The American Dream

Does being American mean that you’re an American citizen, or does it mean that you have the same rights and decisions as someone who is a successful American citizen? These decisions include choices you make in order to better yourself in life, whether it has to do with your choice in career, or what you want to do in life. Making decisions, and having choices comes with freedom, as a person, and that reflects on being an American everywhere in the world, even though you’ve never been in America. To be an American means that you have the freedom, and rights to do what you want, be who you are, and be/ become who you want. This right of having the freedom to do what you want, can be elaborated by someone’s life chances.

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 that any man or woman, despite of his or her background, can change their circumstances and rise as high as they are willing to work” (Fabrizio Moreira). For many years, men and women struggled to achieve the idealistic life of living on independent terms. Many characters in Of Mice and Men work in order to pursue and achieve the American Dream that consisted of having their own house and income. Characters in the book may use that dream to help the overcome their life struggles and personal problems. Of Mice and Men tells the story of two friends, George and Lennie, who find themselves on a ranch in pursuit of their dreams. Unfortunately for them, circumstances beyond their control cost Lennie and George their dream and much more. In Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck portrays how dreams create a false sense of hope in order to cover up the realities of life through George, Curley’s wife, and Candy.

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.

The ideal that every citizen of the United States should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. That is the definition of the “American Dream”, but the way it is interpreted changes from generation to generation. As stated in the prompt a big portion of the “American Dream” is one day being successful enough to purchase your own house, or at least that is how the Baby Boomers interpreted it. Millennials are now taking over and a lot of them do not have the same view.

If you were to ask anyone about what they thought was “the American dream” most of them would say something along the lines of a movie themed in the 50’s. A nuclear family, living in a house with red shutters and a blue door, the house is an astounding off white, there is a white picket fence around the house and the grass is cut to perfection. The family stands outside on their lawn playing tag with the family golden retriever, drinking lemonade or an ice-cold tea and the father is grilling something while laughter fills the air. If the American dream was this cookie cutter life everything would be much simpler. Instead the American dream is a social construction. Everyone has learned to believe this American dream and instead of refuting it, we play along. In recent years, we have seen that this version of the dream has changed from the cookie cutter life to just a life of equality. In an idealistic world, we would get to have both but we live in imperfection. While the dream of the house has carried over some, it is just not realistic in this time and that is why it is slowly dying out with the millennial age and morphing into a new being. Millennials would like to own a home, but with the economic standpoint of limited jobs to those without education and education being extremely overpriced, it is an impossible dream. The workplace has started to make It that only people with masters or bachelor’s degrees can get good paying jobs, otherwise you’re getting $12.00 an hour.

Following the Reconstruction Era, from 1877 to 1920, the United States of America was undergoing industrial, political and social change. The United States industrialized, with sweeping technological developments bringing the country into the “modern era”. During this time, the country faced many challenges due to its “Open Door Policy” that led to the largest influx of immigration the country had ever seen. Also, African-Americans struggled to attain the freedoms brought about by the passage of new laws and amendments and Native Americans faced relocation to reservations. Ultimately during this Gilded Age, the poor grew poorer and faced a life of hardship and drudgery while the rich grew richer and seemingly lived an easier life. As a result, the “American Dream” was unattainable for most. At the heart of the American Dream is the idea that all citizens are born with equal rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that all citizens can feel secure in knowing the government, of the people, will work together to protect these rights and secure justice. None of these values were upheld for the citizens of the United States from 1877-1920. African-American citizens were deprived of their human and democratic rights. Furthermore, justice for African Americans was non existent as southern states devised loopholes to keep them serving a life of servitude. Native Americans were deprived of their human rights and security because the government prioritized

The American Dream is something that should be for anyone who wants to achieve success, and prosperity through the hard work and determination. According to Webster Dictionary, immigration is the act of moving to another country which is not their native to live there permanently. Many people from all over the world are suffering from hunger, having a polluted country and suffering poverty before you want to be selfish think about all those people who wish to have one fourth of what we all have in America and to be part of the El Dorado where people do not suffer a lot as other countries. Several people from all over the world specially form third world countries that are in war try so hard to complete the Odyssey to the United States for a better life where their dreams can come true. Immigrants who make it to the United States face many discriminations which makes their life harder and difficult. Now those immigrants, how many call them are teachers, doctors, dentists, engineers, and many more occupations and their contributions have a great impact in United Sates. Not only does Mexicans try to come to America to complete their dream come for example also Canadians, Syrians, Cubans and Indians as many other more. Every year more and more immigrants are coming in to United States. The immigrants who crosses the boarder with the hope for a better life have come to be successful at achieving their American Dream and the United States is rapidly increasing their population due

The American dream is a subjective idea that can mean money and fame for some or just the idea of freedom to others. What we believe is our path to reach this dream determines whether or not we are blinded by corporations’ image of the “American Dream”. Corporation’s main goal is to subtly coerce consumers into believing in the corporate world’s idea of the “American Dream”. They accomplish this by placing consumer’s into general categories which depicts how they will consume and place them in a cycle of false-consciousness which ultimately leads to the circulation of money within the rich and the stunting of the poor’s “hope” and possibility to obtain a better life. The barrier that stops low class citizens from advancing creates a “new primitive” society in which everyone blindly participates in the “norm” and becomes stuck in time.

The American Dream: Is it fact or fiction? In the United States’ Declaration of Independence, the founding fathers set forth the idea of an American Dream by providing the American people with the recognizable phrase “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness” (USHistory.org). The green light at the end of Daisy Buchanan’s dock symbolizes Jay Gatsby’s “pursuit of Happiness” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, set in the 1920s on Long Island, New York (Fitzgerald, F. Scott). The American Dream is defined as “the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American Dream is achieved through

The American Dream is a concept that has been wielded in American Literature since its beginnings. The ‘American Dream’ ideal follows the life of an ordinary man wanting to achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The original goal of the American dream was to pursue freedom and a greater good, but throughout time the goals have shifted to accumulating wealth and high social status. Deplorable moral and social values have evolved from a materialistic pursuit of happiness. In “Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity”, Roland Marchand describes a man that he believed to be the prime example of a 1920’s man. Marchand writes, “Not only did he flourish in the fast-paced, modern urban milieu of skyscrapers, taxi

Throughout the United States, many people, unique as they may be, have one goal and want that is the same. For lots of those individuals, that goal is just to get around the immense amount of challenges that one day brings upon them. For many, they will do whatever it takes to provide financially for themselves and or their family, in an attempt to build supportable and desirable lives. This concept is known as the American Dream. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s, Nickled and Dimed and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is an everlasting concept that is perceived differently by both of the book’s main characters. Although these two pieces of writing were written in different eras, the characters actions about the American Dream

Throughout the vast country that is the United States, many people, unique as they are, have one common goal and want that is the same. For lots of those individuals, that goal is just to get around the immense amount of challenges that one day brings upon them. For many, they will do whatever it takes to provide financially for themselves and or their family, in an attempt to build supportable and desirable lives. This concept is known as the American Dream. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s, Nickled and Dimed and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, the American Dream is an everlasting concept that is perceived differently by both of the book’s main characters. Although these two pieces of writing were written in different eras, the characters