The American Dream Still Alive Analysis

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.

The “American Dream” is overrated. Let’s just face it, it is dead. Not only is this a dream that is almost lusted after by many Americans, this is a widely desired illusion that is far out of reach for most working class people. The American Dream is more than the lifestyle of white picket fences that hold backyard barbecues with your neighbors. It’s earning a living wage that creates a comfortable quality of life, having the security of retirement, and giving your children the opportunity to live a successful life.

What is the American Dream? Is it home ownership, gaining fame or wealth, having a great family or is it gaining a peace of mind? Many people have different versions of what the American Dream is, some people believe the dream is lost, and some people are right in the middle and still believe the American Dream is still alive. “The American Dream” by Brandon King debates about what the true state is left in the American Dream now. Throughout the essay, King asks if the American Dream is dead, alive, on hold or just changing due to economic hardship. King believes that the American Dream is still alive even though there are people who believe it's not, and is defined today as the ability to work hard, plan for the forthcoming and have a

In the articles, “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold by Brandon King, the author argues his opinions on the American dream and how it still alive and attainable, although he realizes that the dream is not the same as it was before. At the time King wrote this article, he was a student at the University of Cincinnati in 2011, three years after the stock market crash in 2008. With the timing of the stock market crashing, this gave King the idea of writing about the American dream and how it is today. When the article was published in the college book “They say, I say” we the reader saw that King redefined the American Dream as "the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future." Replacing what he described

David Kamp's 2009 Vanity Fair article "Rethinking the American Dream" focuses on the general perception of the ‘American Dream’ and how it has evolved throughout our nation’s history. It clearly states that as the average American household's lifestyle has become more and more consumer-oriented, the original spirit that invigorated and united its people from the age of western expansion to the Great Depression has begun to fade. The dream has been dampened as the vision of "success" has become more focused on gaining material/getting rich quick, rather than working hard all throughout one’s life to attain what they want and desire.

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 started as a belief that anyone could come to the U.S. from any background, any economic profile, and find work. They could work hard, earn a living, and achieve happiness and financial security. In The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold by Brandon King, the author quotes a line from a New York Times survey that states “… Americans still believe that it is possible to start poor, work hard, and become rich in America” (Seelye, 2009). This quote perfectly embodies what the American Dream used to mean to people. The quote is from 2009 as well, so even seven years ago people had this opinion. It also states that when American’s were asked what the American Dream refers to, most of them said something like “financial security” or “being able to retire without struggling”. It

Throughout the essay “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” King conveys a stern argument that the American dream is in fact still alive. He begins the essay by explaining what exactly the American dream is and what position it should hold in our lives today. King states, “I would redefine the American Dream today as the potential

The article “Hidden from Reality,” written by Bob Herbert, talks about how the “American Dream” is gone, but society is still going on believing in it. As a response to Herbert’s article, Cal Thomas writes an article called “Is the American Dream Over?” Thomas agrees and disagrees with the views of Herbert. One interpretation Thomas agreed with, from Herbert’s article, was that the American society is becoming a “hapless, can’t-do society.” Herbert’s idea to resurrect the American dream is for the government to spend more money on public schools and bettering jobs for the working citizens of America. Thomas believes that, to bring back the American Dream, the government should cut taxes, spending, and government regulations; allowing the people to freely live the American dream.

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.

In the article “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” Brandon King states that even though The Great Recession had a huge effect on the nation’s economy and each person’s life, he believes that the American Dream is still living, and it is a significant solution of recovering the economy. King begins his article by providing two contrasting ideas of the American Dream, which are about the existence of it or not. Then, he continues to give the new definition of the phrase “The American Dream,” known as having comfort and security instead of working hard to achieve success. The author goes on to write about the fragile economy nowadays, and he believes that the economy is having a hard time to recover because of difficulties from the Great Recession: the price of housing goes down, people get jobs slowly, and it is not easy to get money immediately. After making note of this, King continues to discuss that the government’s solution currently does not work for everyone. He states that the result of raising minimum wage does not help poorer become richer. Furthermore, King agrees that we should plan by saving more and enacting policies that sustain economic growth that will keep the American Dream alive. After reading this article, my point of view is opposite with the author’s idea that the American Dream nowadays does not exist like before the Great Recession happened, which was in 2008. It is shown through the debt of new graduated students

America. Land of opportunity and freedom. Home of the American dream. But, is it all still real? Is the American dream still possible or is it just that?

Nowadays, many Americans wonder if the American Dream is still alive. At one point in our country, people felt that they could achieve success by working hard. However, after the economic hardships and recession of the 21st century, a number of Americans not only lost income, but some also lost their jobs. Although there has been slow progression to improve the economy, there are those who question whether or not the dream of Americans can ever be achieved again. With unemployment levels still high and salaries failing to increase, there certainly is doubt in most of Americans. In his essay, Brandon King formulates ways to redefine and change the way to look at the American dream. After analyzing King’s essay, one can see his view as believing that the dream is still very much intact. As he points out, the American economy is a very complex system that has had downfalls, but there is always a way to get back up from it. Regardless of your economic status (poor or middle class), if one has a working job, it is possible to succeed based on how much someone is willing to work to achieve their goals. As King would agree, the American dream is not only still alive and well, but anyone can reach success.

In Obama’s speech during the 2004 Democratic National Convention he said that there's “more to do for the young women in East St. Louis, and thousands more like her, who have the grades, have the drive, have the will but doesn’t have the money to go to college”. Obama describes how money is not easily accessible for people who have the mentality to work hard to reach their American Dream. Although, this may be true this does not mean most American Dreams are not achievable. In the article, “Is the American Dream Still Possible”, they surveyed more than 2,200 Americans who were in the middle class and found that, “Most of those surveyed described themselves as married and having a family. More than 64% say that they are employed full-time or part time”.

If the American dream means having a reasonable rate of income growth, unfortunately most people won’t achieve it. According to Ben Casselman ,“The middle class hasn’t seen its wage rise in 15 years. In fact, the percentage of middle-class households in this nation is actually falling. Median household income has fallen since the financial crisis of 2008, while income for the wealthiest of Americans has actually risen.” As the wealthy get richer the people below them continue to struggle more and more. Thomas Edsall wrote in the New York Times that,“Not only has the wealth of the very rich doubled since 2000, but corporate revenues are at record levels.” Edsall also observed that, “In 2013,, corporate profits rose five times faster than wages.” To top that off inequality also pushes against the American Dream. Around the 1940-1970 working people earned more than their parents, however studies have shown that this number has lowered significantly. Most of the studies have found that most of this change