Out This Furnace Analysis

A lingering question to many of the less fortunate in America pertains to the existence of the so-called “American dream.” Does this American dream exist and is it attainable? The American dream inspires many immigrants move to America, hoping to better their lives and those of their families. However, in the novel, Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich’s attempt achieve the American dream deems it not possibly attainable. Likewise, today, in the twenty-first century, the American dream is still not attainable.

The popular perception of the American dream is that it is the perfect formula to achieve whatever you desire through unmatched opportunities. However, in reality the core of the dream holds many hidden flaws that ultimately discredit its validity. Throughout American History, examples of the privileged citizens see more respect to every life task that occurs. As for the rest of the population, the minorities who have been stepped over, suffer bias opinions that affect success barriers they attempt to cross. There is a sense of hypocrisy within the American dream discussion because the minorities that supposedly make this country diverse, fall under the crumbles of the privileged.

In “Prayer in the Furnace,” Phil Klay demonstrates the cruelty of war times, and the severe consequences it has on its Marines. The war is so appalling that it leaves the Marines barely able to sleep due to nightmares, they have thoughts of suicide, and they are hardly alive due to the substandard state of their health.

Throughout time many people of many different ethnicities have come to America in search of the American dream, not knowing whether or not it was still there to pursue or if it was even worth pursuing. Although those

Introduction Throughout the history of the United States of America, there has been an evident issue with the “newcomers”, the American dream, and the upward mobility of the lower class immigrants in 1920s in America. Ethnic organized crime is a phenomenon that has been largely ignored by social scientists and historians . American dream is a widely used term that became a powerful metaphor, of the American values. Americans believe, that these values can be reached through hard work and individual effort. Amongst these values is one, which James Truslow Adams in the “epic of America”, which signifies one of the values “being able to grow to grow to fullest development as men and women unhampered by the barriers which had slowly been erected

It has been contended that the socioeconomics status of an individual does not impact the difficulty of hardships faced while striving towards the American Dream. In “The (futile) Pursuit of the American Dream”, Barbara Ehrenreich suggests “...while blue-collar poverty has become numbingly route, white-collar unemployment and the poverty that often results- remains a rude finger in the face of the American Dream.” To put succinctly Ehrenreich claims all who pursue the American Dream encounter the same difficult hardships. However, the socioeconomic status of an individual impacts the jobs the individual obtains, the education obtained, and ultimately the income of the individual; thus, impacting the difficulty of the hardships faced.

No matter who you are or where you have come from, you have undoubtedly heard of the American Dream. The idea that no matter who you are or where you have come from, you can do whatever it is you desire in America. What was once one the main driving forces for immigrants to flock to the new world, has slowly changed over the years, but still holds its value in the eyes of those who are looking for a promising new place to live. The American dream might not hold the same awe inspiring sound that it once did, but for many generations before ours it was a beacon of hope that helped build the foundation that the United States was built on. And, still, today the American dream might not be as achievable as it once was, but it is still an important

Even though the optimal American Dream doesn’t promise that all citizens will achieve personal success, it offers equality and fortunes for them to pursue dreams through hard work. However, during the Industrial Age, American Dream didn’t apply to lower-class proletariat. Most immigrants from southern and eastern Europe arrived in the United States to escape religious persecution and poverty in their home countries and also seek new opportunities because of advertisements of the American Dream. But, they did realize that fantasy differed from reality after their arrival. As unskilled foreigners who suffered poverty and lacked experience and English skills, immigrants lived in nasty tenements located in city ghettos, earned little wages that

This idea that poor workers could increase their place in society through hard work and determination truly changed the world. The American Dream is the reason that many of the early immigrants came to America. In the old world, peasants often starved and lived in crushing poverty. Many immigrants decided to journey here for the mere possibility of a better life: “ America was truly a new world, a place where one could live one’s life and pursue one’s goals unburdened by older societies’ prescribed ideas of class, caste, and social hierarchy.” (Kamp 23).

The life of immigrants living on the Lower East Side in the late 1800s early 1900s was tough. Coming to a new country itself is difficult. Immigrants didn’t have much to begin with. Most of them had jobs that allow them to barely live. Anzia Yezierska’s short story “The Lost ’Beautifulness’” depicts the immigration experience.

Immigration and The American Dream Immigrants from the mid 19th century and early 20th century consisted of mainly Southern and Eastern Europe, Asia, and elsewhere. Immigrants motivations, experiences, and impacts shaped what an immigrant had to go through being a different person from another country. Although Americans dislike foreigners who came to the United States, immigrants had a role in political, economic, cultural, and social aspects of immigrants because of their motivations, experiences, and impacts in America. New Immigrants did not have it easy and went through obstacles natives, political figures, bosses and others had thrown at them.

I became interested in this topic because both my parents came from Mexico to Los Angeles in 1975. They both wanted to have better economic opportunities in the US and wanted to achieve the “American Dream.” As my father and mother both settled in Los Angeles, both acquired jobs working

The American dream, a promise of prosperity in exchange for an honest day's work. This revered land, attracting idealists with hope and opportunity; a haven from persecution and impoverishment. Violations of human integrity have been an insidious truth surrounding immigrants; often their own naivety used as ammunition to rob the ambitions they once held so closely. In 1970 there was an estimated 9.6 million immigrants in the United States.

Back in the early 1900’s the American dream was known around the world and thought of as easily capable; Nowadays the “American Dream” is not as reachable, the economy has changed and there have been shortages in jobs. Immigrants who move into the United States strive to work a

Impossible Dreams The meaning of the American Dream can be seen as ”A uniquely American vision of the country consisting of three central ideas. The American dream consists of a belief in America as the new Eden- a land of beauty, bounty, and unlimited promise; a feeling of optimism, created by ever expanding opportunity; and a confidence in the triumph of the individual.” Using this definition of the so called “American dream”, it seems to be a great representation of it at first, until you realize it includes everyone as the individual. From the beginning of the Civil war to the end of the War to End All Wars, the American Dream wasn’t possible due to the treatment of the Native Americans, the inequality between women and men, and the false promises given to the immigrants coming to our country in their time of need.