The American Dream : A Toxic Fantasy

In history, there are many recurring themes, one of the biggest is the “American Dream”. Many people resonate the words dream, freedom, equality, and the opportunity to achieve their utmost desired and achievable dreams. This definition of a perfect land that helps you achieve your dream has been termed the “American Dream.” The “American Dream”, which is supposedly available for all Americans, has unfortunately become untrue for those who are minorities or immigrants. The “American Dream” is dictated by the American society that is controlled by a racial hierarchy that does not give access to the American dream for those who are not part of the preferred race and who don’t fit into its structured box of singularity. Overall, The American

Why is America never America? “America never was America to me” is a line repeatedly written in the poem ‘Let America be America Again’ by an African American poet Langston Hughes. This poem was published in 1936, when being African American was one’s greatest sin. African Americans were treated as things that elite whites can own rather than free- willed humans. In this poem, the pain and suffering of colored Americans, who were considered less than humans, is reflected clearly. Despite being written by an African America poet, the poem ‘Let America Be America Again’ does not represent African Americans only. Minority groups including economically disadvantaged whites are represented in this poem. For these people America is not America. It is a sleepless night where dreams are not allowed. They never get freedom in the land of the free. They never get opportunity in the land of opportunities. They never get justice and equality in the land of the justice. America is not America they want to see, and the poet Langston Hughes repeatedly mentions, “America never was America to me”. In 1936, when the poem was first published, being colored immigrant was the same, or even worse than being a murderer, justice was never served, and there was no equality. The privileged elites had all the America to them but to the lower racial groups and immigrants, American dream never existed. Despite the fact that the poem ‘Let America be

What is American Dream? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? Although we all have the same ideology of what the definition of what the American Dream is, we can all come up with a different meaning, each one more personal to ourselves than to others. As we will see with the help of three different authors, regardless of age, race, sexuality, religion, or social status, we could possibly agree on the idea of the American Dream falling short and being a false sense of reality for many Americans to this day.

While many people view the achievement of the American Dream as the highest form of success, it is really a false reality built on an ongoing history of white supremacy and superiority. “The Dream” is one that is held by the willfully ignorant, those believing themselves to be white, and people who do not wish to reflect on the issues of race and discrimination transpiring in modern day society. As a result, “The Dream” is consequentially detrimental to the African American race.

Research conducted by Sandra L. Hanson and John Zogby concerning shifting attitudes toward the American Dream states, “lack of thrift, effort, ability, motivation, and self-control are the most popular explanations for poverty among Americans” (Hanson 571). Such explanations demonstrate the growing issues that help to create the darkness of the American Dream. In placing such an emphasis on achieving success, the American Dream belittles those unable to achieve it and allows no room for failure. Though some individuals may work hard their entire lives, they may never find the material success that others such as Ben or Charley do. Even in the case of characters who have worked their entire life, such as Willy, the lack of tangible, material success creates a false idea that they did not do enough or did not work hard enough. Concerning Willy’s career and life, Ben states, “What are you building? Lay your hand on it. Where is it?” (Miller 1271). This statement pushes the misconstrued idea that whatever success one has achieved needs to be tangible and seen, which is not always the case. It can be argued that by the end of his life, Willy had found success. Linda’s proclamation that they were “free and clear” after having finally paid off the mortgage furthers this argument (Miller 1298). Out of debt, and with the comfort of a devoted wife and loving sons, Willy had achieved a life that many can only dream. However, because he and others do not recognize love and happiness as

The “American Dream” has always been this country’s greatest and most successful form of propaganda. The notion of the “American Dream” has bred entitlement since the term was coined by James Truslow Adams during the 1930s. Many Americans have, and still feel, entitled to achieving the “American Dream” even though this phrase has never been attainable for all members of American society. Despite Adams hoping the “American Dream” would transcend “birth or position” allowing anyone to attain the Dream, obviously this has not been possible for everyone living in the U.S. The wage gap between men and women easily makes attaining the Dream difficult, since the social order still does not pay women for the same jobs as men. Additionally, the racism which systematically pervades all of our institutions makes the Dream merely a dream for black people, as institutions are systematized to hinder the growth of Black Americans. White Americans face only the challenge of individual wealth. Owning a home is often impossible as these institutions have implemented ways to hinder the growth of non-white Americans.

What is the American Dream? To many people across the globe, the United States of America appears to be a place where one can be proud of. America the land where dreams come true and there is always a chance for any person to succeed. People who are not from the United States have been painted a beautiful picture of what life in our country is like. Not only do they think that there is a special place in American Dream of African American soldiers after WWI American Dream of African American soldiers after WWI ;During World War I many things changed, lives were destroyed ;dreams shattered, and many soldiers’ who went to war came back ... America for them and the perfect career for each individual, but unfortunately this is not always true. The American dream is not necessarily to get rich quick, it is more along the lines of a hard worker having an opportunity to be financially stable and to live a pleasant life. The dream is that their sons and daughters will not have to suffer the same things that they did. Their children will be better off in the long run because African-American Entrepreneurship In a comparative light there seems to be significant problems, or obstacles, for African-American entrepreneurs. These problems are categorized by environmental factors, opportunity factors, and issues related to capital. The ... of their hard work. Why hasn’t the African American community been able to reach the American dream In America everyone is guaranteed the opportunity

The American Dream is problematic both because of how what it stands for and what it creates. It was built and is maintained on the oppression of black people. It also creates blindness and ignorance to racial divides in this country among the people living in it (including black people). My third take-away is that the police everyone seems to have a problem with in this country reflect the people in it. Coates writes that the body cameras and police reform people are advocating for only distances them from the police when in fact, the police are only acting on the fears of those living in the

Without the chance for equal opportunity, the American Dream can never be obtained. There is, and never will be, an end to racism and for this reason, equal opportunity will never exist, thus causing the American Dream to be unreachable.” (African Americans and the American Dream)

Coates makes an argument that the American dream is not feasible to African Americans. Many recognize the American dream to start from the bottom and make it to the top. Starting from humble roots and working hard can help you accomplish anything you dream of. Therefore, one can grow a family with two kids and a dog, have an executive

The American Dream has long been worshipped and held as an ideal in our nation for decades. One day settling down with a family of four and living in the suburbs was once held as the perfect end to an American fairytale dream, but as the housing crisis of 2008 tore through the market and threatened the dreams of countless families. Unfortunately millennials grew up watching the housing crash tear at the hearts of their parents and threaten to divide families from their homes. As a result, millennials see the American Dream differently than previous generations. Instead of dreaming to one day own a home, millenials see the American Dream as the opportunity for freedom to explore the world and decide where they shall land. The American Dream has changed from the destination to the journey.

The American Dream is a theory that is controversial and has many different prospects for each individual. America is the land of the free. It comes with many struggles that are faced by the people who choose to settle here. From the very beginning, the settlers who came to escape from Great Britain and start a new life started the standard life in America. The treatment of African Americans was one example of how the American Dream can be taken away from a group of people, but it also shows how much the American Dream is wanted by that same group of people. “The Declaration of Independence” by Thomas Jefferson, and the “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr., speech are just small beginnings to something as great as what America is today.

Everyone has dreams, things they want to be or achieve no matter what their color or race is. But have you ever thought "what happens when dreams are deferred"? If you haven't questioned yourself this,you should read Langston Hughes poem "Harlem" and Lorraine Hansberry's play "A Raisin in the Sun". Many say that in bothworks these authors address the situations and struggles that African Americans have in America in order to accomplish their dreams and the sacrifices they have to give along the way.

The American Dream began as a vision for the men who framed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America. These two documents provided the foundation upon which the American Dream was built. The reality of the American Dream translated into a nightmare for the African-Americans who had to overcome slavery in order to achieve the ideal that all men are created equally. Their dream did not become a reality with the signing of the Declaration of Independence; in fact, even after slavery was abolished, there was no concrete date established that mandated that whites and African-Americans were equal. The law said the slaves were free;

The standards granted to whites cannot be applied to minorities after being disconnected from the rest of society and being systematically oppressed there is little to no way of as of now for blacks earn the same things that whites do. The American dream resonates from the aspiration of gaining monitorial success. Although this may seem like a dream worthy achieving, but when the foundation upon which it was created was laced with malice and hatred toward a darker skin. The dream then starts to get blurry possibly unreachable. Coates makes the point that the dream cannot exist without racial prejudice because as reflected by the constitution its prosperity was not meant for African American people. He also implies that those who buy into the American Dream are falsifying what America is. They are subject to the misconception that this nation was created with equal values and by pursuing it they are not only acknowledging the existence of things such as white privilege and racism but they are also supporting it. The dream