The American Dream Is Everyone 's Dream

The “American Dream,” according to Truslow Adams, is “being able to grow to the fullest development as man and woman.” This ideal is not based on fame or wealth, but on enough to sustain a family and live comfortably, with a steadily rising income and a decent home. It is to be believed that hard work along with the “great equalizer”, education, allows individuals the freedom to determine their own life path, regardless of their background. The idea of the American dream ensures upward social mobility for those dedicated enough to achieve this lifestyle. In spite of that, recent arguments have said that this dream is either dying, or already dead. In his book “Dream Hoarders,” Richard Reeves counters that the American Dream is in fact alive and well, but simply being hoarded by the upper middles class.

A chance to re-establish oneself, an opportunity to earn one’s fair share of wealth, a vision waiting to be created into a reality: The original American dream. Over time these myths surrounding the American dream have altered due to constantly evolving cultures within the United States resulting in newer cultures that are less concerned with one’s “fair share” and more with pure gain. Sadly, today the American dream more closely represents one’s ability to attain materialistic items rather then its previous connotation of equal opportunities for everyone. One example of contemporary use of the American dream includes advertisers incorporating a sense of national entitlement into their sales campaigns in hopes

the “American Dream” a dream that is unreal. The American dream was intended for people of

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.

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 exhibits of the cabin and the wilderness indicates the desire of the settlers building homes out of pure wilderness, using their imagination beyond the stars to achieve and continue to strive and progress. The fresh crisp air invading the Americans to feel free to do the impossible, to dream and believe that the sky is the limit. The Chevy Silverado ad is a representation of what the American spirit is all about and how it has been a huge part in our history. Also, the captivating scenario of the open, empty land background manifests a different timeframe with no technology. The display of the red pickup truck in front persuades the audience to swallow and give into the Silverado, indulging them to believe in the capacity of doing more such as traveling, being able to relocate and explore. It also embarks it by having smarter components which makes it easy to navigate the land, and is strong to hold the impossible. The security blanket that twisted over the audience is into making them feel secured because somehow the trucks components can be related to the logic, and sympathy of a mankind. The components that were assembled into the ad were not vividly specific, but they were definitely tied into American values, which is a representation of the American spirit. The Chevrolet Silverado embodies the mindset of exploring new frontiers with great optimist and

The American Dream as it is defined cannot simply hold true without preservation of it’s ideals. An ideal is maintained by the people. Enjoying the benefits the American Dream promises requires each person to uphold its ideals among his fellows. If this were the case, the original definition might have been preserved. The problem is that other factors kicked in which prioritized wealth and status among people which interfered with the ability of others to pursue the dream. From there, the American Dream gradually changed from hard work to status.

“The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but 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 OL). The American Dream is a dream where a person lives a better, richer, and a fuller life, the American Dreams is not a dream where a person is after material prosperity, such as wealth, fancier cars, lavish homes. There is much more to the American Dream than property, wealth, and a perfect spouse and Jay Gatsby, a character in Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald novel, The Great Gatsby learns about the American Dream the hard way. Jay Gatsby of West Egg, New York was notoriously known for being extremely wealthy. Mr. Gatsby was also recognized by his extravagant parties with more than hundreds of guests. Jay Gatsby was not always known as Jay Gatsby, he was previously known for being James Gatz. Mr. Gatz was not a wealthy person and Gatz left his parents because they were poor and unsuccessful farmers to pursue a dream. James Gatz changed his name

The American Dream is indefinable. There is no one set of words or characteristics that the entire population assigns directly to its definition. With the American population consisting of people of various races, ethnicities, ages, classes, and genders, it seems trivial to even attempt to attribute a single definition to the concept of the American Dream. It is this inability however, to be confined within one single meaning, that allows for the American Dream to govern the desires and goals of the large and diverse American population. And, regardless of all of the heterogeneity within society, the American Dream is generally a goal of all American peoples. In examining this idea, I began to think about the specific meanings attributed to the American Dream for different types of individuals. I broadly outlined the American Dream for myself, to represent the belief in hard work as a pathway to success and raising oneself in society. Consequently, this higher position in society allows for the possession of increased amounts of power. My definition however, neglects to take into account the certain other societal constructs that could possibly have a decisive role in how to both define and achieve the American Dream for the wide variety of people who pursue it.

The capability of all Americans to achieve the American dream is what many believe to have made this country great. Perhaps this is why more immigrants flock to the United States than any other nation, because they view America as “the land of opportunity”, because here anyone can achieve the American dream. Generally, the American dream is the belief that anyone, even one at a low income level, can achieve success and make themselves content if they work hard enough and are determined. Unfortunately, when looking at certain aspects of society, it’s apparent that nothing can be further from the truth. For example, a person can pursue and live the American dream and still be unhappy. Also, the lifestyle that one may live to pursue the American dream can be dehumanizing. Both of these examples are flaws in the American dream that can be seen in the film Fight Club. Furthermore, rising levels of income inequality and the crushing debt people face also shows flaws in the idea of the American dream. When analyzing the evidence, it’s clear that in the modern United States, the American dream is non-existent.

The so-called American Dream is one of the most time-honored and cliché phrases used to describe the conception of the United States. It is commonly used to refer to the notion that anyone can come to this country and, through hard work and sheer will, change his or her fortune and lot in life in a way that other countries simply do not allow people to do. However, it is interesting to see that this popular idea of the American Dream does not necessarily correlate to the perceptions of two authors who wrote about this subject both directly and indirectly, Martin Luther King Jr. in his "I Have A Dream Speech" and J.B. Priestley in "Wrong Isms". In fact, both of these authors view the American Dream through respective lenses in which they do not believe that the promise of the American Dream is coming to fruition. Still, they both utilize similar rhetorical devices to attempt to change their view of what the American Dream has become, which they believe is negative, to what they hope the American Dream will come to be, which is positive, by using an abundance of metaphors, anaphora, and

The idea of the American Dream has been around since America was founded, but until 1933, it was not put into words. In the article American Faces 1933’s Realities, by James Truslow Adams, he defines the American Dream as “ ...a vision of a better, deeper, richer life for every individual, regardless of the position in society which he or she may occupy by the accident of birth” (1). The American Dream does not have to be described as having copious amounts of wealth. To some, it is only a vision of a better life for themselves and their families.

However, we must remember an important fact: our generation of American faces the same wall of hopelessness that stood before those who lived through the Great Depression – and they overcame it. What we can take from them, is that we can succeed if we accept the simple fact that we must do what must be done, even if it isn’t desirable. If we graduate with a degree in fashion marketing and fail to secure employment, we work at a retail store in order to pay rent and get the bills paid. Running around for hours to work in a store takes grit; being underemployed takes gut; learning from experience and applying it to one’s life creates character. And one day, we grow. That in my belief is “the Dream.” For too many versions of “the Dream” equate prosperity to happiness, happiness I feel is not so simple. This makes it seem that the American Dream may always remain tantalizingly out of reach for some Americans, making the dream more like a cruel joke rather than a genuine dream. Perhaps, what our generation needs is to

Many years ago today, the United States of America was the prime example of prosperity and opportunity. It established America with the idea that its citizens would be guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Today, it is true that people have liberties and are free to pursue happiness. However, in recent years, in the worst recession since the Great Depression. Unemployment, growing economy inequality, and medical care have skyrocketed. Despite the odds, the American Dream is still a goal that many people strive for and hope to reach. In fact, an essay written by Brandon King, The American Dream: Dead, Alive or on Hold? He says, “the American dream is a dream in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with the opportunity for each according to his/her ability and achievement…” (King 610-611). Therefore, the problem with the American Dream lies not within the dream itself, but within the means people pursue to attain this dream.

The American Dream can mean different things depending on who is asked. Some will answer it is the freedom of religion, class or race, others will claim it is about the ability to choose where they want to work, what they want to wear, or what’s for breakfast the next day.