Preview

American Dream

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
373 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
American Dream
First, let's define "American Dream". "American Dream" is what you would consider a "perfect life." It can be full of happiness, money, love, food, cars, whatever you desire, everyone has a different opinion. One person’s American Dream may be totally different from someone else’s, that is what makes us all individuals. My American Dream would include a good job and lots of money, spare time for my family and I, and most importantly, healthiness.
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 American Dream" they strive towards.
The cliché, "In America, you can be whatever you want," always brings a smirk to my face. I am not a cynical person, but this just isn't true. If I decided I wanted to be the star of the next Academy Award winning hit, no matter how much I "want" it, it is not guaranteed to happen. In defense, many people will argue.
Years ago, the United States of America was the prime example of prosperity and opportunity. In recent years, in the worst recession since the Great Depression, unemployment and interest rates have skyrocketed. The “American Dream” is an idea that was once a commonly accepted ideology in this country. It has since become only a fallacy. The “American Dream” is no longer an attainable idea, only a fantasy. The “American Dream” is not a true dream that will ever be equally attainable by everyone.
The American dream is the general belief that American Citizens all have an equal opportunity to succeed socially and economically, regardless of any predating circumstances. This idea has been accepted as possible by the majority of citizens in this country. This “dream” cannot be true, as there are multiple discriminations in this country, which make it impossible for everyone to have the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “The American Dream is a term that is often used but also often misunderstood. It isn't really about becoming rich or famous. It is about things much simpler and more fundamental than that.” - Unknown The American dream is the idea that every citizen of the United States of America should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The term “American Dream” is used in a number of ways, but essentially the American Dream is an idea which suggests that all people can succeed through hard work, and that all people have the potential to live happy, successful lives.…

    • 215 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American dream is a complex idea that is individualized by personal ambitions. Although the definition can vary, most often, this ideation of American involves financial prosperity as a result of hard work. The American dream is not a myth, but it is slowly becoming eradicated due to decreasing quality of life and society limiting those who do not originate from a traditional background to certain lifestyles.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (United States Declaration of Independence). In much the same way as the authors of the founding fathers, the American Dream can be defined simply as the pursuit and the achievement of happiness. Clarifications, like not needing to use underhanded means, are not necessary because it is readily apparent that these means do not provide happiness nor liberty. In other words, the American Dream is attainable through hard work, determination, and the fruits of honest labor, even though it is embodied negatively in literary contexts and positively in historical terms.…

    • 1571 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    America was, and still is by some, known as the land where dreams become reality. ”The traditional American Dream is based on the belief that hardworking citizens can better their lives, pay their monthly bills without worry, give their children a start to an even better life and still save enough to live comfortably after they retire.” Point of views can be made to support and challenge this, however, the true solution to the American dream is hard work and motivation. This being said, those that are given these chances and choose not to take them to advantage can only find fault from within themselves. The American dream can be possible to the poor, the tired and huddled masses if the opportunity presents itself and they’re willing to work for it.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is a concept that can be traced to the founding fathers of America, which entails ideals such as democracy, equality, freedom, liberty, human rights and opportunity for all to live a better and prosperous life. These ideals are achieved through hard work in an environment that has no barriers and offers equal opportunities for all. The coming of the American Dream came with the declaration of independence from England. People were filled with hope as they believed in the right to freedom, life and pursuing happiness. The idea was the creation of a nation in which people would be free from restrictions to pursue the life they want for themselves. This definition of the American Dream has changed over the course of time as people started deviating from the ideals of liberty, rights, and hard work. Hard work is now just caused by wanting to make the most money and wanting to have power and control.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Conclusion, the idea behind achieving the American dream has been drastically miss constructed. Our goal as Americans should be to find a passion and pursue happiness through work and family. However, somewhere along the line the beauty of this idea has been corrupted due to the influence of money, adults have chosen to sacrifice happiness in hopes of the ability to purchase the American dream. Truthfully money cannot determine individual success or worth. If money…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the author, the American Dream is the ability to be able to live a life that you are capable of living; a life that allows you to reach your full potential regardless of who you are or where you come from. The author states this in paragraph one, when he says: “. . .in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”(214-215). He believes that everyone should have a chance to be who and what they want to be and that everyone has a certain right to achieve it.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dream Act

    • 553 Words
    • 2 Pages

    According to dictionary.com the American dream is: “1. the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity, traditionally held to be available to every American; 2. a life of personal happiness and personal comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S.” Writer James Truslow Adams states 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 or achievement…each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable...” The main idea of the American dream comes from the Declaration of Independence created by congress in July 1776. In the declaration it is…

    • 553 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Not too long ago, the dream to me was being successful, which means having money. I figured, in order to be successful, money and wealth were not only necessary, but the primary factor. That isn’t too far from society’s classic version, which relies on money for each step of the path; school, a house, kids, etc. As I grew however, so did my view on the American Dream. My own version has become more realistic as I have become not only more knowledgeable about what I truly need, but also about what I truly want and what could make me happy. Although money and having financial success is helpful in creating a comfortable life without having to worry about debt, living a healthy and fulfilled life should be all that matters to one’s dream, not materialistic things like houses and…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The american dream

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages

    To this day whenever someone new comes to the United States they come along with a famous ethos “The American Dream”. Many people immigrate to America each year to receive their rightful freedoms, equality, and opportunities to achieve their goals. In recent discussion about the American Dream, a controversial fight has been over whether this dream still prospers and is achievable or if it is even a realistic idea to have anymore. On one hand, some people like Anne Jolis an editorial page writer for the Wall Street Journal Europe look at America today and say the “The dream today is in doubt”. From this perspective, MONEY is the power that runs basically everything in America and rules upon if you will achieve your dream. On the other hand however, people like Chris Demello argue that the dream is still alive and always will be. To me the American Dream is no longer obtainable. There is a horrible amount confusing and fighting that is happening in the States, the economy and government is more debt than ever before, and education is becoming worse preventing people to strive and their best to help the country run.…

    • 328 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream was once based on the same principles of The Declaration of Independence, like freedom and equality. That all men deserve “..life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..” (Revolution) Over time, the dream became more materialized and narcissistic. For some, it promised a journey of milestones and accomplishments. But for others, obstacles in the way were too much of a struggle. Azar Nafisi once said, “The negative side of The American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.”…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Dream

    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Throughout one’s life, a person will strive to reach a certain level of success. Each individual determines what he wants in life, and to what extent he will go to reach it. However, as The United States of America has risen so have these standards, resulting in many people determined to obtain items they do not need in order to achieve the temporary bliss of being better off than others. In 1931, James Adams coined the term “American dream,” stating that it was "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams 404). Despite the fact that many of the citizens of America live truthfully to this dream, others would agree that with advances in technology and living standards, the so called “American dream” has changed. Another, more modernized version of the American dream has emerged stating that it “has become the pursuit of material prosperity - that people work more hours to get bigger cars, fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families - but have less time to enjoy their prosperity” (American Dream). Many Americans have become more interested in having enough money to buy worldly and unnecessary possessions rather than living in a society where each person has the potential to reach his own goals. Throughout American literature, authors have portrayed how greed has intertwined itself with the progressing American dream of having material prosperity, resulting in a corrupt society.…

    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Dream is all about you as a person being able to have the freedom to do anything and everything you could possibly want with your life because your life is yours. To have the ability to live how you have dreamed about your entire…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    American Dream

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The American Dream, something once thought to be the American lifestyle that once achieved, one’s life may be considered perfect. It started out simple, owning two cars, owning a large house in a suburban neighborhood, married with two children, and owning your own business. This may the American Dream after World War II has ended; however, because of the economic crisis, the increase of major corporations, and the cost of living; over the years, reaching this goal has been a very difficult to achieve.…

    • 1286 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics