The American Success Story : Coming Of Age

Adolescence is a very transitional time that everyone unfortunately has to go through. These years are filled with jealousy, heartbreak, insecurity and anxiety of what’s to come ahead. The stories we have read this year have focused on telling the readers what the main characters go through during this crucial time in their lives and how they deal with the changes they go through. For my final English 239 paper I have chosen to focus on Perks of Being a Wall Flower and A Separate Peace.

I was born in a middle class family in China and my parents care about me very much. Before I was even born, my farther adjusted the business hour of his clinic to make more profit by accepting more patients and my mother was a nurse who worked in my dad’s clinic, so they saved the money to send me to school and prepare to move to the U.S. Most of the members of my family already moved to the U.S. Moreover, once my aunt got her U.S. citizenship, she, as the sponsor, was able to apply for us to come. When I was 15, we finally got our immigrant visas and my parents told me we were ready for move to the America. Therefore, we sold everything we had in China we were staying at my uncle’s house in Hong Kong because we need to take the airplane from Hong Kong to Missouri, U.S. I still remember what my uncle said to me because he looked at me with a very serious face that caught my attention. “Qianxin, the America is different from China. I’ve heard people said life in the America is harder than China. However, if you work hard enough, you will get what you deserve.” The words are always in my mind. I tried to do my best in school and in everything because I want to be the person who can help my family.

When most people think of the American Dream they often visualize the typical white fence, the two children, and an overall perfect family. When people think of the American Dream they think of the dream jobs which consist of being a doctor, lawyer, or a widely known talk show host. The people who have the voice determine what is ideal in society and what isn’t. They try to sell you this pitch that the American Dream is obtainable and what you put in to the system, you get out; This is also know as meritocracy. The thought of achieving the American Dream through success and social mobility is the misinformed interpretation what the upper middle class likes to say, however its easier to say that when climbing the class ladder is a lot more difficult when born into a low advantaged family. It is absolutely impossible to reach the American Dream unless you are among the wealthy. Circumstances that work against an individual only further hinders any opportunity that person may have to “obtain” the American Dream. Negative factors not working in your favor will most likely determine your undesirable future and having a role model, such as Oprah, who seemingly embodies the American Dream, will lead to the unrealistic dream that her status is actually attainable. Some of the key elements we consider essential to achieving success, are now impractical and misleading, proving the many flaws in our American Dream that make it impossible to obtain.

The American Dream is indefinable. There is no one set of words or characteristics that the entire population assigns directly to its definition. With the American population consisting of people of various races, ethnicities, ages, classes, and genders, it seems trivial to even attempt to attribute a single definition to the concept of the American Dream. It is this inability however, to be confined within one single meaning, that allows for the American Dream to govern the desires and goals of the large and diverse American population. And, regardless of all of the heterogeneity within society, the American Dream is generally a goal of all American peoples. In examining this idea, I began to think about the specific meanings attributed to the American Dream for different types of individuals. I broadly outlined the American Dream for myself, to represent the belief in hard work as a pathway to success and raising oneself in society. Consequently, this higher position in society allows for the possession of increased amounts of power. My definition however, neglects to take into account the certain other societal constructs that could possibly have a decisive role in how to both define and achieve the American Dream for the wide variety of people who pursue it.

American Dream: Noun, the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. That is the definition of the American dream according to Dictionary.com, but the American Dream is more than a definition, but a way of life for many. Millions of immigrants come to our country in search of this “American Dream” including my grandparents but more and more are disappointed. So does the American Dream exist? Has it ever existed or has it all been an illusion?

How the world defines success varies from one's personal achievements and the culture from which that motivation to succeed grows. What is to say the worlds greatest achievement is the ability to praise the very accomplishment of others, or perhaps its biggest atrocity. The success of others is often viewed not in their achievement that originally made them a successor, but what that prosperity has done. What is the atrocity of success is not its foundation, but the multitude of fortune’s it might bring. Such fortunes include money, popularity, and power. No “successful” person is absent of these staples to their success. Perhaps what is worse is how success, in its most prevalent form, creates sentiments of exclusivism.

Throughout the decades of new beginnings, new laws, new Presidents and new ways of life for the American people, not only have we grew accustomed to the different views and structures of the way our ancestors valued their own lives in America, but we also have grew accustom to our own. The way we value our ideas and beliefs determine the type of person we are and gives others an outlook on our substantial new themes of life that somehow mix together into becoming a born and raised American citizen. Throughout our readings we have seen many of these themes and concepts brought up and talked about by many readers. My first primary theme that I will be going over in my work is America as the Land of Opportunity, second will be the American Success

There are several factors that relate to the American Dream and a person’s ability to achieve it. Race is one of the aspects that has been the most controversial for hundreds of years; it has been the one issue that has divided the United States more severely than any other issue. Although racism has diminished significantly as years go on, it is still a prevalent issue in some people. Despite differing opinions within the seminar discussion and the articles, there are certain cases in which race does inhibit someone’s ability to achieve their American Dream as well as tarnishes their mindset about achieving it.

Two years ago, before moving to the American Dream I was living in a place of

The book The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows the life of a boy named Charlie who is starting his first year of high

Although more and more people are having higher incomes as the minimum wage increase, the unequal opportunity to get income had make a wide gap, which cause the poor to have less chance to obtain economic security. In many researches, researchers found that not all the Americans have the same chance to move up in the ladder. In the news from the San Francisco Chronicle, Palominto writes: “In 2013, the top 1 percent of income earners in San Francisco and the Peninsula made 44 times more than everyone else: about $3.6 million compared with $81, 000” (qtd. in Palominto). This shows that rich are getting so much more income than the poor in San Francisco and even the whole America. The unequal distribution of income makes the poor Americans harder

Life is changing everyday, America’s question today is if the American Dream is attainable or not. The answer to this question is yes, it is attainable. With evolution, the American dream has been modified throughout the years. It is defined as “the idea that the American way of life offers the possibility of unlimited economic, social, etc success to every individual” (The Chambers Dictionary). Many people called the American Dream, the “good life”. Starting as a simple dream, with today’s world, it has become more complex, and is hard to come by. America is not giving up, and with our work ethics, hope, and opportunities our country gives us, the dream will always be there for us citizens.

The United States of America has been through, overcome, and made numerous mistakes over hundreds of years. America has had wars, slavery, the Great Depression, and so many other terrible circumstances and happenings in their country. Despite all of the events America has been through, they were able to overcome them. Therefore, they were capable of continuing to be a free country and allowing their people to worship, feel, act, think, and believe however and whatever they choose. For these reasons, I have extremely high hopes in regards to America moving toward a more unified and successful future.

Success involves giving back to those who may not be able to help themselves. In the eyes of the church, it’s pretty much doing God’s work. You’re helping your brother’s, and your sister’s get on their feet and in doing so, you will reach success. Success has nothing to do with money, fame, popularity, and achievements, but it has everything to do with giving back. I try my best to always help those around me, even when they don’t want to help themselves. The way most people in America view success has everything to do with negative intentions. I wish there was some way we could make it clear how success should be measured.

The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work,patient and united, it's possible to achieve the American dream and American Dream requires that we are all provided an equal opportunity to participate in and contribute to our nation.