Preview

The Value Of The American Dream

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
539 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Value Of The American Dream
The American Dream, what does it mean? Why do so many Americans believe in it and some do not? Well, the American Dream is America has a flawless image of equal opportunity for each citizen to achieve the dream of success through hard work. Some Americans still do believe that it is still real, others do not believe that the American Dream is relevant. Americans that believe it can and cannot be achieved today, but if the non-believers do not try to work hard and to accomplish their dreams, then how can they say the American Dream is dead? Especially, if the non-believers of the American Dream got everything handed on a silver platter and not had to work for anything. If they try to work hard and would give up because they worked for

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • 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
  • Good Essays

    Defining The American Dream The American dream is like a bowl of a special soup that is laced with a variety of ingredients. Everyone gets a serving but it’s different for each person, some may get more carrots than the other or the one that arrived last to the kitchen only gets a lump of meat and broth. Living in America, nothing is certain unless you make it certain by going out and achieving it.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Some people say that the “American Dream” is dead, but I say, it most certainly is not. What is the “American Dream”? To some its freedom, lively hood, opportunities while to others it is food, not starving, or being able to take care of themselves and make a name for themselves. The American Dream is whatever you want it to be. There is no definition because it is interpreted differently depending on who is pursuing it, and what their situation is. The American Dream is how people keep themselves going. It is their last burst of energy in a marathon, their energy drink to get them through the last few hours of work. The American Dream is more than a fantasy, its a sense of hope and a way to help those in desperate need to find their happiness. What if you found yourself in a rut with no way to escape? What would you do to get yourself free of a downhill spiral? Imagine you are living in a poor, rickety place with not much food or income. Wouldn't you want something to look forward to, to keep you going and searching for the help and care you are in need of? Of course you would, and that is what the American Dream does. It gives people the push they need to steer their life in the right direction. No the American Dream most certainly is not dead, it is still alive and thriving just like it was 20 years ago and will be for at least the next century to come.…

    • 273 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The American Dream is defined as “the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative”. This definition isn’t exactly the same perspective all Americans have regarding the American Dream. The American Dream for each individual has changed over the course of time, it’s as if through each generation the American Dream has began to become more complex. For some, the American Dream is a life spent with a person whom you love, a soulmate, but for another the American Dream can be seen as being rich with big cars, big houses, and accumulated wealth. However, there are some who believe the American Dream is just a life filled with good health and true happiness. Regardless of the differences in one’s own American Dream, a major similarity is, all while living have tried to achieve his/her own “American Dream”.…

    • 1590 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Dream

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There were many differences between the novella and the film. One of those differences was how Lennie killed the pup. Another is when one of the workers named Mike who also worked on the boss's land, asked to switch jobs with someone because he could not keep up. The final differences is the way George killed Lennie at the end.…

    • 388 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Dream is the idea that if you are focused and work hard enough, you can be successful in America. We find ourselves in a time in our nation’s history where this long believed opportunity of grandeur and promise could be over. I believe it is important to stay positive. As citizens of the United States, we make up the American Dream, and we must remind ourselves every day about that. To find this success you must have a dream, and the will to never give up on that dream. From what I have seen thus far in my existence on this planet is that people have forgotten to follow their dreams. I realize it is sometimes hard to understand what that dream is, but focus and hard work get you what you want.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    59% of people say that the American Dream has “become impossible to attain for most people”. But what is the American Dream? I think the statement is too broad to poll people on the topic because so many people have so many different views on what the dream actually is. I think for that reason, most people still have an attainable goal, it just depends on how hard those people work for it. In my opinion, most people that say the dream is dead are just soothing themselves because they didn’t achieve it, or they are just making excuses not to work hard.…

    • 562 Words
    • 3 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, generally defined as the ideal that citizens can achieve success through hard work and determination. In other words, if citizens work hard enough, they will be able to take care of their family, ensure a good future for their children, pay the bills, and still have extra money to live comfortably, even after retirement. But today, is this dream still possible? The truth is that, although it is something attainable, for most it will always be just a dream. There are many factors that come in the way of reaching the American Dream for example the high cost of education, social differences and failure.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As Americans, I believe we all have a dream about our lives. We've came from a country that allows us to dream and create our future. Personally, I believe that the American dream is just to live your life how you choose and to be happy with it. Not everyone will want a white-picket fence with kids and a dog, so I believe that as long as you're happy with your life that you've completed your American dream.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Dream

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “Fannie and Freddie Helped Spawn the Mortgage Crisis, So Did Affordable Housing Mandates” by Hans Bader January 9, 2012…

    • 1515 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Dream

    • 3111 Words
    • 13 Pages

    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 for the original American dream in the books. To be able to support one’s family, have a decent job, a car, and a home, is the stereotypical, “American dream.” Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, and Miller incorporate their ideas of the American dream symbolically throughout their stories.…

    • 3111 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Dream

    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Bruccoli, Matthew J. "A Brief Life of Fitzgerald." University of South Carolina. 4 Dec. 2003.…

    • 3069 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    American Dream Paper

    • 1252 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”- This phrase is well known from the United States’ Declaration of Independence that roots within the American Dream. The American Dream has powered the hopes and aspirations of Americans for generations. It began as a plain but revolutionary notion: each individual has the right to pursue happiness and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and dedication. Yet, as time passes and the world revolves, the perception of this dream for Americans has changed. So what exactly is the American Dream? How do we define it? These questions are still active at the dinner table, and amongst friends, and entrepreneurs who wonder and hope for their own life’s successes. Well for me, my definition of the American Dream is for people to live happily within their passions, make enough money to support themselves and family, have or possess complete education, and live peacefully in their own home. The American Dream that I perceive in my eyes is attainable with hard work and our social mobility. With optimism, it can change people’s perceptions of achieving their goals. With that being said, the American Dream is still alive.…

    • 1252 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The American Dream

    • 2100 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Generally considered that the American Dream consists of a healthy family, a well-paying job and a sturdy home. A lot of people dream about it and use all their opportunities to achieve it. However, the socioeconomic situation of the United States is an obstacle to this ideal. The characters who inhabit Raymond Carver’s Cathedral are blue-collar Americans confused and illusioned by the hollow image of an American dream they see on the TV screen every night. Denis Johnson’s protagonists, however, have never heard of an American dream, and are certainly not devoted to achieving it; their lives slip by a state of alcoholism and drug use and futures become brutally shapeless. Their despairs and disappointments are displaced instead through drug addiction, alcoholism, infidelity and unemployment. Nonetheless, there are rare but genuine pulses of hope in both authors’ stories. (Carvarian people find their own ways to communicate and affect each other in order to survive in this brutal world. Johnson’s character is influenced by his own experience and surroundings; his sparks of hope occur while he is on his journey to recovery.) Despite the fallacy of the American Dream, the characters of Denis Johnson and Raymond Carver have occasional moments of hope, either in the struggle to achieve the American Dream, or in spite of it.…

    • 2100 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays