From all over the world, people immigrate to America for the American Dream: freedom, rights, and limitless opportunities found nowhere else. These individuals are welcomed with a convergence of new ideas such as well settled families, work opportunities, and the chance for a position in society. The collective idea of “the land of opportunities”, inspired my father almost two decades ago to indulge these possibilities, and step foot into the United States of America.
As for others, he says, the “ [American Dream] is merely just a fantasy as seen in the movies. But in reality, to achieve my goals, I had to put in tremendous hard work. If you truly work hard, and feel this country as your own, this country will give you a place in her society.”
Many people have come to America for adventure, opportunity, freedom, and the chance to experience the particular qualities of the American landscape. The American Dream is the idea that every United States citizen, including immigrants and residents, should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. America somewhat provides access to the American dream, it is more so the citizen who provides access to the dream for themselves. Even though they encountered many trials and tribulations, with persistence, people such as Langston Hughes in “I Too Sing America and Anzia Yezierska in “America and I” they were able to achieve their individual American Dream.
Personal accounts from immigrants preserving through the endless hardships are the living proof that the American Dream is achievable. Their accounts prove that the dream is only achieved because of the toil throughout the immigrants’ lives. Richard Todd describes “a man who embodies American opportunity” (90). This man immigrated from Korea to start his own software company in America. Todd describes his meeting with the Korean immigrant who had recently made the business a publicly traded company. The enthusiasm of the immigrant accurately conveys the dedication he has toward his ultimate goals (Todd 90). The Korean man was able to be successful due to his extensive work in the field of technology. He lives the American Dream of beginning with nothing rising up in the ranks of
The American Dream: Is it fact or fiction? In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers set forth the idea of an American Dream by providing the American people with the recognizable phrase “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (USHistory.org). The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock symbolizes Jay Gatsby’s “pursuit of Happiness” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, set in the 1920s on Long Island, New York (Fitzgerald, F. Scott). The American Dream is defined as “the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American Dream is achieved through
Many human resource departments do not acknowledge resumes anymore. In fact, many of the companies offer survival jobs instead of the jobs applicants actually apply to, therefore causing downsizing. I know many may think what is a survival job? A survival job is any job an applicant can obtain in order to put food on their tables. Housekeeping, taxi driving or car detailing, to name a few, are survival jobs that offer minimum wage or tips and no source of benefits.
An individual’s life is full of personal and professional controversies, I believe there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the question of fulfillment of one’s desires. However, answering it accurately is critical in making intelligent career choices and finding your success in life. Today, many people, including myself, immigrate to the United States of America in search of the American Dream; freedom, equality, and the opportunity to achieve their personal goals in life. However, the American dream has changed drastically, and is no longer associated only with happiness but rather refers to the dollar sign directly. Many argue that the more money you make, the happier you will be, however, on the other hand some people still stick with the famous expression “more money more problems”. From a reality perspective the statement itself is flawed and those following this chant are sure in for a big surprise. They say you should learn to be realistic
The American Dream has been a talked about topic ever since America was created. But how achievable is it for an average American citizen? The Old Man and The sea, The Jungle, Of Mice and Men, and A Raisin in the Sun all show that the American Dream is possible if one has the right mindset and takes advantage of opportunities.
I was born in a small town in Mexico on March 20, 1998. My life over there was rough, my mom had to work two jobs so she can provide for me and my brother. My brother was the one that always took care of me and was like a father figure. Leaving everything behind and having to start again chasing the American dream was hard, but was for the best. I had to learn a new language and interact with different people. In the beginning I didn't like being here I felt alone being in a strange place, going to school was also difficult since I could not communicate with my teachers and with most of my peers. That changed when I learned more English and I did everything I could to adapt to this country. I also saw how much my parents worked and still struggled
Every year, thousands of people immigrate to the United States in hope of starting anew. They travel thousands of miles across the world, risking everything, to at least have an attempt to start a new, successful life. This prominent belief that America is the region of boundless opportunity is known as the “American Dream”. This belief that America is the land of opportunity has many different interpretations, most view it either as the broad interpretation and the interpretation of Americans.
Many people have different ideas of what the "American Dream" is and what it takes to make it a reality. The most common and the most accurate idea of the American Dream is for all to have the opportunity to have a chance at living a nice life. This includes all immigrants and anyone else who seems to lack better opportunities often. "The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America (read:rich) if they just work hard enough" (Wulick). The American Dream is also influenced by those that have money and are successful. These people are looked up to as a goal when it comes to a better life. The American dream also includes overall happiness that stems from a
Defining the American Dream is a difficult task, because the dream is different for each person you ask. The stereotypical American Dream is a well-off, middle class family, living in the suburbs of America. However looking at modern day society, that dream has split into multiple different hopes, as middle class has become increasingly large, and coincidently, increasingly vague. It can no longer be defined as just being “middle class” because middle class can mean a family with well-paying jobs, no student loans, good credit, and a decent handicap at the local country club. However it can also mean a family with divorced parents, in a broken home, with multiple entry-level jobs, outstanding loans, no healthcare, and barely making ends
It’s funny how much the so-called “American Dream” has changed so much throughout the years and the many definitions the American Dream has. For some it is only a dream but, why is that? Who is unable to achieve this dream? Why aren't they able to achieve this goal? Gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, these and many more hindrances don't allow people to achieve their version of the American dream stereotypes and racism which play a huge role in today’s society don't allow them to reach this goal.
How would you feel if your perception of the american dream did live up to its own standards? In Barbara Ehrenreich’s book The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream, she argues that white collar workers are limited to their capability by the harsh reality. People assume being part of the middle class in america will be the answer to a better lifestyle but it just hasn’t been case over the past decades. Teachers tell their students the key to success is thru higher education and parents portray college as a door to more opportunities and benefits. People say the reasons behind someone else’s economic woes and life hardships are determined thru the decisions they made throughout life. Dropping out of high School, not going to college, working dead end jobs on wages. Who would be to blame for the situations they end up in? safe to say they can blame themselves. A better question is who do you blame for the ones that do go to college, receive degrees, and have credentials to end up in situations just like the ones that didn’t go to college. Society should also be to blame since economic downturns do not just affect people individually but as a nation. America has an image of the college student as being a bright person going in the right right direction that will bring nothing but promises and assurance of a better future. The reality is that everyone has their own definition of the american dream, but the success is not just
The American dream is something common to all people, but it is something that everyone views in different ways. My parents emigrated from Korea in pursuit of living that ideal. However, like most immigrants that came to the U.S., they realized that they were not going to achieve that far-fetched dream, and that they would have to work hard and educate their children to pass the dream along --that itself was a heavy burden.
The United States, a country full of amazing opportunities. A country where justice, equality, and respect overrule any conflict. People all over the world are persuaded by the idea of the “American Dream”, an opportunity to improve and provide a better future for their families. They travel miles from their hometown, without a single clue of what awaits for them. This is true in my case. Being raised in a small town in Chihuahua, Mexico, the opportunities for a successful future were rare. My parents decided that traveling to the United States would provide a better education. As I began my journey, I was struck with reality. Being a Hispanic girl made people underestimate my abilities. Defying the odds, overcoming challenges, and breaking stereotypes made me the dedicated, determined, and passionate person I am today.
At the age of 23, life have been superb for me. Aside from the occasional hiccups, I can honestly say I have been living what many would consider as “the American dream:” a fantastic job on Wall Street, an amazing family, and a diverse experience. While it is true that the essence of life depends on how you look at life, I have come to realize that the essence of my life have been shaped by my one true passion. Like everyone else, I want to change the world. Unlike everyone else, my love for my country, Nigeria, have put me in a position where I am ready to sacrifice the so called American dream for a life of public service.