The American Dream Essay

Today in America, some think the American Dream is fictional, and is exactly what it sounds like; just a dream. But the American Dream is achievable, and has been since the birth of this great country. The American Dream is an individualized goal that a person has which is usually very tough to achieve, but all have a chance to work toward it because of opportunities like high level education, jobs, and especially an equal chance to achieve one's desired life. America still provides access to the American Dream because regardless of background, current financial status, or race, the American Dream is achievable with hard work.

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

The definition of the American dream in reality is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. But my definition of the American dream is that every US citizen will be able to have financial stability and be more or less happy with their place in the economic system and life. My stance on this is that the American dream is achievable by all in America. Adam Shepard in his book scratch beginnings, he gets off a train with 25$ and the will to carry on with his mission to see if the American dream is achievable for all. During his experiment or his story he goes to a homeless shelter where they help him find work and try to get him on his feet.

When one talks about the American Dream, thoughts go to being happy and self-satisfied as an individual. It doesn’t portray following in others footsteps or becoming like one’s parents or grandparents. It allows a person to step out into world and find out who they are. It allows a person to become more than just another “chip off the block”. It allows a person to grow, succeed and transform into a person full of happiness and content due to the freedoms they are allowed. This is why many immigrants came to America. They wanted the freedom to drop everything that was burdening them in their homeland and become something new and prosperous. The American Dream takes a person’s determination and willingness to work toward their dreams and goals and gives them a chance to achieve it all. The American Dream is about the individual and the desires without these the goals will not be achieved.

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 “American Dream” is a complicated topic to discuss. It has many different meanings depending on who you’re talking to. To me it means to have a healthy and happy family with a nice house and to do what I love to do. For many people their dream or even my dream is not attainable. I do not think that the “American Dream” is attainable for everyone. Some people do not have the perseverance or are not born into a situation where they can get an education. Some people may have that drive or the education or talent needed to accomplish what they want.

As we studied in the previous unit, the American Dream is the idea that everybody is equal to each other and people can live their lives to the fullest. I also believed that this dream was for Americans only. However, after realizing that other countries and cultures had heard of how great life in America is, they wanted to be part of the American Dream as well. These immigrants took action by entering the U.S. through Ellis Island, which used to be the main hub for all foreigners to apply for ability to enter the U.S. The main reason that people immigrated to America was to have freedom. During World War II, many people were murdered for being Jewish. This act by Adolf Hitler showed that religions were restricted in Europe during World War II. People wanted to live a more free life with no restrictions to their religious beliefs, causing many immigrants to come to the U.S.

The American Dream can be defined as the idea that every US citizen should have equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and determination. Everyone in America should have equal opportunity, but this is not always the case because there is a lot of competition. Going for a goal will have its obstacles, but one of the biggest and most difficult things to overcome is other people. Examples of crushed dreams can be found in the books Of Mice and Men, The Old Man and the Sea, The Jungle and A Raisin in the Sun. In each of these books, the perception of the American Dream is different, but it is not possible in all of these cases because of society.

The American Dream is the belief where any American can be successful when completing hard work. Do you believe that the American Dream is achievable? Is it guaranteed for both natural-born Americans and immigrants? The American Dream is a definite reality because the United States is a country that allows various opportunities for individuals to work for what they want and access prosperity while doing so.

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.

The American dream is a rhetoric of hope and mobility to reach the heights of economic sustainability that you wish to achieve. The idea is that the amount of effort you put forth will emanate the amount of success you can produce as a byproduct of American society. This concept however couldn’t be further from the truth, as many have tried to work up for years but only got slightly better at best then they say what they were nearly a decade ago. Many researchers have demonstrated that not only has the American Dream often times been influenced by our socioeconomic roots, but that to progress out of it is like a dime in a dozen. Since education provides students the material to move onto the larger job industry, and because the disparity between high school graduates and college graduate has increased so drastically, Americans are clamoring for college now more so than ever before. Student debt has been an issue that has kept many Americans in the lower end of the social class spectrum to miss out on utilizing college resources. Many financial aid programs have been established to attempt to decrease this tendency, particularly the Pell grant having the most success. Unfortunately, despite the initial success of the Pell grant program, it still has its limitations on how much help it can provide to underprivileged students. An incentive based scholarship program such as the Performance-based scholarships where attendance rates, passing classes, and student involvement

Among many Americans, a common misconception exists. This misconception is the belief that all Americans can achieve anything, no matter where they started from. This belief can be considered the American Dream. I have personally perceived that the American Dream is a malleable belief that changes with every person who wields it. For some, it might be living the high life at the end of Wall Street, finally receiving the job as a lawyer they always wanted, or lounging on a front porch of a country barn, watching the sun slowly creep over the horizon. In reality, only those fortunate enough to be born in a wealthy family with no ethnic oppression can really achieve the American Dream.

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.