The American Dream By Mike Keefe

In Sara E. Keene’s essay she says that the American Dream is being pushed higher for low income groups to achieve because of community colleges having remedial courses in the curriculum. Keene says that the main solution will be to redefine the education system by adding “critical reading, writing and reasoning skills” back into the system. By the same token Susan B. Neuman in “The American Dream: Slipping Away?” observes that making the American Dream attainable to the low income groups will be by, more reading materials, higher parental support, and more funding to low income groups. While Neuman’s proposal is for those of early childhood education, Keene focuses on college level education. As Neuman’s article is based on the studies she

The American Dream is about people doing their absolute best to attain the life that they always dreamed of having. Some people think that the American Dream is attainable. Then there are the people who think that the American Dream is not attainable. There are three sources that tell how the American Dream is attainable and how it is not attainable. They are: Grad Who Beat The Odds Asks, Why Not The Others, The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation and Hollywood Dreams Of Wealth, Youth And Beauty.

America still to this day holds on to the idea of the “American Dream”. This is rather surprising in today’s society and the ups and downs that the nation is facing. The dream in the past was more about freedom and equality. Moving through the decades, this dream has morphed into something quite different. Instead of what America means for all of its inhabitants, the nation has become more individualized. Society has moved to interpret the dream of what America can do for the one. Instead of the unified nation, America has been known for in the past, a shift has started creating an inconsistency in who can realize the dream. The myth of the “American Dream” has been hugely affected by increased materialism, the gap in economic status, and the fantasy of “rags to riches” idea.

The United States was founded on a dream. A dream where we would could find our own land and be free from the tyranny of the British government. This dream was freedom. The freedom to become a Fortune 500 CEO that was born in the Southside of Chicago. The freedom to escape. The freedom to be who you wanted to be without anyone holding you back. Even the freedom to escape society and never turn back. The American Dream is basically just freedom. The ability to do whatever or achieve whatever you desire. This American Dream is not the same for everyone. It is unique to each person just as it was for Chris McCandless. In the book, Into the Wild, Chris McCandless goes on a journey to escape society and survive alone

Interpreted in multiple ways and forms, a quintessential aspiration has been the blueprint for Americans when engaging in perfection in politics, economics, and society. This “American Dream”, depicted by Jim Cullen, is a Puritan-inspired strive for opportunity presenting itself as an universal standard that constitutes to ultimate success. The reality of this Dream is a flawed repetition of a continuous pursuit of happiness, where one bleeds and sacrifices to be “happy”, and the constant modification of a new value and faith that resonates within each society introduced. The variation of this dream is communicated through the setting of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, where wealth, faith, and happiness is never satisfied in the three core locations of the plot. With the longevity of this dream continuing to create insecurities and unease today, the two elements from Cullen’s interpretation of the American Dream that resonates within the dynamic setting of the Fitzgerald classic are the incompatible rendering of new faith/worship in different environments and the unstoppable pursuit of happiness, revealing a dissatisfaction with the dream.

When the phrase “American Dream” is uttered, it is typically associated with having money or striving to have money. The dream of much of the public is to have money and to be able to purchase anything they desire whenever they want. For some, this dream is not about money, but it is about having the opportunity to better his or herself and his or her loved ones. In either case, there are certain circumstances and obstacles that make this dream increasingly difficult to attain. Some would even be willing to argue, the American dream is unattainable. “American Dream” is defined as the concept of every citizen of the United States having an equal opportunity to achieve success and happiness through hard work, sacrifices, and risk-taking (Fontinelle);

The American Dream is one of those terms that people refer to when talking about immigration, financial status, and so much more. But what does the term really refer to? People used to think of the American Dream as financial prosperity, religious and financial freedom, and all around success. Now, the term may mean something similar, but people are much less focused on it. If anything, the American Dream today is focused on gaining material goods and proving your bank account is larger than your neighbors. With today’s economy, laws and regulations, immigration customs, and overall attitude towards work, people are seldom focused on achieving the American Dream.

The American Dream is a fantasy that has not come true for the millions that are toiling in the system hoping to get a piece of the wealth which America so liberally shares with its rich upper class. Mansions, expensive cars, a happy family and of course lots of money. These images adorn the minds of the less privileged of this nation.

What is the American Dream? Some describe the American Dream as a two parent family with two kids and a dog living in a home with a white picket fence. Others declare having millions of dollars and a beach home is the ultimate goal. So, what exactly is the American Dream? In the Conservative conference speech “We Will Be a City upon a Hill”, Ronald Reagan demanded that traditional values defined the American Dream while President Obama argued equality was quintessential. In both presidential speeches, they each discussed two vastly drastic interpretations of the American Dream however, their speeches both themed constructs seen in Jim Cullen’s book to support their arguments.

The American Dream is steadily changing as time goes on and some say this is a bad thing. As different generations come about the dream changes with the people. As stated by Dan Kadlec in the article “Millennials Put Their Surprising Stamp on the American Dream” the American dream is now seen as having control over your daily life. Today 's generation has seen some of the main aspects of the original American Dream fail greatly so they have made up a new dream. With the things Millennials have seen change and go wrong they only believe that they can achieve a day to day lifestyle, but should this really be the case? In another article named “The Hourglass Society” it’s stated by Stewart Lansley that the middle class is going backwards. The idea of the ‘hourglass’ is that there are large amounts of people on the top and the bottom, but not many at all in the middle representing the middle class. This article also states that the American Dream is now only a myth and this generation only has a “fear of failing”. Many say the American Dream is dead but is the dream really dead or are people too afraid of failure? Millennials of today have seen so many bad things happen to their parents that they just settle and this shouldn’t be the case. The American Dream is only going to die if we let it happen.

How would one feel if they spent their entire lives working towards an unattainable goal? That goal is the American Dream, a term that can be loosely defined as one’s attempt at what they believe is success, whether it be a family, high-paying career, a beautiful home, or all three. The American Dream can be whatever one makes of it. James Baldwin and William Buckley strongly debated this issue with underlying similarities but ultimately Baldwin had a stronger argument. This House Believes in the American Dream is at the Expense of the American Negro, was a historic 1965 debate about society’s mistreatment of the African American race throughout history. Baldwin highlighted that white Americans innately believe they are still superior to African Americans and their pursuit of the American Dream holds more weight while Buckley attempted to discredit him. Baldwin drew scrutiny to the social injustices faced by blacks in their daily lives especially in their pursuit of the American Dream and attempted to direct white America’s attention to the issues that desperately need a solution.

Nowadays, a large number of people migrate to the United States to work and achieve the American Dream. According to the Article “What is the American Dream?” by Kimberly Amadeo, “The American Dream was first publicly defined in 1931 by James Truslow Adams in Epic of America. Adam’s often-repeated quote is, ‘The American Dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.’” There are many people that can have different perspectives when it comes to the topic of the American dream. Even though many people assume the American Dream is dead, it is a very controversial topic. The American Dream may have many different points of views, but it really does exist, after all, it takes an ambitious person to strive for success through hard work, dedication and determination.

The American Dream is the idea that every United States citizen has equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and determination. However, ideas of the dream have evolved throughout time from the 18th century up to present day. The general population’s view and my view of the American Dream both have altered throughout time. My idea of the American Dream has developed from not only today’s views on The Dream, but also from the evolutionary process the meaning has been through.

“The American Dream” is advertised as being the act of a person having an idea, goal, or as the saying suggests, a dream, and then them spending time, energy, and money to make it come true. However, if you haven’t realized it yet, there’s a reason they call it a dream because it hardly becomes a reality. More and more people are realizing this so called “dream” is nothing but a hoax, and that the promises America assures and guarantees such as equal opportunity and equal success are nothing but pure manipulation. Furthermore, the American dream no longer stands by the virtue of discrimination and prejudice, overwhelming debt, and failed establishments.

The American Dream exists in the hearts of all Americans and is a concept that drives many people from all over the world to want to come to America. It holds the promise of infinite possibilities and allows them to escape a society of poverty and racism. This Dream also exists in the hearts of many Americans already living in America. However, this dream primarily exists in the minds of minority populations, such as African Americans, whose past is full of discrimination based on their race. The American Dream not only offers success in the form of economic stability but also acceptance from society regardless of an individual’s race or religion. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison, shows how the American Dream is not often available to