The American Dream In Truman Capote's In Cold Blood

Regardless of the person, everyone has an idea of what the “American Dream” is. Whether it be success, or something more, the connotations held with that phrase almost always symbolize an ideal, a goal. Truman Capote contrasts this idea in his novel In Cold Blood by detailing the lives of those who were involved in the Clutter murders in Holcomb, Kansas. Capote utilizes his novel to illustrate to [specific readers] that the idealistic American Dream varies from individual to individual, yet it is one of the most elusive goals of all.

The American Dream started off as propaganda in order to make the American people of the early twentieth century work harder to build a successful economy. The idea of the American Dream is that every American citizen has an equal opportunity of making money along with owning a large house, some land, and having a family with kids. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck illustrates that the American Dream, no matter how simple is impossible to achieve. As everyone has their own interpretation of the American Dream, Steinbeck uses George and Lennie, Crooks, and Curley’s Wife to demonstrate how the American Dream is impossible to achieve and how important the dream was for people so they could carry on with their lives.

The American Dream is prominent within the novel from the varying perceptions of the characters. The Clutter family was perceived to be living the American Dream along with their community. They had the luxury to live a comfortable lifestyle without reliance on anyone but themselves. Capote impeccably captures the contrasting stories of the idyllic family and the flawed murderers and suggests that the American Dream is delicate and requires the corporation of others, but despite the best efforts by some, it is unobtainable. “Always certain of what he wanted from the world, Mr. Clutter had in large measure obtained it,” (Capote 6). Mr. Clutter, a determined man who had worked for the life he envisioned, would have lived a prosperous life on his

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.

America provides opportunity to achieve the American Dream yet so many argue that it is impossible today. The American Dream consists of having opportunity to be someone financially stable and having success in your life. It is a long road to the American Dream with many obstacles on the way. Everyone is given an opportunity to start, with education being free. It is up to the person to decide whether they will continue their education to open more opportunities for their future. The American Dream is a reality that can be achieved today through hard work, self-perseverance and motivation to succeed.

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.

The definition of the American Dream varies from person to person, however, its basic components include a healthy, happy family, a sense of safety and security, and a sufficient amount of money. People from all backgrounds strive to achieve their specific American Dream, however, actually achieving this proves extremely difficult since the nature of the American Dream is often unrealistic, fragile, or elusive. Many artists, authors, and poets use their art to explore or comment on this heavy, complex topic. Specifically, Truman Capote investigates the American Dream through his work of creative nonfiction, In Cold Blood, which centers on the violent murder of a Kansas family in the 1950’s. After interviewing law enforcement officers,

Many people today arrive in the United States of America in pursuit of achieving the American Dream. What is the American Dream, and what does it mean in today 's culture? The term “American Dream” was established since the Great Depression representing Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness; the very values this great nation was founded upon. The Dream was said to be successful if a person worked hard to achieve his/her goals. Even though prior the American Dream has been terminated however, citizens have transform it in terms of personal goals since the 1930s. Author Brandon King describes the American Dream as an, “Opportunity for each according to ability and achievement”(610). The American dream has to do with the concept of achieving success; being able to perform daily tasks to provide a brighter future for a person, and his/her family. Essentially, if you are passionate enough about what you do, success is always possible even with manageable obstacles. Although, hard work is one of the factors in achieving the American Dream, self-motivation has also made an impact. The reality is every citizen has the opportunity of achievement depending on his/her choices, and access to education.

The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.

“May I never wake up from the American dream.” Carrie Latet describes the most sought after dream: the dream of a house surrounded by a white picket fence, the dream people work their entire lives for, the dream people fight wars for: the American dream. However, America’s rise to industrialism in the 19th and 20th centuries replaced this dream with the desire to get rich fast. This change led people to believe that it is possible, common even, to obtain wealth rapidly; yet this is not the case. Sometimes, when an individual is unable to acquire such extreme wealth, he create a sense of false reality for himself, his common sense is blurred, and he sees opportunities where there are none. Characters Walter Lee Younger and Willy Loman are

Though the primary theme of the novel is death, Capote uses this theme tounderscore some of his more subtle points about the American dream.

The American Dream is a concept that is essentially older than the United States, dating back to the seventeenth century. It was then when people began to come up with hopes and aspirations for the newly discovered, unexplored continent. The “American Dream” is in essence the idea in that puts forward the notion that all people can succeed through hard work, that all people have the right to the pursuit of happiness, and be successful. The definition of the American Dream has been expanded upon and redefined over time. The concept of the American Dream has always been debated and put under criticism. There are many that believe the structure of American Society belies the idealistic goal of the American Dream. It points out examples of

Each character in the novel has their own interpretation of the ‘American Dream – the pursuit of happiness’ as they all lack happiness due to the

Since the Declaration of Independence in 1776, Americans believed that the United States is the place for opportunity and all citizens were able to go from nothing to something. Though few people have actually obtained success, citizens continue to cherish the idea that one day they will be acknowledged as one of those few. As the decades changed, so did the objective of the American dream. At first, the American dream was inspired by the desire to be free from an oppressive government. Then at one point, the dream morphed by the people craving to become the “number one man” in a more business-minded fashion. One explanation of the modern American dream could be found in the drama, Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller implements within the drama various characters’ American dreams. This drama reveals the corruption in the process of acquiring the American dream because everyone feels the necessity to be superior, including the main character, Willy. Therefore, in the drama, Death of a Salesman, playwright Arthur Miller utilizes dramatic irony in order to reveal that Willy’s misconception of the American dream and himself. The dramatic irony arises in his demise, his affair, and his success.

America has long been known as the land of opportunity and the idea of the American Dream is rather appealing to most. Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman, addresses the ongoing conflicts within one family. However, he also uses the play to offer an indictment on the American capitalist system, and in it he exposes the potentially harmful and destructive myth built around the American Dream and the struggles to obtain it.