Analysis Of The More Factor By Laurence Shames

In the beginning of the novel, the American Dream was implied as an equation- hard work equates to wealth and happiness. However I, like most readers, only needed to read Chapter 2 to quickly understand that this “American Dream Equation” had no solution. Jurgis Rudkus, a man who Sinclair depicted as fearless and invincible, throughout the novel worked diligently in hopes to provide adequately for his family. Initially he promised Ona, his wife, that he would work harder so he could pay the debt from their wedding or else “It will ruin us” (22); nonetheless, this was just Sinclair foreshadowing the peril to come considering Juris was never able to pay off their debt. Another instance was when Jurgis couldn’t find work and had to search incessantly for a source of income; he tried to return to his old job however, it closed due to lack of business. Jurgis was in an insurmountable amount of debt, not to mention his wife and son had both died, and he continued to persevere and ultimately found work in a mill. How could it be that Jurgis worked hard, just like the American Dream said to do, and still resulted in poverty and

The American Dream portrays the idea that if a man is lazy, he might not do so well, but if a man wants to work and educate himself and try to create a fortune, there is nothing standing in his way. Some believe that Capitalism is the cause for much of the poverty in the nation today, but any hardcore capitalist will tell you that capitalism inherited poverty, and far from being a cause of poverty, it is the only solution.

Prior to the 1890’s, the United States followed a foreign policy of seclusion to worldly matters. This idea stemming from George Washington’s Farewell Address to “avoid entangling alliances” became the foundation for American seclusion and detachment, a policy which resulted in this country being able to overcome tremendous internal difficulties facing the rising, fast-changing state of America. The Manifest Destiny enlarged American borders and created speedy industrialization, which made the nation powerful. New interests and concepts also began to change our foreign policies such as social Darwinists, which stressed the significance of forte and evolution, while others assimilated the “little brown brothers” who needed to be taught responsibly. {1-2 sentences on the economics of the Gilded Age before 1898: Panics, economic growth after the Civil War, 2nd Industrial Revolution} Urged by economic benefits, people wanted new markets for their goods, while others ravished the riches of new land. Due to the America’s strive to become the Worlds greatest nation throughout history, the American economy was able to benefit after the Spanish American war and World War II, as opposed to the inflation and lead up to the Great Depression which World War I inflicted on the economy.

As a human being we find ourselves engaging in purposive activity in order to survive, this is our motivation to work. Since the beginning of this nation American citizens, have labored for a better living and better society, how does this dream come to fruition? Our nation 's political and economic systems have allowed citizens to pursue their own ambitions. Today the average American continues to strive for a better career, education and way of life. As a country these are the people that push our nation forward in a globally competitive environment. This ‘dream’ has become a movement towards the greater size and diversification that we see in many of the top grossing industries today. Currently most industries products focus on a service and/or knowledge based market. According to (inc.com) some of the top grossing industries are legal services, oil and gas, accounting, medical occupations, mining. These industries have led to some favorable and discouraging outcomes over time within our modern and global economy. Not only do these particular industries have an effect on the economy but also on societal infrastructure. These outcomes have affected and taken place in my own career path. We all strive for the ‘American Dream’, but do we truly understand the meaning. Thomas Jefferson once said, “It is neither wealth nor splendor; but tranquility and occupation which give you happiness.” It is your occupation that gives you a sense of pride and

Since its discovery North America has been a home for the dreamers, the desirous, and the world changers. This can be attributed to many things, but the idea is always consistent. America holds a promise; holds a certain kind of hope. Some call it luck, but others would call it the American dream. The idea that one can take nothing and turn it into something beautiful and new is at the root of our civilization. Though in the past half a century, America and its economy has drastically changed, as options for the poor have been taken away, and their ability to become successful has been stripped away by cooperations. This topic has been examined by articles such as Crumbling American Dreams, The Pernicious Economic Trap of Low Wages, and

Every country around the globe has its own unique culture, social belief and structure, and values. American culture is not different in this regard. Two of the most significant values of American culture are a strong work ethic and the competitive spirit. This paper will examine how these values define American culture, how these values affected me personally growing up, and how these values influence my attempts to influence others.

With that, came the American dream. The dream that each person should achieve prosperity through strenuous work and dedication. There has been several works of literature that denounced the American dream as a false prophecy, as only coming true for a undoubted narrow majority of the nation. That is true that the American dream does not come by often. Although when it does, people cherish this nation and call it “ The land of the free and the home of the brave”. American history showed that in this nation, nothing is impossible, resembling what Einstein said “ Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is

Since the beginning, America has been a symbol of freedom, a symbol of liberty, a symbol of hope. The American dream is that no matter one’s background, he/she can work his/her way up to become wealthy and successful. However, in The Great Gatsby, Gatsby himself is failed by the American dream because of money. No matter what he does, he is unable to have Daisy because he cannot get away from the fact that he did not come from old money. This goes to show that wealth has the ability to corrupt the American dream. On top of that, when people constantly strive for wealth and rest so much of their worth in how much money they have, no one is ever satisfied, as is seen through people in West Egg. Overall, the negative effects of wealth to the American dream and to any society are clearly seen in The Great

To many people across the globe, the United States of America appears to be a place where one can be proud of. America the land where dreams come true and there is always a chance for any person to succeed. People who are not from the United States have been painted a beautiful picture of what life in our country is like. Not only do they think that there is a special place in America for them and the perfect career for each individual, but unfortunately this is not always true. The American dream is not necessarily to get rich quick, it is more along the lines of a hard worker having an opportunity to be financially stable and to live a pleasant life. The dream is that their sons and daughters will not have to suffer the same things that

It seems that so often the subject of economic standing and wealth, are said synonymously with the phrase "The American Dream". It seems that it takes money to be happy and economic stature to be accepted, however, many people who fall into this trap out of ignorance will never achieve "The

Another aspect that functioned as Americanizing was the ability to consume more. During the first three decades of the twentieth century the discretionary spending increased from twenty percent to thirty-five percent (Committee on Recent Economic Change). Stuart Chase, a consumer activist and an economist, published a list of goods which was “not a list which all possess but only a list to which all aspire.” In his research Chase found that people were looking for more silk, more accent on underwear, more electric appliances, more candy and sugar, and other goods (75). If almost everyone shared desires for a common range of goods it is safe to say that consumerism functioned as an Americanizing force for many immigrants. Christine Frederick,

Affluenza is a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more. It is a powerful virus that has infected the American society, threatening our wallets, our friendships, our families, our communities, and our environment. Since the United States has become the economic model for most of the world this virus is now flowing freely on every continent. The costs and consequences of this disease are massive even though they are often concealed. Left untreated however, it can cause permanent discontent. Affluenza is based on our culture and how it encourages its citizens to measure their worth by financial success and material possessions. The media such as the

In the book Money and Class in America written by Lewis Lapham, the way Americans look at money is exposed. It compares other nations view on monetary value against that of the Americans. It is a fact that we place more value on money than anything else. This book illustrates the corruptness of the “American Dream” as it focuses money as the “currency of the soul” and through the dream, men remain free to rise or fall. Their life is the product of the effort and the decisions put forth by them.

Pride is one, if not the, driving force in American economics. For example, people do not want to have a lot of money only so that they can have it to spend on basic necessities. People want to get rich so that they can have more money than their neighbor. There is no set number for what is “rich” and “poor” in America, only the lone fact that having more money than the person next door makes your richer than them. Pride is what drives the economy, and since numbers and money never end, there will always be a lustful desire for more capital. More states that “this kind of vice has no place whatsoever in the Utopian way of life”, but in America, this vice is abundantly present through major corporations and suburbia alike (More: Social Relations:

The world is the influenced by what they see and want to be there, where the low class wants to be like the middle class and the middle class trying to look like the upper class. Today celebrities and people in upper class have influenced our sense of importance and needs, when it comes to the aspect of picking commodities. Thus, many have resulted to high and unnecessary expending in order to imitate a particular social icon. It can be ascertained that almost all average American adult being in debt might be as a result of overspending their need limit. This excessive and unnecessary spending as a result to boost our economic status has led to some drastic tragic events. A Chinese man, Tao Hsiao, 38, on the 9th of December 2013, jumped to his death in a shopping mall at China because the girlfriend would not stop shopping after several hours of shopping ( The Washington Times). “He told her she already had enough shoes, more shoes that she