The American Dream: A False Sense of Hope Essay

The “American Dream,” according to Truslow Adams, is “being able to grow to the fullest development as man and woman.” This ideal is not based on fame or wealth, but on enough to sustain a family and live comfortably, with a steadily rising income and a decent home. It is to be believed that hard work along with the “great equalizer”, education, allows individuals the freedom to determine their own life path, regardless of their background. The idea of the American dream ensures upward social mobility for those dedicated enough to achieve this lifestyle. In spite of that, recent arguments have said that this dream is either dying, or already dead. In his book “Dream Hoarders,” Richard Reeves counters that the American Dream is in fact alive and well, but simply being hoarded by the upper middles class.

A chance to re-establish oneself, an opportunity to earn one’s fair share of wealth, a vision waiting to be created into a reality: The original American dream. Over time these myths surrounding the American dream have altered due to constantly evolving cultures within the United States resulting in newer cultures that are less concerned with one’s “fair share” and more with pure gain. Sadly, today the American dream more closely represents one’s ability to attain materialistic items rather then its previous connotation of equal opportunities for everyone. One example of contemporary use of the American dream includes advertisers incorporating a sense of national entitlement into their sales campaigns in hopes

The American dream glamorizes the fantasy of equality where each American citizen experience the characteristics

In the essays “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” by Brandon King and “Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman, the authors discuss a wide variety of ideas that affect or maintain the idea of income inequality in America today. In the essay by Brandon King, he clearly states that the values of the American Dream are still alive today, but are getting harder and harder to achieve for the average person. King argues that the American Dream of today has drastically changed from what it used to be, and that the thought of being successful only lays within having a steady life with little to no struggle. However, in “Confronting Inequality”, Krugman has a different approach on the topic, arguing that the American Dream is no longer alive. Krugman states that the rise of income inequality will also lead heavily to social inequality, and that the rise of income inequality is a huge cause of social inequality as well. The two authors use a majority of viewpoints and methods to explore the same topic of inequality. However, there are also many ways in which both authors offer different sides of the argument and how it should be handled.

With that, came the American dream. The dream that each person should achieve prosperity through strenuous work and dedication. There has been several works of literature that denounced the American dream as a false prophecy, as only coming true for a undoubted narrow majority of the nation. That is true that the American dream does not come by often. Although when it does, people cherish this nation and call it “ The land of the free and the home of the brave”. American history showed that in this nation, nothing is impossible, resembling what Einstein said “ Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is

Adams defined it as a “dream of a land in which should be richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement,” and continues on to state, “It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of what they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position” (Source 8). Yet Adams still concedes that as the world changes on a daily basis, the values and ideals of Americans can and do change. It can also be noted that Americans are expected to be different from each in capabilities, motivations and interests. These differences allow the dream to be chosen from person to person (Source 3). If the dream can be chosen by the people and with capitalism generally making money a large factor of being happy, it can be reasoned that many would make monetary wealth their

   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;

In 1931 James Truslow Adams published a book named ‘Epic of America’ in which he popularized the concept of The American Dream. In this book he stated “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 or achievement…” and once that phrase was written, The American Dream became what we truly know it as nowadays. It is the right of freedom, prosperity, equality and pursuit of happiness through hard work. However, The American Dream is an ironic concept seeing as it never seems fully attainable. Although it is supposed to represent independence, liberty and the ability to make something of one’s self, most people nowadays find

While the idea of the American Dream became more popular during the 17th to 20th centuries, the achievability remained elusive due to a static and hierarchical social order that prevailed throughout this time. Thus, the tireless claims of the New Left for a reformed society are supported by the unchanging accessibility of the American Dream.

In the 1931 award-winning book, The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams first publicly defined the American Dream as, "A dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” In retrospect, 1931 was a year of great nationalism, expansion and the closing note of the Roaring Twenties. However, with deeper analysis and understanding, Adams’ definition does not hold true in 2016. The American Dream of a “richer” and “fuller” life clearly isn’t for “everyone”. An actual and evident definition of the current American Dream is, a life that is fuller and richer for rich white men only. The American Dream is only achievable by rich white men due to gender

is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many

James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book The Epic America highlights his views on the “American Dream.” Within his work Truslow Adams defines the American Dream as “(an individual) able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.” However, I argue that due to the prominence of marketing, unreasonable education pricing, and societal pressures, the true “American Dream” is the search for the Almighty Dollar and wealth.

We live in a country in which people believe that the "American Dream" exists. I do not think there is an "American Dream" that is obtainable in America, or that even exists. You might ask, "Why not?" Well, America is called the freedom land or whatever people want to call it. People immigrate to America to fulfill what they couldn 't in their country, but when they get here and they see it, it is not what they had imagined. I believe that even Americans sometimes can 't even achieve that dream because it just doesn 't exist.

It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position."