The Dream Of The American Dream

One of the key barriers that keep the black people repressed is the PG County police, keeping the minority in constant fear. Coates lists a few incidences, “killed Elmer Clay Newman, then claimed he’d rammed his own head . . . shot Gary Hopkins and said he’d gone for an officer’s gun . . . beaten Freddie McCollum half-blind and blamed it . . . (75). The police are suppose to serve as protection and enforcing the law. However, it is primarily the white class that is being protected from the black class. The U.S. society views black people as dangerous and justify having them stay in ghettos and projects where they cannot interrupt white order. This is a theory that Coates comes across that ‘safety’ was a higher value than justice, perhaps the highest value” (84). Having police carrying out the dirty work and then ultimately forgetting and moving on is a component of the American Dream. The Dream is viewed as clean and beautiful, the United States does not want to acknowledge the bloody barrier that has put up against the black people that prevent them from reaching the Dream. Because to confess to the horrendous acts that the U.S., and thus the American Dream is build upon will ruin the pedestal it has been placed upon.

The American Dream is a loosely constructed concept made up of ideals of what is supposed to be obtainable while living in America. Everyone’s own individual perception of the American dream is different based on how individuals are raised, their personal goals, and motivations. Willy’s main goal in life was to be successful which was influenced by his obsession he had with the American dream. He was very optimistic on the possibilities given to him by living in a country he felt had so much promise, but his own perceptions on what he would be able to acquire only led him to go down a path he would not be able to handle in turn destroying him and his family. Though at first his passion seemed to have fueled his family’s motivations in the end the expectations set were unrealistic and the original goal had been misconstrued.

Everyone desires to live out the “American Dream” and live a happy, healthy life. An individual that aspires this dream does it with hard work and dedication. We are faced with many different obstacles and challenges, but it is important to strategize and design a different path to be successful. As a millennial, I have been faced with many challenges in my life that have deterred me from my original plans at being successful. I always knew that it was going to take hard work and dedication, along with self-discipline and being financially responsible. Our economy has had it’s share of ups and downs. I have witnessed the struggles it has gone through. Living in California has its pros and cons as well. I often think I will never own a home unless I move out of California. I should not feel restricted because of the state I live in. I want to be able to afford to live anywhere.

Throughout the vast country that is the United States, copious amounts of people, often different from each other, have one essential goal that is the same. Often, this goal can be to conquer the many obstacles that the world presents them, in an attempt to be deemed a successful and valued member of society. This ambition that drives people to have a desirable, supportable, and successful life, that is achieved by hard work, dedication, and the ability to overcome a series of roadblocks, is known as the American Dream. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s nonfiction book Nickel and Dimed and John Steinbeck’s Novel, Of Mice and Men,the protagonists define the American Dream, however, there definitions are quite different, while still having hints of similarities. The meaning of the dream is based largely on the time period in which these books were taken place. A constant, however, is the characters wanting to gain independence. In both texts, the journey to achieve the dream is one that features a plethora of obstacles, such as monetary, civil, and medical, which illustrates that the want to become self sufficient is a purpose that remains consistent throughout both books, even though the dream evolves as time moves on.

The American dream usually involves having a great job and a loving family. These are two things that everyone strives for and wants in their lives. When one achieves both, they then need to find a balance between the two and this isn’t always easy. Nowadays people are working longer hours and are spending less time with their families. This usually leads to higher divorce rates, alienation from friends and loved ones, and etc. Trying to balance between work life and family life can very difficult even during the best of times and people try to find ways in which one doesn’t interfere with the other. This type of feeling is especially true in the public sector where people are working longer hours just to make enough for their families. As a result of working these longer hours they are exhausted and are spending less times with their families. One has to wonder is there a reason for this and can one truly have a balance between their work life and their family life? The article by Mary Secret and Jennifer Swanberg looks into this dilemma to see why it occurs and how it affects people. As we look deeper into this article we will see how a stressful work environment can spillover and affects ones family life as well and why it needs to be addressed.

The American Dream is something I believe is still very much alive in the heart of millennials. The American Dream gives hope to individuals that come from all levels of society. It is the dream of striving for success no matter your color, background, or up-bringing, and knowing in your heart that anything is possible.

What is the American dream? Is it buying a house, or owning a business? For some it can be summed up in two words: rich and famous. Unfortunately for most, it is simply achieving an economic equilibrium. Gregory Mantsios, founder of the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education, has been establishing higher education programs for those with a lower socio-economic for thirty years. In 2005 he wrote an article titled “Class in America”, through his deft use of pathos, and his myriad of logos, he demonstrates, just how much blood, sweat, and tears, and arrant sacrifice is required to overcome oppression and realize the dream.

Throughout the majority of the twentieth century many Americans were hoping to create something of themselves, to reach their goals and create a good home life for their family; they wanted to achieve the American Dream. 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” (American Dream Dictionary). Two well-known people who achieved the American Dream in the 1900s were Madame C.J. Walker and Samuel Zemurray. The lives of Samuel Zemurray and Madame C.J. Walker illuminate the tensions and possibilities of the American Dream by creating their own hair line business and joining the fruit business in a time when that was extremely difficult, by having to teach themselves how to run their own business in ways that were different from most others, and by expanding their businesses throughout the United States and Central America.

The amount of homes being sold to millennials are relatively low because it’s too much of a financial burden and due to the fact that the perception of what the American dream is has evolved. The American dream is the ideology of being stable physically, financially, emotionally which equates to eternal happiness; how does one achieve this? Ideally one would need all of the pieces of the puzzle such as the career, the family, the car and of course, the main piece of puzzle, the house. What if such stability has never been experienced due to the “Great Recession?” The millennial generation has not experienced the luxury of an adequate income which would give them financial stability needed for the family, the car and especially a house, the most expensive, risky piece of the American dream puzzle!

I believe that the millennial America dream is drastically different than many other generations. While previous generations believed that they must own a home in order to achieve the American dream, this dream has drastically changed in recent centuries. I believe this is partially due to how attitudes millennial hold have changed within recent years. I believe that previous generations still withheld the mindset that a marriage and family was the ideal image of the American dream. I believe that previous generations held the mindset that achieving the American dream was simply to be like every other average American family. While I know many American families who live in the same areas and work the same jobs do still indeed have a lot in common and can be identified as all achieving the same American dream; many millennials are choosing different occupations and individuality in their careers. I believe that the millennial age of Americas are very independent and head strong. Being considered almost a millennial myself I see these traits within myself and my peers. I hope to be an independent women and to be able to provide for myself and my family. Through a job in a higher paying career such as nursing I hope I am able to be a sole provider for my household if it is needed. While the help of a husband would be nice I do not want to ever be in the situation of needing a husband to be considered finical stable. I also find this headstrong attitude within millennial when

At the time of writing, I have been alive for almost 5000 days. 4988, to be exact. Almost all of these days (excluding 30 or so) have been spent in the same small town in the middle of two ancient mountain ranges. I am an American. I live the American dream of being middle class, going to a good school, having a functional family, and more. I have friends, idols, crushes, and best friends. With enough money saved up, I could do anything, go anywhere. What’s stopping me? Oh, just a couple of parents that don’t like spending money. That’s it. The only border between me and my dreams. For lack of space, and for the need to be on topic, I will talk about one of those dreams. My dream to go to New York. It’s really kind of funny, how nebulous my desire is. But, in this essay, I need to break it down into three core reasonable categories. The first is the general attractions. Oh how lovely, green lady! Oh how beautiful, poisonous electric lights! Too long have we thrown ourselves at your needy doorstep. The second is the fashion. For some unholy reason, I, a female, find myself loving New York City’s particular fashion flavors. I yearn to dress myself in expensive plastic-cloth wrappings and to strut down the way like a thousand grey clouds have replaced my eyes. The third is my own feeble desires to do and to be. I would trade a thousand worlds for the breakneck attitude of large youth subcultures, or for the swarms of interesting people that descend upon the city. I embrace

The American Dream had influence and attractive many people from other countries such as Mexico, South America, Asia, and etc. Many of these people had come to America for a better life style and better environmental. The attraction of people coming to America was the American dream, which is known as a house with a yellow fence and a station wagon. During those times we had a tradition that women would stay home while the husband goes to work and feed the family. Does these dream and tradition still stay the same today? Women’s today are changing diversity by delaying marriage and earning higher education level then men. Many of us today are accepting the different type of races and marrying different kind of races. Diversity is good because new generations are highly educated both in school and across ethnicities and cultures.

In John Steinbeck's novel "Of Mice and Men" an important theme is the impossibility of attaining the American dream. Many characters are caught up within this theme, this in the end is seen to be an illusion. For example George, Lennie and Candy all have the dream is to own their own piece of land to work and live independently on. This dream is destroyed by Lennie's death due to his ignorance and mental weakness, which he cannot control. Another example is Crooks who dreams for equality. He was promised equality within Lennie and George's dream, on the farm however racism and others attitudes towards him destroy his want for fulfilling this dream.

Since I was a little girl I’ve heard folks talk about chasing something meaningful, something elusive, something they called ‘the American dream’. I was born in 1988 in the dead of winter in Tucson, Arizona. My mom was sixteen and still deniably naïve when she gave birth to me, my dad was twenty-eight. We moved to the Northwest in the spring of 1990 and landed in Vancouver, Washington. It’s presumable that she thought that the move would ‘change things’ for us for the better.

Throughout the years, the meaning of the American Dream has varied in different ways. When thinking about the subject, almost every person’s interpretation is different. These are the varying definitions of the American Dream that have developed throughout history, and how it has progressed to what it is today. Today, the American Dream could be considered having a good education that generates into a well-paying job.