to make this dream happen. But since jobs have been moving over sees we have lost all of that. The American Dream is so

The American dream can be one of the most possible things to have EVER been possible. Us as people must realize what we can work with. We can eventually become one of the world’s greatest countries to live in. If anything, we are already acceding a point in potential to became THE greatest county to ever live in. We have some amazing people that can do some amazing stuff for our country. Other countries might be thinking the same exact thing for their country, but I strongly think that anyone can do anything in the USA. So much opportunities to take in this country, but us humans are being put down for our hopes and dreams by other people. Sometimes it isn’t fair for certain people, they just don’t realize the type of impact that we can all

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 article “Is the American Dream Dying?” implies, “The American Dream is not dead”…”It just got a little more difficult to achieve” (Rickert 3). The inquisition of whether the American Dream is still alive or deceased remains a debate today. A multitude of individuals believe the American Dream has become impossible to obtain. On the other hand, others have come to a conclusion that the American Dream is still alive and transforming with individual aspects of life. Due to the evidence of changing family structure and growing individuality, the American Dream is indeed alive and evolving with new aspirations of the future.

The American Dream started as a belief that anyone could come to the U.S. from any background, any economic profile, and find work. They could work hard, earn a living, and achieve happiness and financial security. In The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold by Brandon King, the author quotes a line from a New York Times survey that states “… Americans still believe that it is possible to start poor, work hard, and become rich in America” (Seelye, 2009). This quote perfectly embodies what the American Dream used to mean to people. The quote is from 2009 as well, so even seven years ago people had this opinion. It also states that when American’s were asked what the American Dream refers to, most of them said something like “financial security” or “being able to retire without struggling”. It

Unkept promises diminish day by day. What once may have given people ambition and zeal has transformed into a superficial and consumerist ideal. In the nation’s youth, the American Dream was a promise to the people which has failed to impart its values to future generations. This promise traces back to the foundation that “all men are created equal” and Dictionary.com’s first definition defines the American Dream as “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.” This is closest to the originally intended meaning of the American Dream which perhaps only a minority of the population still recognizes. Politics and economy have contributed to the significant change in meaning and

As citizens of America, we all work towards acquiring one thing: The American Dream. The American Dream is something that most citizens of America try their hardest to attain at least some point in their life time. This dream may include but is not limited to, wanting to reach a certain social class, having a safe country with strong military forces, and also wanting to “fit in”, or to find his or her’s place in life. Also, this dream may or may not look similar to the American dream you want to inquire. While most of us desire to attain most of the things listed above, some of us always dream of having a nation where the color of your skin and social standards do not define who you are as a person. However, while citizens may want these things, not all of America may agree with each other. A question that has merged into our minds is, “ is the American dream attainable?”

Years ago, the United States of America was the prime example of prosperity and opportunity. In recent years, in the worst recession since the Great Depression, unemployment and interest rates have skyrocketed. The “American Dream” is an idea that was once a commonly accepted ideology in this country. It has since become only a fallacy. The “American Dream” is no longer an attainable idea, only a fantasy. The “American Dream” is not a true dream that will ever be equally attainable by everyone.

What is the American Dream and is it still achievable? If it is still achievable, then how can the American Dream be achieved? The American Dream is the idea that every United States citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work. The American Dream provides unequally for the modern-day society of the United States by limiting the types of people can achieve this dream and an example of which would be that someone that is a homosexual would have a lesser chance of getting a job than an average heterosexual but can still be achieved by the homosexual community. The American Dream is still achievable because those who work hard with determination can achieve it.

The diminishing of the American Dream has only been a recent event. Back in the 1950’s, the dream was alive and well for all Americans, rich or poor. A job was easy to find, with up to 80% of the population employed, according to the U.S Bureau of Economic Analysis. With this total amount of people working, not only was there a substantial decrease in the poor Americans, but any family living beneath the poverty line had a greater chance of finding a job and moving up the economic ladder. This

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.

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.