The Crucible: The American Dream

Two words that inspire much conversation, thought, and even tension are the words American Dream. What is it? How do we achieve it? Is it even possible? Back when our country was first founded, the idea of the American Dream was people looking for a “new life” would come America to gain more opportunity. A very important document to our nation is the Declaration of Independence. This document highlights the concept of the American Dream when it declares, “All men are created equal” and also when it states the inalienable rights of each man are, “ life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” Equality, life liberty and happiness are significant points in the dream every American seeks to achieve.

Despite it not having a name until 1931, since the birth of our nation, there has been a concept of the American Dream. That is, that any person regardless of circumstances of birth can become successful through hard work and persistence, regardless of where they came from. Despite many arguments on whether that’s achievable or not, it continues to be a persistent topic in American culture. As such, the American Dream can be seen though literature, which often is a lens into life during the time of its writing. It would make sense, then, to chronicle the appearance of the American Dream through literature, making a timeline of changes in the definition and opinion of the American Dream and gaining insight into how it should be approached today.

Many of famous figures in our society’s past have spoken their minds about the American Dream, for each and every one of those minds, are a different response. J. G. Ballard once spoke of his American Dream, “The American Dream had run out of gas. The car has stopped. It no longer supplies the world with its images, its dreams, its fantasies. No more. It’s over. It supplies the world with its nightmares now: the Kennedy assassination, Watergate, Vietnam.” The outlook on this dream has changed over the years it has existed, most societies nowadays look onto this as a “curse” or something worse. This dream now is speculated as hurting our home, America. As Steinbeck wrote Of Mice and Men, the grave story of the American Dream was revealed by main characters, George, Lennie, and Candy. These main characters give us an inside look into what they think the American Dream is.

When the phrase “American Dream” is uttered, it is typically associated with having money or striving to have money. The dream of much of the public is to have money and to be able to purchase anything they desire whenever they want. For some, this dream is not about money, but it is about having the opportunity to better his or herself and his or her loved ones. In either case, there are certain circumstances and obstacles that make this dream increasingly difficult to attain. Some would even be willing to argue, the American dream is unattainable. “American Dream” is defined as the concept of every citizen of the United States having an equal opportunity to achieve success and happiness through hard work, sacrifices, and risk-taking (Fontinelle);

The term “American Dream” is defined as an idea which believes that all people have the possibility of prosperity and success. The idea first came from James Adams, a noted American writer and historian. He claimed, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.” Therefore, the core concepts of the American Dream were closely linked to hard work and opportunity.

The American Dream: the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.

“We must stop talking about the american dream and start listening to the dreams of Americans,” a quote by Max Beerbohm.The american dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. The American Dream was not achievable for everyone in the U.S. because not everyone has the same promise, opportunities, and triumph.

The American dream is a ethos that everyone wishes they can achieve , it’s a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity to better oneself. It sets ideals that if you work hard enough you can better yourself, and raise your social class. “The idea of the American dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that “all men are equal” and that they are “endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (American Dream). The American dream has been used many times throughout literature, and has been traced back by scholars as far back as a autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, it shows that the American Dream has lasted throughout history and still lives on today. There has been many authors that have wrote about their view of

The American dream is the idea that every person should have the chance to be successful in the United States. People from all over flocked to the US in hopes of achieving this American dream that everyone talked about; however, things were not quite as expected when they got here. The whole idea was gilded, so to speak. From the outside, everything looked perfect, but once these people settled down in America, they soon realized that it was not everything it had been made out to be.

“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 a term used in a lot of ways. However, it revolves around the thought that anyone living in the US can achieve something coupled with the possibility of lead a happy and successful life. The dream has been an aim for the majority of the individuals who reside in the land of America that gives them hope of the future. The definition of the term has expanded to incorporate freedom, achievement and meaningful relationships.

The American Dream is a belief shared by people who craved improved land and wealth. Every American individual has the opportunity to acquire the benefits of the American Dream, if they worked hard enough. Each person’s American dream is based on their own personal values. The most shared form of the American Dream was to become successful with an abundance of money and land. The American dream is a "dream of a land in which life should

The idea that the American Dream is somewhat possible has been shot down so many times throughout the book by Miller. Miller tells a story about a hardworking man just trying to make ends

Miller purposely constructed settings that expressed both the public issue and the private tension that induced a revelation concerning the American Dream (Martin 98). These issues and tensions manifested without the characters realizing their relationships suffered for an unattainable dream. Society’s expectations, which created the American Dream, elicit the characters’ suffering until they realize the American Dream can never be achieved, because society’s expectations will never be met. Society’s expectations address the American Dream as the rite of passage for Americans’ successful societal position. Miller reveals the American Dream’s erosion as he addresses the hopes of many Americans but also their situation’s cruel reality (Raine 31).

American dream is the ideal that every American should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. This idea has characterized Americans and America for centuries. Many hard working Americans have strived to fulfill this dream to achieve a better life. However, the idea of the American dream has also been criticized. In The Great Gatsby and in Of Mice and Men, F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck present the idea that seeking the American Dream is futile, only yielding disappointment and moral corruption.