What Is The American Dream

For some the American dream is the value of hard work. To others it's a huge emphasis on material possessions. So, the American dream is no longer the American dream. It is a dream that anyone and everyone can relate to. This dream is the idea of having what ever you want. May it be material goods, ideas and values, or freedoms and rights. This idea also represents the uniqueness of America. It is a dream a lot of people around the world don't get to enjoy;

First, let's define "American Dream". "American Dream" is what you would consider a "perfect life." It can be full of happiness, money, love, food, cars, whatever you desire, everyone has a different opinion. One person’s American Dream may be totally different from someone else’s, that is what makes us all individuals. My American Dream would include a good job and lots of money, spare time for my family and I, and most importantly, healthiness.

Even since the first thirteen colonies seceded from Great Britain in 1776, this land has been a beacon of light and hope for those looking for a fresh start. It did not matter whether they were trying to escape their homeland due to war or if they were just looking to start over, America was their chance to for the freedom to do what they wanted. This is where the “American Dream” arose from. According to Dictionary.com, the American Dream is defined as “The ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” While this definition may be true, I believe that there is much more to it. I believe that the American dream is different for each and every person. Literature is a great medium to see this idea in. The Luck of Roaring Camp by Bret Harte, Chicago by Carl Sandburg, and I Have a Rendezvous with Death by Alan Seeger are all example in literature of how the American dream can vary from person to person and does not have just one rigid definition.

The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.

The American dream begins in Early American Literature it is presented in Olaudah Equiano’s narrative. Equiano wanted to be a free man after being taken into slavery, although it wasn’t all kicks and giggles. "Hitherto I had thought only slavery dreadful; but the state of a free negro appeared to me know equally so at least, and in some respects even worse, for they live in constant alarm for their liberty, which is but nominal." (122 Equiano). He says that the trials of

The American Dream can mean different things depending on who is asked. Some will answer it is the freedom of religion, class or race, others will claim it is about the ability to choose where they want to work, what they want to wear, or what’s for breakfast the next day.

What is the American Dream? During the course of the time periods there have been many different opinions about what The American Dream is. The American Dream goes back to the Puritans and Quakers were they believed America should be spiritual and material happiness. Overtime it has evolved more and it’s about “dream of the land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement”(O’Mara 2). The American Dream has an historical background, evolution period, and and time when The American Dream wasn’t equally experienced by everyone.

American dream is the dream to live a free life and do whatever someone wants. George and Lennie in Of Mice and Men have a dream. George and Lennie's dream is to do just that. They want to save their money to buy a house. They want a couple of acres, some cows, and pigs. All they want to is live off the fat of the land with no one telling them what to do. They want to make their own food and just live the like they want. That is a great example of the American dream. Most dreams consist on being free and doing whatever they want and that is what their dream had. The American dream can be different to anyone and this is a great example of one.

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

To me, the American dream would be nothing without motivation and making goals for yourself. Your opinion of an american dream could be the total opposite of what the person next to you thinks it means. The american dream is some kind of goal that drives you to succeed that goal. For example, my “American Dream” is making it big in the fashion and business industry. Because of this, I will be motivated to do my best in college and make goals along the way to get to the place I wanna be at. Back then, the american dream meat a family with a dog and kids with a nice red shiny car and white picket fence surrounding your house, but nowadays, the American dream can mean whatever you want it to be. The american dream is your own dream that you want

What is your definition of success and happiness? Do they seem to correlate in any type of way with your dreams and aspirations? The “American Dream” is something that everyone at one point in their lives, strives for. It imposes inspiration to most people’s lives and inflicts feelings of hope and optimism. It is the time one can believe anything is possible and when it becomes easier to dream this, the more wonderful experiences someone will have. The American Dream is always assumed to be something positive and easily attainable as long as you put the hard work and dedication to reaching it. However, the reality is that despite everyone different opinions on what the American dream is, it is not equally attainable for all Americans.

If asked the question, “ What is the American Dream?”, many people would have a variety of answers. It may depend on many factors including, how one has been raised, their age, socioeconomic factors, and ethnicity. There have been so many changes in our country over the years from the 1900’s until now including wars, racial beliefs and family structures which led to an array of definitions of the American Dream. An American Dream can be different for each person. It can be about many factors as we will see throughout the paper.

Well the American is a hell of a dream... I 'm sure it has something to do with the declaration of independence. The American dream is the right of freedom in all ways. You can believe in any kind of god you want. And you have the same rights as any other person. He belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or what class they were born into, can attain their own version of success in a society where upward mobility is possible for everyone. The American dream is achieved through sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work, not by chance. Both native-born Americans and American immigrants pursue and can achieve the American dream. In contrast to other political and economic systems, such as communist dictatorships, America’s

The American Dream is a dream created for one’s self that takes hard work, if a person works hard they will be able to reach this dream. Jay Gatsby’s American Dream was that he would become rich and win over Daisy. As Gatsby stared across the bay at the green light that was faraway and very faint, he thought about what exactly he wanted, he wanted Daisy, he wanted to be rich for Daisy. That was his American Dream. Despite the light at the end of the dock being faint, like a dream. He worked hard to get to it, to get to Daisy. A dream may begin out faint, it may not be seen exactly but as you begin working towards it will be seen closer. There is no true definition of the American Dream, it varies from person to person, so the dream may start out faint but as you work to it you will get a bigger better idea of what the American Dream

The American Dream is defined as “a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S” (Dictionary.com). This so called “dream” is an idea that has distinguished both America and her people for centuries. For generations, the American Dream has powered hope for hard-working Americans to achieve a better life - to ful-fill this dream. But over time, the idea of this dream has been criticized. In The Great Gatsby and in Of Mice and Men, F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck present the idea of searching for the American Dream as ineffectual, only supplying moral corruption and disappointment.