The American Dream

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.

The topic of The American Dream has been brought up on many occasions. The arising issue that still ascends is whether or not The American Dream is alive or dead in the United States. The American Dream has come to the generalization of the personal perspective of any individual. The history of The American Dream has always gone back to the common man thinking of their future generations to come and how he will implant a positive outcome throughout it. Many now believe that the ideal plan of The American Dream cannot even be met anymore. Values and beliefs are now being questioned towards the aspect of upward mobility, the cost of education, jobs, and even affordable housing. Referring to an executive editor and vice president of Time Reporting, he states, “combined with a formidable American work ethic, made the pursuit of happiness more than a full-time proposition” (Meacham, Keeping The Dream Alive). This statement is targeted towards the actual definition of what The American Dream actually meant in various societies in the past. Happiness and a full-time of gratitude were critical aspects towards being met because it was the initial reason for this ideal. Some of the key causes and components that affect the way The American Dream is supposed upon today is the basic principles of economics, education, and a downward spiral. These reasons lead to The American Dream being considered in a diverse way with much complexity. The American Dream was different from the past and

The "American Dream" is an idea that has always been different throughouttime. It changes in diverse forms and in the end involves success. The "American Dream" was a phrase used by the American people and peoplewanting to become American. It was always the idea that you can become a success. This is true in a partial way, but the true "American Dream" is that with somework and determination anyone can build themselves up in the economic classsystem.

The "American Dream" is marked as unattainable in John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men. This is mostly shown in the case of George, Lennie, Candy, Crooks, and Curley's wife. These characters all have admitted to thinking about the "American dream" concept, and the freedom to pursue happiness and their dreams.

An idea that individuals in America have been provided with equal opportunities to grow and pursue their happiness regardless of their economic and social status is the crux of an American Dream, an aspect that has been applied for a long period to define the nation’s psyche. When referring to the American Dream, individuals tend to believe that it relates to having better opportunities to achieve material prosperity, living a comfortable lifestyle, enjoying the nature of the landscape, and living a life without much hustles. However, it is necessary to note that the dream goes beyond just the physical and emotional concepts, and includes the intellectual aspects that promote happiness within a person. As Rosenberg (2011) explains, the

John Steinbeck, the author of the novella Of Mice and Men, describes a world where the American Dream was about having a opportunity to be successful through all the hard work and dedication. Steinbeck paints a disturbing portrait of America in the 1930’s. Steinbeck reveals that times can be very unpleasant and anything can happen. During the Great Depression it was not very straightforward to obtain your American Dream. There were many obstacles you had to face and problems that came along. You never knew what was next. Social interactions were not always a guarantee neither was family. For instance, in the novella no character truly had a family or a home. When you think of the word lonely what do you think? Do you think of that pain

The “American Dream” is a complicated thing. Not only because it’s intangible, but because its realization is based, nowadays more than ever, in the personal happiness of the American individual. What could be more complicated than a dream that must fit every member of a post-modern society that has more choices and independence than any other generation in history as our birthright? The simple dream of our proud, self-sacrificing immigrant forebears- a cozy split level with a beautiful yard, happy pup and healthy kids all guarded by a pristine white picket fence- is often perceived as a prison of unwanted responsibility and limitation to us. To my own millennial mind, there are myriad factors involved when we begin to discuss the home owning aspect of the more traditional “American Dream” of our parents and grandparents. There is absolutely no question that a new American Dream is afoot, especially where the proverbial hearth and homestead are concerned. Over the course of this essay, I will describe this dream and how I believe it came into being.

The american dream is different for everyone, and changes as time goes on. The american dream is important because it is how we think the perfect life would be and without that we would not have hope. In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Lennie and George are both trying to achieve the american dream and as the book moves on they become closer to that dream. In the book Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck shows how George has to look out for Lennie even though he holds him back but they are both endeavoring to attain the American dream.

The definition of the “American Dream” is vastly different among age groups. In the past the “American Dream” was the dream to own a home, have a happy family, and live out your lives in content. For some it was the opportunity to move to a new country, have a stable job, and have the ability to provide for your family. As a millennial I have seasoned the “Great Recession”, inflation of the costs of living, and the social stigmas placed everyday against those my age. Those contributing factors lead me to believe that my generations definition of the “American Dream” is quite the opposite of the elder generations.

Did you know that an average of 1,000,000 legal immigrant is getting in the United State of America every year? Bob Herbert State that “However you want to define the American dream, there is not much of it that’s left anymore” (Herbert), according to these data, for those immigrants who came to United State of America, including me, the American dream is more alive than ever, “I believe that the ideal and value of the American dream are still very much alive” (King). However, if we take the American dream in an economic part, there is a lot who need to be fixed if we want to live the American dream. The idea when coming in America for leave the American dream, is getting the opportunity to go to school for obtaining a good education, get a job and working hard until you get where you want to be.

Everyone has an American dream, but the American dream during the times of the Great Depression was way different than what it would be now. George and Lennie from the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, wanted a nice cabin for themselves and their own little farmland where they could tend their own animals. Candy overhears George and Lennie talking about their American dream and wanted to be a part of it because he wanted to do something different with his life. The Great Depression was a sad time for all Americans and hopes and dreams were the only thing that kept most people going because it felt like they had nothing. All America had was their hopes and dreams. Their American dream doesn’t include being wealthy, or being famous, it includes the ways of life and their simple freedoms. Although George, Lennie, and Candy have the same dream they had different reasons for why they sought this.

It is a scary thought: millions of people have moved across the country and even across oceans to achieve their dream, but even after large scale changes to a person’s life, it may still be completely inaccessible. The American Dream has been a driving force of American immigration and culture for centuries. The white picket fence version of the American Dream that usually comes to mind when talking about it did not come about until the 1950s, when suburban housing and limited diversity in pop culture popularized the stereotypical 2.5 kids, a dog, and obviously the white picket fence dream that is often seen today. The American Dream has existed in a different form for decades, though. One common theme that has stayed consistent is the wish to be self-sustaining, like George and Lennie from Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Their dream is to one day eventually be able to own their own farm and be rid of the burden of constantly traveling around to find work. Due to Great Depression era obstacles, such as little to no economic stability and and Lennie’s mental disabilities, their farm is mostly a fairy tale George tells Lennie to bring him joy. Their dream and other characters’ lead the reader to believe that they are hoping for nothing. Almost all characters in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men have not or will not carry out their version of the American Dream because of economic and agricultural adversity, societal disadvantages, or lack of action.

The American Dream is the quintessence that every U.S. citizen should be capable of achieving prosperity through resolve, self-motivation, and hard work. Of Mice and Men is a classical piece of literature that presents ideas on this ideal. The novel challenges the idea of the availability of this dream to people of all social classes. The main characters are subject to difficulties through the duration of the novella. The author uses this fictional account to sway readers about the problems in their society by accentuating the plight of the migrant worker through the constant reference to the destruction of the American dream.

Webster defines the American Dream as, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” Why have we allowed society to mandate the level of education required to achieve success? Historically, extensive schooling was required for occupations such as doctors and lawyers. Today, according to a 2017 survey by Career Builder, the average blue-collar employer requires at least a bachelor’s degree for a position that a century ago required no more than a high school education. In addition, employers are hiring individuals with master’s degrees for bachelor’s level positions and individuals with bachelor’s degrees fill positions formerly held by individuals with high school and general education diplomas (qtd. in College).

A little house with a few acres, some farm animals, and bunnies are all Lennie and George ask for in Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. His characters Lennie and George are migrant workers during the Great Depression, a time of vast economic struggle in America, and a destroyer of dreams. Candy and Crooks, both of whom work on the same ranch as Lennie and George, think they are crazy for having any goals, yet offer to help. However, these plans all come crashing down at the end of the novel when Lennie, a mentally handicapped man with child-like innocence, but brutal strength accidentally murders someone, and George has to kill Lennie himself rather than let him face the torture of his pursuers. Now, George is left with a choice: to continue the dream, or to let it go. George will not continue his dream to live off his own land because his friendship with Lennie and the motivation they provide for each other is the foundation of their aspirations. As a result of Lennie’s death, Candy’s sponsorship becomes irrelevant, just as a building will come tumbling down without a fundamental part of the foundation, which is what the dream lacks without Lennie.