The American Dream

    The American Dream is a lifelong objective that many Americans aim for. This Dream is not the same for every person in the United States, and throughout the course of American history, it has changed gradually. From the beginning of time, the dream was to own land and to live off of it, but now it has branched out into so much more.  According to Google Dictionary the American Dream is “the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” This is not always the case because though Americans work for what they have and to be where they are, the American Dream is not always attainable. Some believe that the American Dream is just a dream and sometimes it is, but it can also be a reality. To attain the reality of the “dream” there are obstacles that differ for everyone. Of these challenges are wealth, gender, inequality, race, and social class. The American Dream can remain a dream or become a lifestyle depending on the hard work one is willing to put in.

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.

Imagine if you had almost no money, only had 1 true friend, and one goal that you will do anything to achieve. That's the life of George and Lennie, two farm hands who are about to start working on a ranch in Salinas, California. It seemed like everything was going well for the two of them, or at least they thought it was. Steinbeck argues, throughout Of Mice and Men, that we as humans need to be able to comprehend the fact that the American dream is impossible, so when we fail at that, we won't fall as hard as we might if we had full faith in it, and he develops this stance using diction choices, imagery, and characterization.

In today’s society, one person’s American Dream could result in someone else’s American Nightmare. Of Mice and Men is a story of two men, George and Lennie, working on a farm during the late 1930’s, trying to achieve their own personal American Dreams. John Steinbeck depicts the American Dream in his story, Of Mice and Men, as an unsuccessful adventure, where this idea of failure connects to my perception of the American Dream.

The American Dream is the idea of the United States having an endless opportunity for anyone, regardless of their past, race, beliefs, and their economic life now. In the novel Of Mice and Men written by John Steinbeck, each character was driven to something that they enjoyed or wanted; something they had to work hard for and strive to have it. In the book, many of these objectives were connected to achieve The American Dream. Lennie and George's American Dream is to pursue their ideal life by owning their own ranch, Candy’s dream is to help Lennie and George buy their ranch and become apart of their little group, and Curley’s wife was dedicated to become an actress and live the “big life” in Hollywood. In conclusion, Lennie and George

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is the story about two friends who moved towards the west so that they can find a job and buy a land for themselves in the hard times of Great Depression. The purpose of this essay is to analyze the characters and the idea of American Dream. Main and marginalized characters such as George, Lennie and Curley’s wife will be discussed in connection with the American Dream.

Do you ever wonder at what specific age or phase in an immigrants' life do they start to develop their American Dream compared to a natural born American? Do both dreamers have the same exact dream for themselves? Dreamers often must go through devastating and life-threatening situations to get through the small and big obstacles to achieve The Dream. Eventually, over some period, immigrants and U.S citizens are able to overcome these obstacles and achieve their American Dream. With so many immigrants emigrating to the United States it is safe to say that not everyone holds the same exact American Dream. When an immigrant starts to develop the American Dream, it is often way different than what a natural born citizen's dream may be,

Everyone has an American dream, a belief that represents anyone can carry out a higher quality life through hard labor, and finding happiness at the end. These people work their lives to fulfill a dream that seems impossible, but in the end they either succeed or fail. Despite the odds, people still dive into this idea not knowing how it will end. By taking risks in life, they have a higher chance of achieving this dream of theirs. It ultimately shapes their character and spirit. Stopping at no extent, they make sacrifices to meet their main goal. This dream is put to the test in Steinbeck’s novella, Of Mice and Men, which takes place during the Great Depression causing George and Lennie, mentally disabled friend, to have a hopeless

Throughout the novella “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, a number of themes are developed such as the American dream, friendship, and loneliness. The American dream is developed especially well all through the novella. Right from the start, the reader gets a feeling that the American dream will play a large role in the plot of this story when George and Lennie are being chased, “‘I remember the rabbits, George.’” (4), then developed a little as George tells Lennie about the rabbits “‘With us it ain’t like that. We got a future.’” (14). The theme of the american dream is forgotten towards the middle of the book as other themes are developed, but is picked up later after Lennie kills his mutt on accident and tells Curley’s wife; “‘Coulda been in the movies, an’ had nice clothes…’” (89). The American dream finally ends for George and Lennie in the end, “‘And i get to tendd the rabbits.’ … And George raised the gun and steadies it … He pulled the trigger.” (105-106).

Dreams are meant to be dreamt but are never attained. In the riveting novella of Of Mice and Men, two “bindlestiffs”, George and Lennie (the protagonists), search for a job in Soledad, a small town not too far from Salinas, during the poverty-stricken era of the 1930s. During the 1930s, many “Okies”, unemployed and impecunious migrants from the Midwest, traveled to California in search of a dwelling and an occupation. All of them aspired to be wealthy and have all the fancy goods and chattels in life, but very few could accomplish such a breathtaking endeavor. Throughout the entire novella of Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck conveys a universal message which states that the American dream is simply unachievable. Lennie and Crooks, people

We are all different with different strengths and weaknesses. We live in a country where competition is high but opportunities are distributed in different ways. Does race affect the success of the american dream? The American dream, a goal that makes up the energy of the country, it’s what keeps the people going. In America there is education, a vial source of where you are able to study anything you want and know that you will have a stable future. With different situations people are put it that keeps them from even believing the American dream is possible, is no longer on the table to grasp and create, but to worry about the obstacles they are faced with in the present. Thinking about the future is no longer an option.

In pursuit of the American Dream, the two main characters, George and Lennie, both base their opportunity to just be together in peace and to work as their own boss through this American Dream. Throughout the story the reader can tell that these two are friends, but polar opposites. Once they get a job and save up enough money they will purchase the land that comes with the American Dream. This sounds very similar to the American Dream, living the simple life at their own leisure, with only the essentials. With dramatically different character traits, George, unlike Curley’s wife, has a major disadvantage when getting a job and babysitting Lennie at the same time. Usually a reliable friendship is a great thing, however the relationship between Lennie and George is strong yet inhibiting to George. He soon realizes that success, combined with having to assist someone with a disability, becomes very difficult. The dream that they have is similar to the general dream that most people have as a motivation; thinking they have a future to look forward as stated in this quote. “ ‘With us it ain’t like that. We got a future.’ …. ‘O.K. Someday-we’re gonna get the jack together and we’re gonna have a little house and a couple of acres an’ a cow and some pigs and-’ ‘An live off the fatta the lan,’ Lennie shouted”(14). This is another perspective of the American Dream of owning your own piece of land and living

John Steinbeck’s book Of Mice and Men presents the story of two men trying and struggling to find the “American Dream”. In southern Salinas, California during the 1930’s the main characters Lennie, a giant man with a childlike aura and George, the opposite of Lennie, a small man with strong features are displaced migrant ranch workers, that travel from town to town together in hunt of new work opportunities in the middle of the hardest time in history, The Great Depression. Throughout the novel, George dreams of becoming his own boss, to own his own piece of land, and most importantly to be a "somebody" in life. Lennie, George’s companion and also

The American Dream is an idea that has existed for more than a century as an idea of what we can and should achieve, thanks to the freedoms supplied to us by our government. The first example of this idea appears in our very own Declaration of Independence, where founding father Thomas Jefferson wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”(Jefferson). However, it wasn’t until over 150 years later that Pulitzer Prize winner James Truslow Adams defined The American Dream by stating “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each

When you think of The United States of America what comes to mind? Do you think of the first men on the moon in 1969, or maybe the first cell phone in 1973? When you think of the United States you think of greatness. But hey, every dynasty has there ups and downs, we sure as hell have had our downs, just a little example the Jim Crow laws that started in 1890 and didn’t end until 1965. Some people will say when they think of the United States they think of a new start. Starting with nothing and making something of yourself. They call this the American Dream. The national ethos of the United States is the American Dream. A place where we have democracy (even though we don’t live in a democracy, we live in a republic), a place where we have