The Crucible American Dream Analysis

The American Dream Why is the American dream a prominent sought out ambition between the individuals living within America? The question of the American dream has always been long debated and has a flexible topic structure. A consistent belief of this dream can be irregular and vary between people. The creation of the American dream is derived from the Declaration of Independence which states that each individual has the right to, “life,liberty,and the pursuit of happiness.” A fundamental aspect of the American dream is perseverance that will lead to financial prosperity in any case irregardless of social class or additional factors.

Chapter 1 establishes the epic context and tone for the entire novel. This brief, but important, opening chapter provides a backdrop for the main events of the narrative, describing the event primarily responsible for spurring the great migration to California during the 1930s. The destructive force of the Dust Bowl is staggeringly described as a backward life cycle, a regression from fertile green to a dead and dusty brown. The deterioration of the land that forces the farmers to huddle and "figger" foreshadows the plight of the Joads: Forced off their land by a bank looking for profit, they will move west seeking a new livelihood.

Accusation (noun): a charge or claim that someone has done something illegal or wrong. In today’s time accusations are made all the time. It is very certain that something similar to what happened in The Crucible happens still today. Just look at today’s political election, accusations and allegations are thrown everywhere and at everyone. On both sides, one person is accusing another of some act that is usually never proven to be true or false.

In the crucible by Arthur miller, took place in a small town named Salem Massachusetts, late 1600s. A massive amount of people were accused and found guilty in the court of law, what was their crime? Witchery. In the crucible the book had three themes listening to false accusations, greed and vengeance.

The Oxford Dictionary defines the “American dream” as, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative”. The American dream hasn’t evolved since the coining of the idea; the dream is still to have a steady job, a nice house, and a pleasant family. However, that dream does not appeal to everyone. Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild looks back upon the incredible journey of Chris McCandless. The story of a well-to-do young man who after graduating from a high-ranking university, donates all of savings to charity, burns the cash in his wallet, abandons all of his material possessions, and cuts ties with all of his family and friends to embark on his own personal odesseye in nature to carry out an adventure living in

In the book, “In Cold Blood,” Truman Capote takes us through the lives of the murderers and the murdered in the 1959 Clutter family homicide, which transpires in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. The first chapter, “The Last to See Them Alive,” vividly illustrates the daily activities of the Clutter family—Herbert, Bonnie, Nancy, and Kenyon—and the scheming plot of Dick Hickock and Perry Smith up to point where the family is found tied up, and brutally murdered. In doing so, he depicts the picture-perfect town of Holcomb with “blue skies and desert clear air”(3) whose safety is threatened when “four shotgun blasts that, all told, ended six human lives”(5). Through the eyes of a picture perfect family and criminals with social aspirations, Capote describes the American Dream and introduces his audience to the idea that this ideal was no more than an illusion. Herbert Clutter: the character Capote describes as the epitome of the American Dream.

Jennifer L. Hochschild describes the American dream as “the soul of the nation.” She clearly illustrates the importance of the dream to American culture. So, what is the American dream according to Hochschild? She was referring to John Locke and his fantasy, then said “But the sentence evokes the unsullied newness, infinite possibility, limitless resources that are commonly understood to be the essences of the “American dream.” She also pointed out the flaws in the American dream and how at times the pursuit of it can lead to counterproductive outcomes not just for the individual but society as a whole.

Lastly, the speaker uses tone to reflect the disbelief of “The American Dream”. Hazel felt like fairy-tales are just dreams and there is a difference between dreams and reality. For example, “tryin ta climb” (7 & 8). Hazel symbolizes society’s representation of women in the past; uneducated, un-ambitious, and un-believing in themselves or others. Also, “Sohelpmegod” (10).

The term “American dream” was coined in 1931 by James Adams. It is defined as the dream of a land where life is fuller and richer for everyone. This dream has been shared by millions of people all over the world since America was discovered. People such as European immigrants, and even people born in the Americas who wanted to expand west. The Joad family’s journey is a prime example of the determinism families had to try to live the American dream.

The Great Gatsby, written in 1924 by F. Scott Fitzgerald, in my opinion, focused on the American Dream and the problems with that vision. In contrast to all the other themes of the book, it seemed to be rather uplifting on the surface but when you look into the details it can paint a pretty disgusting picture of the American Dream in the 1920’s chiefly and the American Dream for all Americans throughout time in general. In the following, I will be discussing the American Dream in a whole over the course of the entire novel, using a specific quotation, and focusing on Gatsby. As we focus on the American Dream in the Great Gatsby, we must look in general across the entire book. We really first start to see foreshadowing to this theme in the second Chapter with George Wilson and Myrtle Wilson, one making a living as a mechanic/gas station operator, the other making money by being in an affair with Tom respectively.

“Requiem for the American Dream,” a documentary arranged by Peter D. Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, and Jared P. Scott, features an MIT professor of linguistics, Noam Chomsky, who narrates the film on the topic of inequality, democratization, solidarity, and unjust systems of today’s economy. Noam Chomsky intends to convince American citizens that the economy and democratic systems have negatively changed over the 20th century and into the 21st century. Additionally, Chomsky emphasizes that a shift in the economy from manufacturing to financial institutions is the result of the concentration of wealth and the Republican agenda for reformation. Due to the changes in the economy and the unjust vicious cycle, Chomsky is passionate and persistent in informing American citizens of the problematic economic shifts, spurring from the ideologies of recent presidents. Furthermore, Chomsky informs the public about how these illusory changes, implemented by the government, are negatively impacting the unaware lower class.

In the video, we can appreciate different realities that these people have to face every day, it might not be very different from our own reality but it is indeed a more challenging one. There are many families in the U.S. struggling each day, working to have a better life, to achieve “The American Dream”, but these particular families that life in Detroit and Oakland have more difficulties than most people. Their health is deteriorating by extreme pollution causing them asthma since an early age. Obesity is a major problem that is cause by the consumption of cheap food that they can only afford. Crime and Vandalism is part of their daily lives.

The American Dream begins with an affordable living arrangement and a good job, but with remorse, these two pieces are not connecting (Thompson, 2014). A college graduate can expect expensive housing with a job not reflective of the high housing price. In an article published in The Atlantic, “Why it’s So Hard for Millennials to Find a Place to Live and Work” Derek Thompson talks about the inequality between upward mobility and the housing market. For example, Dayton has one of the most affordable housing markets in the United States, however unlike California there is no social mobility (Thompson, 2014). The American dream is different for everyone and changes the course of action an individual may take.

The picture perfect life that the American Dream promotes is unrealistic and superficial because money is unable to fill the void of happiness or love. Contrary to earlier days, we now life in a time when even a strong work-ethic does not guarantee money, success or opportunities. While many are so ensorcelled by the illusions of the American Dream, we often fail to realize its falsity and constraints. Whether financially or socially, the society coaxes in the unsuspecting American dreamer, only to then spit them out in a wave of despair, failure and hopelessness. As demonstrated by numerous non-conformist individuals, the Dream lies not in the realm of materialism but rather in that of the intangible; often requiring an extreme leap of faith

The American Dream Explained What is the American Dream? James Truslow Adams stated in his book The Epic of America, 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…” (p.214-215). The American Dream has changed from our Founding Fathers writing of the Declaration of Independence protecting our opportunity to improve our life, no matter who we are to the materialistic things that the American Dream is for some today in the year 2018.