Success Is The American Dream Essay

Lapham says “in the United States a rich man is perceived as being necessarily both good and wise.” That sentence sums up our societies blindness when it comes to the wealthy. We want to believe the wealthy are perfect so not only do we ignore their controversial and problematic behavior, we try to emulate

Through everybody’s eyes is their own version of the American Dream. Whether it’s the stereotypical dream with a good job, a family, and a house with a white picket fence, or it could be just getting by at the end of the month financially. The American Dream doesn’t have a specific image but rather a particular mindset. Lots of people have a goal in their life that they have to work hard to be successful towards that goal, but in most cases that goal may be unrealistic.

The idea of the American dream revolves around attaining happiness, success and equality. For higher wealth classes obtaining these components aren't a concern; but for many, the American Dream has become a nightmare. For the poor being able to obtain simple necessities such as food, clothing and shelter is a daily struggle. The price of being poor is a lot costlier then those in the realm of the wealthy. Based on the current economic and social systems in America it does not provide everyone with a fair chance to achieve the “American Dream”. In todays society many Americans believe money is the only way to happiness. True or not true, money certainly isn't a hindrance to obtaining the necessary components for survival. But if the American Dream is no longer about happiness and freedom it becomes solely about wealth and possession. "Money cannot buy happiness." (Anonymous, Spring Board pg.81) represents the concept that money doesn't necessarily play apart in your emotional well-being. Today, materialism is more important than character. Money isn't everything; you don't need it to be happy and certainly not to achieve "The American Dream". In addition to that, although money can jump-start your future it can also drive you into the ground. Dana Gioia, the author of "Money", says "...Money holds heads above water..." Implying money plays a crucial part in keeping your dreams alive while America demands so much. Although finances are a building block to ones version of the

Is the American Dream still attainable? Statistics have shown that over the years children have found to succeed more than their parents did. They were able to attain higher education and more job opportunities than the generation before. However, as the years passed by, Americans became lazier and unmotivated to take all the opportunities presented. Money, jobs, education, careers, and relations are all still attainable as long as the individual works for their American Dream..

Some people who became American didn't always have the perfect life, especially when it is taking place by individuals who struggled their whole life in a disadvantaged society. As a matter of fact they migrate to the United States so they can live their dream and to be able to acquire being called an American. Not only do they move, but also abandon everything in their old home, and move to the United States to start a new life. Sometimes children are left behind so their parents can come to the land of dreams. Due to that the many children are left without their parents in their life's. Therefore, the American dream is necessary for them because they don't have many things in their hands, such as clothing, wealth, an opportunity in life and a different lifestyle. They also look at many Americans in some countries and assume everything is simpler in the United States. Therefore, the desire of being an American can provoke into having various emotions. Occasionally when they don’t feel like they have reached their target, they may receive it in as their way of life is gone and turnover on their dream. But that’s not what an American is, an American is someone who is hardworking, shows patriotism to their country and freedom.

The author researches and concludes that most celebrities are liberal based the census data of each state in the elections along with other polling data. The article states that “acting is primarily a blue-state occupation” and that “Fifty-seven percent of working actors live in California or New York”. California and New York turned out to be States that voted mostly for the Democratic party, which is known to be mostly liberal. Many actors and other celebrities went onto public platforms to share their views on who they would vote for in the 2016 elections and donated millions to the Democratic party. Symbolic interactionism takes its role when the public reactions and opinions change based on what the celebrities think and say and vice versa.

To achieve higher expectations of success than the previous generations, and accomplishing what hasn't already been accomplished, can be considered the overall American Dream. Generally, every child wants to surpass the achievements of their parents as a natural act of competition and personal satisfaction. Throughout The Great Gatsby, The Grapes of Wrath, and Death of a Salesman, there is a constant yearning desire to achieve the “American Dream;” whether it be reality or illusion. Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Miller, all portray the ideas of the American Dream relating to the time period that they are referring to. The strive to achieve a goal whether it be to be the wealthiest or achieve a great life by hard work seems to be the template

The American dream is all but a figment of the imagination that is unrealistic to attain since it is becoming harder and harder for any middle class to sustain itself in the middle or the poor society to prosper to the intermediate class. What once was possible is almost impossible to achieve success and wealth through hard work, persistence, and action. The top one percent of the American society is making it impossible for the lower class to hold on to hope for a better future. The richer are getting richer by remarkably increase profits. Yet, the lower class wages have either decrease in some sectors of employment or have remained stationary resulting in “income inequality. That is “…the extent to which income is distributed in an uneven manner among a population” (inequality.org). Today it is even more evident that the lower class is stuck, unable to go nowhere. Savings is almost none existence to the middle and poor classes yet, they are working harder than ever before. Fortunately by having a free democratic society take control over “wealth inequality” the economic difference can stabilize through unionization for all low-wage labor.

Despite working hard to achieve the American Dream and to have a prosperous and successful life in America the rising costs of college and housing as well as lower pay in some states creates debt for many Americans. Although other people around the world come to America to reach the American dream, but are halted by all of the costs that reside to become a part of it.

The American dream has many meanings but only one that matters, which is having a job that you enjoy and appreciate and for your freedom to be known. The Public Broadcast Service published videos that explored the daily realities of the New York working class. One video followed the experiences of Walid Abdelwahab. He is a well known cart vendor working on the streets of New York city he traveled all the way from Egypt to succeed and have a better lifestyle. Walid has been vending all of his life to help support his family; however, he has faced many rigor moments but he still continues to work with a smile on his face, no matter what happens. This supports the existence of the American dream because he moved from a different country leaving everything behind so that him and his family can live a happy life.

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.

Success is defined by achieving happiness which can be different for everyone but reachable by all. The American dream gives everyone an opportunity to achieve their own form of success. However, while the American Dream is available to everyone, the level of opportunity is not equal for everyone. In “America and I” the author writes about her account as an immigrant experiencing America and what it has to offer, or lack thereof. The author starts off with a view of America as if it is a utopia and describes it in her words as “a land of living hope, woven of dreams, aflame with longing and desire.” For her, she sees success as making money and earning a wage. However, she quickly finds out that just cause you do the work doesn't mean you

The United States has become great through the hard work of millions of immigrants striving to achieve the “American Dream.” The dream to own a home, to provide for your family, and to be able to find success no matter where you start. This idea has been at the heart of the American worker, hoping one day to own land for himself. Land is a sense of wealth, pride, and influence and it is a great asset to work for, but the dream of owning a home declined during the collapse of the housing market in 2008.

America is truly the land of opportunity. My maternal grandfather was a first generation immigrant from the Philippines. He came to this country with nothing, but a dream to succeed. He saw the only way to succeed was through a solid education. His view of success was to get a good paying job. In a similar manner my paternal grandfather was essentially orphaned when he was six years old. The only hope he saw to escape his microcosm was through an education. He gained his success through the American Dream. In total, both of my grandfathers achieved the american dream, even though they had a differing view of success they both acknowledged the necessary means to transition from failure to success, and this was an education.  I have been influenced greatly by my two grandfathers. My view of success and the American Dream is a certain "Melting Pot" of my two grandfathers. I view success as the combination of a good career as well as a great family. I see the transition from childhood to adulthood as the point where one is able to effectively take charge of their future and their own success in an effective way with the approval of others to change the course of their life.

Everyone has a different opinion on the term success. According to the Webster Dictionary, the word success as a noun defined as achieving wealth, respect, or fame. Success can also be measured in many other ways. Many people throughout today's society strive for their own forms of success. Success has many interpretations; while some people's understanding of the term is similar, everyone's definition is a little bit different. To me, success is when someone or something or a goal, big or small, is accomplished or achieved. For example, I find success in the area of baseball. The word connotes accomplishment or happiness. Success can also have a multitude of antonyms and synonyms such as “defeat”, “failure”, or “victory” and “happiness”. While many people’s thoughts are similar towards the word success, there are many people whose thoughts are different.