The American Dream To Me Analysis

The American dream has changed drastically thru our history. Back in the 1950 and 1960 the American dream was to have the house with the white picket fence and the 2 ½ kids. Now the dream for a lot of people is to be able to pay their bills and maybe have enough money to go out for a nice little dinner that you did not have to cook yourself. The American dream is dead, it is because the concept has changed from the idea that everyone can improve their life through hard work to the idea that everyone can become a millionaire through virtually no work. The United State at one point used to have everything you needed to make this dream happen. But since jobs have been moving over sees we have lost all of that. The American Dream is so

The American dream, for most people, is exactly that – A dream. It’s make believe, fiction. It’s what we think American should be like, not what it actually is. The American dream will always be out of reach for common people. The majority of people I interviewed said something along the lines of, “the American dream is to be given a chance to do something or be something you want to be.” This opinion seems to be too optimistic. Everyone wants more than what they have. It’s not enough to be given the chance, you have to succeed. What it takes to succeed is an entirely different aspect of the American dream.

“However you want to define the American dream, there is not much of it that’s left anymore”-Bob Herbert. The American Dream has existed for centuries; however, for some Americans, the dream is already dead. People hope for a better future, but it is difficult when they aren’t given a chance to strive. I believe the American Dream is not achievable to everyone and is slowly drifting away.

Everybody has a different perspective on what the American dream is. From my view, the American dream is the opportunity for anyone to accomplish their goals and obtain prosperity by working hard. I believe to some degree the American dream is still alive but it isn’t as uncomplicated as before. In Paul Krugman’s “Confronting Inequality”, it’s obvious that he believes the American dream is dead because of the ongoing inequality in society (pages 561-562). While in Brandon King’s “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold”, considers the American dream to be very much alive (page 610). King believes most people do not strive for a rags-to-riches transition instead they prefer a healthy middle class positon.

Behind any reality lies a dream. The American Dream is an ever evolving concept, that every person has an equivalent chance at being successful and content. It has become a conflicting idea with people disagreeing over the possibility of actually attaining it. There are those who take a pessimistic outlook and refuse to believe that there’s more to life than what they set out to accomplish. They live in a negative dream-like state where there own cynicism prevents them from reaching and achieving their dream.

The American Dream, in a sense, is fundamentally the most important ideal when observing the history and growth of this country. The American Dream can be defined by “Dictionary.com1” as “a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S.” As discussed in class, the stereotypical “American Dream” can be traced back to the 1920’s; A time where an average American would be exposed to opportunities of astronomical proportions, and be offered a chance to rise to a position of personal economic wealth. But clearly with a large majority of the population in such disbelief and turmoil it poses the question, is it still in the people's best interest to keep a principle alive that itself is being put

“I think the American Dream for the average man doesn’t exist any more,”. In the article Defining the American Dream, it states that a family from Sweden in the 1920’s moved to America for economic opportunity. The father was not smart enough to go to college and still made a stable income for his family. “I don’t think a young person -- woman or man -- coming out of high school now could ever achieve that.” Jobs have changed dramatically with the income without a college degree and the decreasing chances of finding a career you majored in for college. Also college has become more expensive and harder to get into. The American Dreams concept was originated during the Great Depression. During that time the only way was to look at the future positively, still having hope and optimism about the future. However today the American Dream is often only believed in by those who have already attained it. A quote ending the article “The question for this country is, can the dream be restored? And if it can’t, what does it mean for our identity as Americans?” Living in America, it’s often viewed as make the best way of living possible. But there are obstacles that block that road of success. Watching the republican debate on tv, the American Dream was brought up by Donald Trump. “A lot of people say the American Dream is dead. But the American Dream, I’m going to bring it back bigger, better, and

The American dream is an ideology that has been around, known, and praised for a long time. It is an aspiration many long to achieve and protect with their lives. A story that has been written out for us and embed in our minds. As children, we begin school and are taught the pledge of allegiance and how important it is for everyone to take a moment to praise and thank what the nation for what it has to offer. We rise and hold this belief to our hearts looking upon the flag representing our nation. We grow up believing that we are the privileged ones who have the opportunity of liberty and justice for all. Glorifying what it means to be an American, convincing us that we can all have an opportunity to even be President thus creating a fixed mindset of paradise. Therefore, serving the American dream as an expectation rather than as stimuli; created only for a narrow group of people exposing the realization that only a few have the privilege to acquire the dream. America is a “new nation” an experiment founded on change and beliefs (Beach 148). A nation, our founders believed could be different and gift people with individuality, hopes, and enlighten them with the American dream. A dream brought from desperate times, providing motivation for many even until this day.

The United States of America has always been known as a country that provides the equal opportunity for all individuals to fulfill their dreams. The wonderful aspect about the dream is that, it can be defined in many ways. For some Americans, the dream may be the perfect family and the white picket fence home. For others it may be being successful in their profession or simply being able to travel the world. Through the years “The American Dream” has gone through many changes as the people have evolved. The environment that we live in today has been

The American Dream today is not as vague or mystical as it use to be. Today, the American Dream cannot be achieved by everyone with different viewpoints and backgrounds but instead, it is achieved only when society says you have achieved it. You don’t hear about homeless people being happy or see people in poverty on the news making speeches and smiling. As degrading and demanding as those living conditions are, some people are in fact happy or

Fitzgerald demonstrates flashback through Jay Gatsby by associating him to self-identity and the American dream. The American Dream is known as a personal happiness and comforted by material things. Gatsby’s goal was to gain respect, to have a known reputation of wealth. He filled his days with big festive parties. Gatsby’s identity was once hidden, in his young days Gatsby did not know what he wanted to accomplish. When he was a teen he met a man named Dan Cody. He made Gatsby the man he became; he told him how to dress, and how to approach people. He taught Gatsby everything that he knew. Gatsby wasn’t looking to have a good time; he was looking for his true love, Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby dream would soon turn into a nightmare.

“The American Dream” means many different things to many different people. Immigrants might think of just freedom as “The American Dream”. Then there are people that live in America that just think they’re “oppressed” and think of “not being oppressed”, religious freedom/general rights. I could go on for hours about the possibilities of the “American Dream.”

The American Dream is hope. Hope that we can live comfortably and not paycheck to paycheck. Hope that we can afford a few luxuries in return for the fruits of our labor. Some people are lucky enough to inherit the American Dream and others that were born in poverty will never see the American Dream. Americans live on hope and dreams and set their goals with the promise to do better than past generations. Today’s generations face a much different world than their parents did. Even though technology, imported labor and outsourcing jobs overseas produces inexpensive goods and services, personal wealth, and fat profits for companies; it’s at the cost of lost wages and American jobs getting displaced or sold out

Once, the American Dream was about being able to achieve what made you happy. Mindsets have change. Due to written records (laws) one has the right to be equal as any other American and although it is not fully in practice many lack to acknowledge this. The simplicity of being equal is not a goto thought, power and money seems to make you equal to everyone else. Though ironic, many worry about what they have, material wise, than what they get, as in respect, equality, chance, etc. or obtain them by showing off what they own. The once practical American Dream has changed due to materialistic things becoming more important than the respect of being equal, happiness is found through the amount of money one makes, and one strives towards being seen as more, than to be satisfied with what one has achieved thus far.

Abraham Lincon once said, “America will never be destroy from the outside if we falter and lose our freedoms. It will be because we destroy ourselves.” The American Dream is the idea of Americans having an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. The ideals of rights, liberty, and equality in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success. In today’s society, people believe it is still alive. According to “American Dream is not dead” by Jessica Dickler, she states, “...63 percent of Americans believe they are living the American Dream...More Americans also credit determination and hard work as the most important success factors in their financial well-being than in the report's recent history.” Others say that the American Dream is fading away from its actual purpose. In the source, “African American and the American Dream” by Anna Johnson ahe states, “Until there is an end to racism and everyone is viewed as equals, the American Dream will never truly exist.”As of today, the American Dream is dying because of the President of the United States is not offering fair oppurtunities towards people, he is not giving the liberty they deserve, and he is being racist.