The American Dream In Into The Wild

The American dream is an example of a national spirit that represents different ideologies. The set of ideas may be of democracy, equality matters, liberty, rights, and opportunities. The American dream believes in freedom for prosperity and success for its citizens. The idea suggests that upward social mobility for individuals can be achieved only through hard work. In a story done by George Saunders, the American dream is exemplified in several instances. The author, George, tells the story of contemporary America through a diary. The main character in the story is a father to three daughters. The family’s struggles are examples of how individuals will go extra miles just to provide for their families and also

The American Dream is “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” (Adams, 1931). It is the guarantee that with hard work and passion anyone can achieve upward mobility regardless of their origin. Many Americans believe in this promise, hoping that one day their first circumstance will not dictate the outcome of the rest of their lives. However the American Dream can be elusive without any real he American Dream eludes The novel Ragged Dick; or, Street Life in New York with the

"'I found out what your 'drug stores' were.' He turned to us and spoke rapidly. 'He and this Wolfshiem bought up a lot of side-street drug stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That's one of his little stunts, I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him and I wasn't far wrong.'" (Fitzgerald, 141).

It is the natural inclination of all men and women to dream. In John Steinbeck’s novel “Of Mice and Men,” the American dream is sought after by many different characters. However, the main theme in the story is how these dreams are unattainable, and how because of the Great Depression, all American dreams were dead. But what is the American dream? A unitary definition does not exist, however, the meaning of living the American dream is something that differs for everyone. For some people, the American dream might be acceptance and equality. On the other hand, for others, it might mean fame and fortune. In the short story called “Of Mice and Men” the American dream seems unreachable for a number of characters, such as George, Lennie,

Jay Gatsby tries to fit in with the aristocrats of American society by obtaining wealth any way he can, even if it may be through illegal business. In Gatsby’s situation he is doing something very dangerous, but nothing can stop him. He is able to obtain a great fortune through the illegal sale of liquor otherwise referred to as bootlegging. Fitzgerald says, “‘I found out what your ‘drug-stores’ were.’ He turned to us and spoke rapidly. ‘He and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain and alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him

The American Dream has held a special place in the hearts of patriots since the very founding of America in 1776. It has been a subject of many authors who grapple with its attainability, and is a beacon of hope gazed upon by victims of circumstance. The Dream has been interpreted by great minds in various ways, and has been deemed both an evil deception and a great promise of a better life. However, the American Dream has morphed from this promise of opportunities and second chances--in fact, it has become viewed as a cause for societal competition and the reason for decreasing happiness among the American people. As Americans attempt to “achieve their goals,” and “keep up with the Joneses,” they subject themselves to the materialistic cycle of greed. Success, and the goal of the American Dream, has been redefined. To be put simply, the American Dream is now to be richer than one’s neighbor, despite the fact that happiness--and thus, the Dream--cannot be achieved solely through wealth and material goods.

If there was a favorable circumstance under which one could endeavour all their hopes and visions, wouldn’t one pursue it? The American Dream was introduced as an interpretation to cause the people of America in the early twentieth century to work tougher. The American Dream is the opportunity to reach the goals one sets for themselves. It is about having your dream job and life one has always fantasized about. The dream is also about having freedom and equality. In the novel, “Of Mice & Men”, John Steinbeck uses symbols and motifs such as the vicious slaughtering of virtuous animals, Crooks’ rubbish bunkhouse and Lennie and George’s deception of an ideal farm to exhibit the perception that materialistic success results in happiness is a major flaw in our thinking about the American dream, and it is this thinking which makes the dream unattainable for many.

Many of famous figures in our society’s past have spoken their minds about the American Dream, for each and every one of those minds, are a different response. J. G. Ballard once spoke of his American Dream, “The American Dream had run out of gas. The car has stopped. It no longer supplies the world with its images, its dreams, its fantasies. No more. It’s over. It supplies the world with its nightmares now: the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, Vietnam.” The outlook on this dream has changed over the years it has existed, most societies nowadays look onto this as a “curse” or something worse. This dream now is speculated as hurting our home, America. As Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men, the grave story of the American Dream was revealed by main characters, George, Lennie, and Candy. These main characters give us an inside look into what they think the American Dream is.

Through the means of characterization, Fitzgerald expresses Tom Buchanan as another immoral character. Tom is portrayed as an egotistical, hypocrite who advocates white supremacy. His hypocrisy is shown when he speaks to Gatsby, he conduct himself as a “high” class citizen but dwells as a “low” class citizen. “I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong.” “What about it?” said Gatsby politely. “I guess your friend Walter Chase

” I found out what your ‘drug-stores’ were.” He turned to us and spoke rapidly. “he and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of side-street drug-stores here and in Chicago and sold grain alcohol over the counter. That’s one of his little stunts. I picked him for a bootlegger the first time I saw him, and I wasn’t far wrong.” (Fitzgerald 133)

After going through the “Great War,” also known as World War I, soldiers came back home in the middle of prohibition, a time where the almost all recreational alcohol was illegal. Despite the government's intentions to protect the people from alcohol abuse, prohibition forced people to find unorthodox ways of attaining alcohol. Prohibition unofficially made people rich because so people made lots and lots of money making and selling alcohol illegally–bootlegging. This is the setting for the famous novel, The Great Gatsby. In this book, F. Scott Fitzgerald exemplifies the true corrupting nature of wealth and shows just how powerful the desire for money can be through the corruption of the American dream, Gatsby’s dream, and the main characters.

The American Dream has long been thought the pinnacle idea of American society. The idea that anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or financial status, could rise from the depths and become anything they wanted to be with no more than hard work and determination has attracted people from all around the world. Two writers from America’s past, however, have a different opinion on the once-great American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck have given the public their beliefs on the modern Dream through the novels they have written, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, respectively. One novel placed during the Great Depression and the other during the Roaring Twenties both illustrate how their author feels about the Dream

Theologians, writers, and political figures all have different definitions for the American Dream. While some are optimistic, many of them discredit the Dream. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck writes about two penniless, nomadic, working men, dreaming of one day owning their own small piece of land. Ideally, with hard labor and dedication the men should successfully accomplish their goal; however, one of their fellow farm workers reveals his realization that there are “too many guys with land in their head. They never get none under their hand...” (Steinbeck 76). Steinbeck approaches the American Dream as a competition in which few ever emerge victorious. Ta- Nehisi Coates emulates Steinbeck’s perspective of the Dream’s ingenuity in his memoir

The American Dream, the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative, is a dream that many people both living in and migrating to the United States desire. Like many dreams, the reality is sometimes much different than the image developed in those hopeful minds. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, depicts the struggle of a strong character’s journey in search of independence and yet to live cohesively with those around her.

Every morning, people across the globe get up, have breakfast, and get ready to go to work for the day. This is especially pertaining to the United States, where half of the adult population is employed. How this number got so big could have to do with the American Dream, an ideal where every US citizen has an equal chance to benefit from hard work and determination. The American Dream is at the core of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, where the two main characters dream of achieving success during the Great Depression through the hard labor of ranch working, It is also portrayed in the movie Grapes of Wrath, a movie adaption of another Steinbeck work, chronicling a family’s journey to California in search of work to get them on their feet. Yet as the world advances socially and technologically, some people’s opinions of the Dream have been varied greatly. The American Dream still exists today, but since the time period that John Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men and Grapes of Wrath, it has warped into a different idea by way of the ideal end result of hard work, the importance of career, and ideas of independence.