The American Dream Essay

If asked to define the American Dream each individual person may define the meaning in

Revenge: to take vengeance for; inflict punishment for. The American society is quick to outcast those who are different and do not fulfill the American Dream expectations. Truman Capote’s book, In Cold Blood, tells the real life story of the Clutter family who were known as the perfect family. The Clutter’s were murdered by two men that were outsiders their whole life because they were different and did not meet the ideal image presented. Capote’s novel was to demonstrate how having this expectation affects oneself when they feel unaccepted by society. The ideal image is trigger cause of revenge in the novel. The ideal image causes people to feel outcasted, which evidently leads to revenge.

The American Dream is a concept that we have created which illustrates a perfect life. Growing up, we are taught that we can be anything we dream of as long as we put our mind to it. We view ourselves and our country as the best, since we believe that we can achieve any goal with effort and perseverance. As stated in John Steinbeck’s “Paradox and Dream,” we are strong believers of our beliefs and “seem to be in a state of turmoil all the time, both physically and mentally”. We have made it appear as if the American Dream can be achieved as we are diligent, well inherited individuals that could make anything possible as long as we have the mentality and commitment to accomplish it.

What is the American dream? 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." - James Truslow Adams. The American dream can be defined in many different ways. Thus being, can people achieve their American dream? Many people could achieve the American dream through self determination and perseverance, but the American dream could be unachievable when facing financial obstacles or the costs of college.

The definition of the American Dream is as follows: the foundation idea that the individual can come from nothing and become anything. It’s the idea that the american system of Capitalism allows anyone to fulfill their dreams. However, most people believe in their own American Dream, their own “perfect life.” It can be full of happiness, money, love, food, cars, whatever anyone desires, everyone has a different opinion. In “Scratch Beginnings”, Adam Shepard gives the listing of three people who lives in the society, “1. Those that go to school and educate themselves and go on to live professional lives; 2. Workaholics, who spend their lives breaking their backs, laboring to make somebody else rich; and 3. The lazy, those

Dreaming of success, a bright future, or even hope? An idea placed in the Declaration of Independence, The American Dream has been a beacon of hope to many; however, does The American Dream really exist? Some can and will argue that it’s dead, and that it isn’t achievable. I believe it’s alive, but it has to be realistic. By being realistic, anything could be possible, but only with the amount of effort put forth. The American Dream is an opportunity in which a determined person can have exceptional success through dedication and hard work, achieving equality, freedom, and personal goals.

Many people fantasize about the American dream. In his book The Epic of America, James Truslow Adams (1931) describes the American Dream as a, “...dream of land in which life should be better and richer and full for everyone with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” The American Dream is the idea that if a person has a significant amount of money and friends that they will be happy. It is in our nature as humans to want to be the best and have nicer things than our peers. The majority of people try to achieve the American Dream so that they will feel more exceptional to others. Though, in The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is a fallacy that the character Nick realizes can never truly be attained.

American Dream has many different definitions in this day and age. For some it 's starting from little and making their way up to a successful prosperous life. For others it 's reaching happiness and a family. And for some the American dream is freedom but however the American dream is portrayed they all have something in common and that is happiness. My definition of the American Dream is someone who starts from nothing and makes their way through life in a happy and healthy way. Not everyone is capable of reaching the American dream. In Of Mice and Men the American dream was not reached by Lennie and George. In A Raisin in the Sun, they too did not reach the American dream. The American dream is a difficult thing to accomplish even though many live their lives trying got achieve this dream.

Since the beginning of time in the United States, the idea of the American Dream has had a heavy influence on society. According to Document C, American Dream is defined as earning enough money to be happy, obtaining a worry-free lifestyle, and running in a high social circle. While working Americans still hold on to the hope of the American Dream, individuals from other countries often move to the United States with the hope that they too may have a piece of the pie. Despite the novelty and allure of the American Dream, it is nothing more than false hope. The American Dream is unachievable in the United States because no matter how hard one works or how hard one tries to save money, the American Dream is simply not accessible to those that begin with nothing.

“Things usually work out in the end.” “What if they don’t?” “That just means you haven’t come to the end yet.” (Walls 259) By definition, The American Dream is both the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American as well as a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S. In the memoir The Glass Castle, the Walls’ family deals two major  social issues that conflict with the sensationalism surrounding the idea of their American Dream; alcoholism and poverty; furthermore, these two main social issues are essentially the reason their American Dream was not attained, but also not being on equal footing as others, in other words inequality throughout

The term, “American dream,” was first used by historian James Truslow Adams. James stated that the American dream was, “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.” Although the quote states a perfect definition of the American dream, this term can be interpreted in several ways. The American dream is achieving a goal that before was seen as impossible or unlikely, making a decision that could improve the life of future descendants, and having goals that you want to accomplish.

Freedom, equality, happiness, family, mobility, opportunity, education, diversity. This is the American Dream. The American Dream represents the lifelong goal that one works towards and dreams about throughout his/her whole life. Some believe that this American Dream, appealing though it seems, is not accessible to everyone. However, this is not true. The American Dream is accessible to everyone. Many reasons support this conclusion, some of which include the facts that one can always make the right choices, there are always jobs available, and anything is possible if one is determined.

The concept of the American Dream connects with each individual different, but most would agree that it is the ability to live the way you desire and the freedom to choose your own route. The American Dream is about the freedom to obtain whatever you wish if you are clever and work hard enough. The reason why people from different countries come to America is to escape an unfair class system, to search for better opportunities for their families, and to live in freedom and security provided by the police and military. The American Dream for jihad radicalists in The Looming Tower is to establish an Islamic state worldwide. On the other hand, the Latino community wants to work hard, provide for their family, and live in peace. Although, both

While using different choices of words from time to time, the American dream basically add up to the same meaning of equal opportunity and hard work. In the text by Cal Thomas he discuss’ what the American Dream means to him and that is “building a life on the foundational principles that created and have sustained America for more than 200

What is the American dream? America always had that impact in other countries, as the land of dreams, opportunity, freedom of speech, and the list goes on and on. The American dream is about working hard to get were you want to be, make ours children lives better then what we had as child. Fitzgeral explains in his book, in 1920’s the American dream is about getting wealthy, it didn’t matter how you get it there, It’s not much different than today. Nick says “I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter of a century after my father, and I little later I participated in that Teutonic migration know as the Great War.” (3) Yale was a very popular university, it was known for athletic programs and its connection with the Military, it was one of the to universities. Nick was not much different than anyone else, he fought in Great War and soon after he enrolled at Yale. Nick also mentions, “ so I decided to go east and learn the bond business. Everybody I knew was in the bond business, so I supported it could support one more single man.” (3) After the War the economy was growing very quick and everyone wanted to be in the bond business, it was a quick way to get rich. Nick always admire his father, one of the things Nick’s father passed along to him was "Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven 't had the advantages that you 've had" (1.2). Nicks parents though him not to show off what he has and always think