The American Dream : The Flaws Of The American Dream

We have all heard of this intense rollercoaster ride that we are on called the American Dream. The term was coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931 defining it as “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Since it’s arrival, the Dream has evolved from a pursuit towards “freedom, mutual respect, and equal opportunity” (Shiller) to later one of greed described by Shiller as being “excessively lustful about homeownership and wealth” beginning in the 1960s. Traditionally, the American Dream included features of a nuclear family, that is one with a breadwinning father, a housewife, and two kids, owning a white picket fence home, thriving without financial worries, and a happy family. There has been a shift in focus for the Dream caused by the Millennial generation and in turn they have included features that place an emphasis on equality in all aspects of their lives from family life to the workplace placing their own twist on the Dream. The American Dream has evolved over time to include equal opportunities, college education, and happy family.

What is American Dream? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? Although we all have the same ideology of what the definition of what the American Dream is, we can all come up with a different meaning, each one more personal to ourselves than to others. As we will see with the help of three different authors, regardless of age, race, sexuality, religion, or social status, we could possibly agree on the idea of the American Dream falling short and being a false sense of reality for many Americans to this day.

The American Dream, an idea of what it truly means to be an American in some respects. For many, it is the idea of starting from nothing and making something to look back on in your later years and be proud of what you’ve done. For many in the generations before the millennial generation, the ideal was to graduate college, get married, get a house, and raise a family. For many millennials, this has changed with one key difference. That difference is the importance of having their own house. This was brought about by many factors including the economy, political ideology, and sustainability.

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.

Research conducted by Sandra L. Hanson and John Zogby concerning shifting attitudes toward the American Dream states, “lack of thrift, effort, ability, motivation, and self-control are the most popular explanations for poverty among Americans” (Hanson 571). Such explanations demonstrate the growing issues that help to create the darkness of the American Dream. In placing such an emphasis on achieving success, the American Dream belittles those unable to achieve it and allows no room for failure. Though some individuals may work hard their entire lives, they may never find the material success that others such as Ben or Charley do. Even in the case of characters who have worked their entire life, such as Willy, the lack of tangible, material success creates a false idea that they did not do enough or did not work hard enough. Concerning Willy’s career and life, Ben states, “What are you building? Lay your hand on it. Where is it?” (Miller 1271). This statement pushes the misconstrued idea that whatever success one has achieved needs to be tangible and seen, which is not always the case. It can be argued that by the end of his life, Willy had found success. Linda’s proclamation that they were “free and clear” after having finally paid off the mortgage furthers this argument (Miller 1298). Out of debt, and with the comfort of a devoted wife and loving sons, Willy had achieved a life that many can only dream. However, because he and others do not recognize love and happiness as

     While there are numerous themes throughout the text of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the most prominent is that of the American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that any person, no matter what he or she is, or from where he or she has come, can become successful in life by his or her hard work; it is the idea that a self-sufficient person, an entrepreneur, can be a success. In this novel, however, it is the quest for this ‘dream’ (along with the pursuit of a romantic dream) that causes the ultimate downfall of Jay Gatsby.

The main theme of the novel “The Great Gatsby” focuses on the American Dream and it is portrayed through the life of Jay Gatsby. Through Gatsby’s life we see the withering of the American Dream, a tragedy that struck Jay’s near finished dream. The American Dream is what many have hoped of achieving, it has existed in the past and is in the present. The American Dream gives people a goal that they can work towards, it also gives them a purpose in life. The American Dream represents luxury and wealth it believes the goodness of the quality of life. For Jay Gatsby, he was so close to achieving the American Dream. He had the wealth and the class, all he needed was his long lost love, Daisy. Gatsby truly believed that he

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.”(quoted in “In Search of the American Dream”) For some, Truslow Adam’s definition of the American Dream leaves out the reality of how one’s socioeconomic status, on average, determines one’s wealth in American society. History shows that people born without certain privileges can’t ascend the figurative ladder to success with ease like their counterparts. Among these privileges were generational wealth and being White. A time when this was most evident was the 1920s: a time of mass spending, lavish lifestyles, and materialistic attitudes. Literary works like “In Search of the American Dream” by Jonas Clark, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and “One Christmas Eve” by Langston Hughes, show how the roaring culture of the 1920s caused an economic boom which widened the gap between the rich and the middle class, making it even more difficult for the majority of Americans to attain a sense of social and financial security. By the 1920s, the American Dream begins to lose its inclusive message and transform into an exclusive one in where one’s socioeconomic status mainly determines if one attains the Dream.

The United States is known as “The land of opportunity”, but does the country still live up to its name as the land of opportunity, for all? The American dream is one the main reasons many choose to move to the United States in hopes of gaining a better life not only for themselves but for their children. But with so many people striving to achieve their dream, the playing field has become more and more competitive making the dream a complete nightmare to achieve. From getting into colleges for degrees to obtaining desired job positions, moving up the social ladder has become a more strenuous task than ever before. This American dream has become more of an impossible dream because of income inequality and opportunity shortages from

The American Dream is originally about the discovery of happiness, but by the 1920s, this dream has become perverted into this desire for wealth by whatever means; mistaken that money will bring happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald does not use the words “American Dream” in the novel, The Great Gatsby, but it

In 1931, James Truslow Adams built the foundation of the modern American Dream when he said, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” Over the past century, people have been striving to achieve the rich and prosperous life that Truslow refers to in hopes that they find happiness. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. While wealth is often equated with happiness and security; however, The Great Gatsby and Into the Wild illustrate that searching for happiness through the acquisition of material wealth is chasing an illusion, because amorality and corruption often follow wealth. Jay Gatsby, Chris McCandless, and Tom Buchanan exemplify the misconceptions of the American Dream, because they are unhappy despite their material wealth.

In an average day, an American is exposed to over 3000 advertisements, (Kilbourne). Whether they want to admit it or not, they are drawn toward them. A common scheme of the advertisers is to allow the consumer to “picture the new them.” Whether this be a wealthier them, a skinner them, or a prettier them, they gear there product towards every person and want everyone be able to connect with the advertisement and picture the “new them.” American Idol, Nutrisystem, and The Biggest Loser, the lottery, and many other “products” promote that anyone has the chance to be famous, fit, or fortunate. The successes from these “products” present themselves as they were before, with the sob story that hopefully touches a nerve with

Is the American Dream available to everyone? In Tattoos on the Heart, by Gregory Boyle, describes the insecurity of gangs, violence, father wound, and crisis that the prisoners went through when they got out of jail. Boyle runs Homeboy Industries that's located in the Boyle Heights neighborhood in Los Angeles, which was made to help gangs, and fresh out of prison parolees who want to improve their lives. They are not able to get jobs because their appearance gained financial and family insecurity. “Just assume the answer to every question is compassion” (Boyle 62). Having compassion was a way to have faith and not give up regardless of all the disgrace a person went through. Boyle addresses the problem of growing up around violence and not being able to attain jobs by claiming that everyone in the U.S should be treated the same regardless the situation.

America is classified as a large melting pot for those seeking asylum from impoverished economic conditions in their native countries. The poem “The New Colossus” inscribed on the statue of liberty reads, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door” (Lazarus). The United States has been a nation to welcome the poor, the hungry and provide them with a better life. The dream of a better life that has been coined the American Dream. The American Dream has a lot of misconceptions and fallacies. Immigrants who come to this country, work, fighting for a false notion of success. Immigrants find hardship and alienation upon arrival instead of acceptance and success. The American dream is forgotten and instead a battle for survival is started, often one that is measured between the gaps of paychecks. Days are spent working 12 hour or more, often six or seven days a week. The fallacy of the American Dream is described and shown in the semiotics of the film “Mi Familia”. Using the method developed by Kuntzel, the film can be analyzed to read how the American Dream fails to become a reality for a Mexican-American family. Meaning derived surrounding the analysis of a couple critical signs in the film. The corn, the bridge, the owl, and Chucho himself are signs that root the film. The dynamic of the family plays a role in the

Every person has their own aspiration of what makes life worthwhile. In the United States, some would argue that these aspirations are referred to the American dream. The American dream is the ability of hard-working people to achieve a good and successful life for themselves and their families. It is the dream that achievable by all regardless of one’s faith, color and ethnicity. The Crash movie, however, directed by Paul Haggis demonstrates the disillusionments of the American dream. The movie reveals how one’s religious and ethnic background do in fact act as barriers to a decent life. And that bigotry in the American society diminishes the American dream.