The American Dream

Comedian George Carlin once stated, “That’s why they call it the American Dream, because you have to be asleep to believe it.” Financial security, freedom to live how one chooses, retiring at 65 and living comfortably in old age, owning a home, knowing that working hard pays off: these are all fundamental beliefs tied to the American Dream. As newer generations are increasingly finding the dream to be unrealistic, people are beginning to abandon the concept; however it is still a very present ideology. While many believe the American Dream is a lively goal that everyone strives to achieve, it is actually a dying illusion that is unattainable for all but the wealthiest and used to propagate a classist society, causing a cycle of ignorance

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.

Years ago, the United States of America was the prime example of prosperity and opportunity. In recent years, in the worst recession since the Great Depression, unemployment and interest rates have skyrocketed. The “American Dream” is an idea that was once a commonly accepted ideology in this country. It has since become only a fallacy. The “American Dream” is no longer an attainable idea, only a fantasy. The “American Dream” is not a true dream that will ever be equally attainable by everyone.

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

The American Dream- The human race’s tasks in the United States for what they strive for, for ourselves and our families and even for each other to achieve a grand satisfaction with the life we all lead. When any student or young person first hears the American dream they assume it is only but one thing until they learn it is a phrase meaning said person’s personal goal given possibility by freedom. The student will then cultivate and mull over their end goal for life. The goal is almost never the same and can range from the extreme like pro mountain skier/fighter pilot or be nice and quaint like owning a little family business or opening a bakery with your significant other in a small town. No matter what you choose I’ll be the one to tell these stories with a camera and a talented writer.

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

For decades, the idea of homeownership has become synonymous with that of the American Dream. In order to encourage Americans to pursue this dream, the United States federal government has created a bevy of programs that subsidize homeownership, including mortgage loan insurance provided through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), government sponsored enterprises such as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) that increase the money available for lending, and the home mortgage interest deduction.

The American Dream is the number one goal in America. It is believed that anybody in America can become famous or successful, own a large house and fancy cars, and have equal freedom and justice. The biggest wrecker to this Dream is consumerism. Consumerism creates a dyadic relationship between buyers and business owners. Business owners use advertisements, strategic planning, and focus on a particular audience in order to get closer to the American Dream. This causes the buyers to be pushed even further from the American Dream, and simultaneously the business owners get even closer.

The American Dream is the ideal of every citizen of The United States having equal opportunity to prosper through willpower and initiative. As quoted by Feldman and Steenbergen, “Americans believe that people should take responsibility for solving their own problems. At the same time, problems are sometimes too large for a single individual to solve, and when this is the case it is a moral right to ask for help and a moral duty to provide it” (660). This considered, take the situation of an employed single parent using government assistance to temporarily accommodate for the basic living needs. Is it possible that egalitarianism remains existent in a situation such as this? Or is it that humanity itself is so overtaken by the idea that

The ‘American Dream” has historically been one of the driving concepts in what success was supposed to look like in America. Many individuals and families from all over the world migrant to America simply because of this picture perfect “promise” of success and happiness. The “house with the white picket fence” mentality has been wildly spread throughout our society and as a result, a misconception about America has been created.

The American dream; it has a certain ring to it that gives us a touch of pride somewhere deep inside. We gravitate towards thinking we live in the greatest country worldwide and although we cooperate with others like Canada, we consider ourselves to have the best of everything. We do not openly boast about how many millions of Americans struggle daily to remain afloat in many ways nationwide. Hitting rock bottom and having bills to pay on top of normal responsibilities like families can be so much pressure it can make a person desperate. The stigma and biased held toward people receiving benefits from welfare programs gives a sense of embarrassment and they struggle to either find work entirely or they take positions that are underpaid. Mark Robert Rank tells us, “In general, recipients work at jobs similar to those they held in the past- positions requiring semi-skilled or unskilled labor, paying low wages, lacking benefits, and usually part-time” (119). Americans as a whole are far more wealthy than other countries and we hear constantly about other countries that are starving or sick. In our own country we have similar problems and sometimes a blind eye is turned because it is not an admirable subject. Moreover, we look at the stereotypical person on welfare as a menace to society when in truth, some are struggling due to lack of proper work and to help them would be a great asset to the United States. The majority of people utilizing welfare programs have

The meaning of the "American Dream" has changed over the course of history, and includes both personal components (such as home ownership and upward mobility) and a global vision. Historically the Dream originated in the mystique regarding frontier life. As the Royal Governor of Virginia noted in 1774, the Americans "for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled". He added that, "if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west. The German emigrant comes into a country free from the despotism, privileged orders and monopolies, intolerable taxes, and constraints in matters of belief and conscience. Everyone can travel and

The American Dream, the dream of opportunity, the chance to carve out the life most desired and most prosperous for the individual. This dream, the once great aspiration for all red white and blue ruffians regardless of background- racial or economical- has always existed with a degree of falsehood- at least for the majority of Americans. In times of great crisis it has been rallied behind, serving the communal need to move forward for something, anything . But despite protecting it, from harsh winters and gunfire, from powers foreign and abroad, this faux hope has done little for even the best citizens of this great nation. The American Dream exists as an almost entirely false promise, whilst some still have a decent shot at this alluring

Dan Rather, a journalist and news anchor for the CBS Evening News states that “[a] college degree is the key to realizing the American dream, well worth the financial sacrifice because it is supposed to open the door to a world of opportunity.” There are many different paths to the American Dream. Two paths that people can use to reach the American dream are to go straight to a university after high school or transferring to a university after two years at a community college. The main differences in going to a university and transferring to a university from a community college to reach the American dream are campus life, cost, and graduation/transfer rates.

America is the place where dreams become possibilities. Known as being the land of the free and the home of the brave. America is the place where you live out your American Dream. This dream is ultimately influenced by American culture, which is driven by wealth.