Similarities Between Shepard And Chris Mccandless

The American Dream has always been based on the idea that each person, no matter who he or she is, can become successful in life by his or her own hard work. The dream, to desolate immigrants escaping an oppressive Europe, also embodied the idea of a self-sufficient man, an entrepreneur garnering success through his own hard work and ambition, not

Adam Shepard’s project serve a greater purpose than Chris McCandless’s journey because Adam purpose was more motivational than Chris McCandless. In Shepard’s project, he proves that American Dream is still alive because of his project is proven to be true. His motivation to be successful in one year was to arise from rags to riches because he must possess “an operable automobile, live in furnished apartment, and have two thousand five hundred in check” (Shepard XIV) to prove that American Dream still exist. Which at the end of the book, he makes five thousand three hundred dollar, rented and furnished an apartment, and got a operable truck from his dedication and hard work at the close of his

Chris Mccandless and Adam shepard both dropped everything they had and decide to start over,however they did it differently. Chris Mccandless left society and lived in the wild. He wanted to get to Alaska by himself without any transport or money, but as for Adam Shepard he started over. Adam wanted to prove the american dream is possible for anyone who tries.Chris Mccandless was more admirable than Adam Shepard because he faced bigger challenges and left a bigger Impact.

In Shepard’s project, he proves that the American Dream is still alive because his project is proven to be true. His motivation to be successful in one year was to rise from having nothing to something because he must possess “an operable automobile, live in a furnished apartment, [and] have two thousand five hundred in checking”(Shepard XIV) to prove that the American Dream still exists. Which at the end of the exhausting work and effort, he makes five thousand three hundred dollars, rented and furnished an apartment, and got an operable truck from his dedication and hard work at the close of his journey. However, these similar acts of motivation are still the same with McCandless. In McCandless journey, his motivation was to pursue a life of adventure and not too worried about money. After Chris travels throughout other countries, he decided temporarily to depart to the Alaskan wilderness to find a purpose in his life. However, at some point in the journey, in the article of Death of an Innocent, he starves to death from “digging and eating the root of the [deadly] wild potato”(Krakauer 13) which caused him to motivate himself to reach 100 days from living in the wilds in a weak condition. When both people have a purpose to motivate themselves in life, they have an opportunity to find what they want to seek

Alos shepard did something meaningful and told others that you can accomplish anything if you are determined and McCandless did not prove anything to

Chris Mccandless thought about life very deeply and lived by standards set in many of

“All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them”(Walt Disney). Many people wonder whether the American Dream is alive or dead. Jay-Z, Arnold Swarzenegger, and Michael Oher all served as examples of people that achieved their American Dream.

The American Dream is something many Americans desire. The desire to the mind – set or belief that anyone can be successful if they worked hard for what they’ve been yearning. It is considered to be a ‘perfect life’; it can be full of money, contentedness or even love. There are many divergent opinions given by people. Walter Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of the Salesman’ both have their own views on the American Dream and how it can be achieved. Walter Lee Younger, a

The experiences of individuals who pursued the American Dream have been shared through works of

Obviously, the purpose of the book is to answer the question of if ”the American Dream is still alive,” (Introduction chapter, page x) and if it was, what exactly is today's American Dream. Considering that Shepard's project “exceeded his [my] own expectations,” (Epilogue, page 212) one element would be financial success because he praised how the perks of the United States helped turn his $25 to $5,000; “Look at what I’ve done with $25. Imagine what I can do with $5,000,” (Epilogue, page 207). Another element is happiness because if you have the ambition or passion for do what you accomplish in the United States, you will succeed. For example, when Shepard received his job as a mover, he was satisfied of his long-term guarantee of having it; “I was energized by the idea that my time as a mover... was finite.” (Chapter 9, page 119). Another purpose is also encourage people to make differences in others' lives because Shepard's journey mentions how small contributions can impact someone else, for example, the bus driver brightening up Shepard's day; “Every morning when I boarded the bus, there he was with a huge smile and a “Good Morning!”” (Chapter 10, page 134)

In my definition of the American Dream, I mentioned that they are people who came to America and strived hard to achieve their goals and have a successful life. An example of a person that associates to my definition is Do Won Chang. Chang moved to the United States from Korea when he was eighteen years old in the year 1891. Before Chang moved to the United States he worked at coffee shops in Korea. He is very hardworking and very religious. Chang and his wife, Jin Sook spends their free time running a foundation called “Chang 21 Foundation,” which donates money to churches. It was not easy for Chang to move to a different country. He had to work as a janitor and a gas station attendant to set their goal to have a clothing store. Chang opened

Nowadays, a large number of people migrate to the United States to work and achieve the American Dream. According to the Article “What is the American Dream?” by Kimberly Amadeo, “The American Dream was first publicly defined in 1931 by James Truslow Adams in Epic of America. Adam’s often-repeated quote is, ‘The American Dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.’” There are many people that can have different perspectives when it comes to the topic of the American dream. Even though many people assume the American Dream is dead, it is a very controversial topic. The American Dream may have many different points of views, but it really does exist, after all, it takes an ambitious person to strive for success through hard work, dedication and determination.

Anyone coming or currently living in the United States has a dream, or better yet known as the American Dream. What is the American Dream? Well, Brandon King, author of “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” quoted James Truslow Adams, who wrote that the American Dream “is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement, regardless of coral class or circumstances of birth”(610). Everyone’s American Dreams are all different, but a majority of them all have a few things in common, that is becoming financially fit, acquiring a good education, and pursuing the opportunities that were not available. Brandon King expresses that the ideals and values of the American Dream are very much alive. However, Paul Krugman author of “Confronting Inequalities” bring up several excellent points as well, regarding that not all Americans can pursue the American Dream because of all the inequalities Americans currently possesses. Achieving the American Dream is not impossible, but it is harder to attain now than how it used to be with social, income, and racial inequalities being the primary cause. As of now individuals has to overcome many of bias barriers to reach the American Dream which used to be a lot easier to gain back in the 1940s-50s.

Just like any other Dream, the American Dream can be changed into reality. Millionaire, Chris Gardner’s popular story, mentioned in the Pursuit of Happyness can also be another good example of how the American Dream can be pursuit. Whoever thought that Chris Gardner, the 30 year old man, with little or no education, responsible for his wife and son, having his and their living on an unstable free job. Later having an emotional break down after his divorce for not affording rental payments, and the same man who had lived for almost a year with his son in public toilets, convincing him that they are on a journey, would ever become one of the most inspirational Millionaires, Chris Gardner, the founder of Gardner Rich & Co.. To be briefer on how Will Smith explains how Chris succeeded in life, he started working.

The idea of the American Dream has been around since America was founded, but until 1933, it was not put into words. In the article American Faces 1933’s Realities, by James Truslow Adams, he defines the American Dream as “ ...a vision of a better, deeper, richer life for every individual, regardless of the position in society which he or she may occupy by the accident of birth” (1). The American Dream does not have to be described as having copious amounts of wealth. To some, it is only a vision of a better life for themselves and their families.