The American Dream Exposed In Kanye's Song All Falls Down

The “American Dream” is a lifestyle that many citizens of the country fantasize about living. Yet, it’s shocking to think that this country is somewhere that poverty and luxury live only a block apart. The American culture is one that is despised by most and idolized by few. Some believe the nation to be ironically contradictive of how it is portrayed; they believe it to be an American nightmare rather than a dream. Others chase green cards and citizenship to socially move upward from blue collar customs to achieve a white picket fence lifestyle.

The American dream disguises itself as a deception that will lead to nothing but the complete opposite of what it means. Fitzgerald  was clearly addressing an issue he saw in his time and an issue that he thought would be present in the future, he was addressing the fact that people started to mistake the American Dream for a hope of a rich life rather than a better one. Through Gatsby, he showed that a life of material prosperity and glamour can often mask the underlying emptiness and dissatisfaction. For example, Gatsby lived a life “full” of people, but the quote “In his blue gardens...champagne and the stars” shows that despite all the people Gatsby hung out with he had no one who he truly could confide in or trust, he never actually connected with anyone (Source A).

The Facade of the American Dream The American Dream is the opportunity for all Americans to live a life of personal happiness and material comfort, but is it actually achievable? F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is a story of characters working hard to achieve the American Dream, but ultimately they are unable to ever realize their perfect life. The novel makes a strong naturalism argument about the rigid class system in society and the disillusionment of the American Dream.

He also writes about the nature of people or consumers, explaining that his friends are only going to be there when he is popular but once “the shit hits the fan” they show that they have been exploiting him for his talents. Def later on writes, “The industry just a better built cell block” which implies that the music industry traps artists. They strip artist of their free thinking and creativity, and makes them property which strips their identity. The music industry have been exploiting rappers and other artist for a long time. The Genius/GZA has a song called “Labels” were here raps about these labels wanting to practically own these artists.

Pay Up, Always Charged To many people believe conformity and nonconformity can be the same as freedom and slavery. But what is the outcome of them? Hopsin fails to conform to the majority of people in America. Boxer is beyond willing to conform to the new world crafted by Napoleon. But in the end they both face challenging times and are put at a disadvantage.

The ambition to fulfil the American Dream is false as the Dream is filled with as much flaws as advantages. Michael Schudson stated that “The American Dream’ is ‘The Great national suggestion’ (171) that anyone, with hard work according to the rules, has a reasonable prospect of succeeding in life,’highlighting that the Dream is not limited to any social of economic class. (566) The dream is open to anyone who is working hard in life. The idea of the American Dream is positive and promising.

The ariticle also says, “It’s not the way life is anymore. I used to believe I was responsible for my own destiny. But it’s not that simple. Now its faith and fortitude” (58). The previous quote is faulty because each individual is responsible for their own destiny, faith and fortitude have nothing to do with that.

In this sense, the Joads, like other immigrants, are deprived of equal opportunities and the pursuit of happiness in life. Even today the American Dream is not fully accomplished. Homelessness is still plaguing many metropolises in America, while the disparity between rich and poverty is still distinguished.

The Great Gatsby and the American Dream The Great Gatsby, written by Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, is a book that demonstrates how the American Dream is corrupt. The Great Gatsby presents three varieties of people, which includes the established rich, the newly rich, and the poor.

The American Dream is what many set their goals in life to be based upon, money, family, peace, and love. Every character in The Great Gatsby is selfish, but the four main characters that present themselves as the most selfish are, Daisy, Tom, Jordan, and Gatsby. In the Great Gatsby, the American Dream is present, but is overshadowed because of all the selfish people only wanting to become a higher class or show that they are of a higher class than everyone else around them. The Character that has the least amount significance to the story, but the most selfish is Jordan Baker. Jordan is described as an attractive, slender woman, small breasted and has a grey sun-strained eyes.

For example Kanye West and Langston Hughes. One example Kanye West uses in his song to show the american voice is “We buy our way out of jail, but we can’t buy freedom.”. This lyric in the song shows how americans have to try anything to get their freedom. Another example Kanye uses is when he says,” Cause they make us hate ourself and love they wealth.” This lyric show how people in america love the wealth more than themselves.

In the process of working toward the American Dream, people struggle to fit in, to belong, to be accepted. For many of them, an important part of the American Dream is the chance to reinvent themselves—the opportunity to become someone different, someone better. In “Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant”, Jose Antonio Vargas is an “undocumented immigrant” who has been living illegally in the U.S. since he was twelve years old. To chase his American dreams, he embodied a lie until it became unbearable and he expose his truth and let the masks crumble onto the ground. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, Martin Luther King Jr. broke unjust laws and engaged in nonviolence direct action in order to pursue his American dream of equality and freedom.

America is apple pie and baseball is the mantra that has been told about America for generations. That the American narrative is the story of rugged individuals, and the ideals of those freedom fighters rising up to create a better society. Better than the British society that they saw as oppressive. They wanted a more perfect union where all men are created equal. However, that same society those same freedom fighters deposited their ideas (god and bad) into a society that has created damaging, and disparate factions that continues to pay dividends today.