Harry Hansen
Ms. Fredregill
Accelerated Language & Literature III
8 March 2023
The Lie of the Century
The American Dream, a timeless relic of the past. For decades, the American dream was used as a mechanism to create a false reality of opportunity, luring in many only to disappoint. This nation has failed to create an adequate society for all and has chosen to keep people down rather than bring groups up. Professional Articles and famous works of literature have proven that the American Dream is the exploitation of individuals for the benefit of one holding higher economic prestige, making the dream only attainable for the wealthy white American, being unreachable for the lower class and people of color.
The American Dream being an exploitation
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Scott Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, The Great Gatsby. Fitzgerald proves the prior mentioned definition of the American Dream through Gatsby’s use and exploitation of Nick. When reading the Great Gatsby, it easy to observe how Gatsby almost uses Nick to get his own desire, Daisy. Throughout the novel Nick is constantly doing favors for his “friend” Gatsby, but Nick is simply a conduit in a larger game. Gatsby, a rich man, is able to befriend Nick over the course of a few months, to the point where Gatsby and Daisy eventually meet up at Nick’s house for tea, impossible without Nick. Gatsby, now getting closer to Daisy each day with the help of his new tool Nick. Fitzgerald even furthers this notion through text where Daisy is at one of Gatsby’s parties. The author states, “He hadn’t once ceased looking at Daisy, and I think he revalued everything in his house of the response it drew from her well-loved eyes. Sometimes he too stared around at his …show more content…
Wealth inequality for American citizens has been a common issue since the birth of this nation. From enslavement of African Americans in the southern states, to underpaying women as a whole, America has struggled with wealth disparities. The American dream is absolutely no different as Sandra L. Combs proves. She claims that since not all Americans have the ability to access the American Dream, how can anyone envision it in the first place. Sandra L. Combs claims in her article “The American dream: Divisible Economic Justice for All,” when more than 24% of the people in Mississippi, more than 20% of the people in New Mexico, and more than 18% of the people in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C., are living below the poverty level, there is no economic justice for all. When five states have no minimum wage laws and four states have minimum wage rates lower than that of the federal government, there is no economic justice for all U.S. citizens.” The American Dream claims to allow all to prosper in this nation, but the question that is seldom asked is, how many are failing? How many citizens of this nation are unable to observe this dream, that all Americans are entitled to receive. How many poor individuals have to suffer because of backwards working laws. The clear answer is enough to fill an employer’s chauffeurs. The truth is that our nation has created a set of rules,
In this essay, Brandon King spoke about the American Dream. King portrayed the American Dream as a “land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone with opportunity for each according to ability and achievements, regardless of status or circumstances”(610). As King proceeds on, He questioned the state of the so-called " American Dream”. Some states that this dream has been long forgotten. Destroyed by the Great Recession and the economic hardship that many Americans had to face.
In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows the corruption of the American Dream through Gatsby, Myrtle and Tom’s actions. Gatsby’s attempts at trying to get Daisy to love him shows the corruption of the American Dream. One of the first things he does is lie to Nick, Daisy’s cousin. He claims: “I was brought up
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 was an ideal in the 1900s and on that equality was available to any American. This ideal has been debated about whether this is achievable by anyone. The American Dream today has many barriers that prevent this ideal from being achievable. The barriers that prevent the American Dream from being achievable involve intense pursuit of wealth. For example, in the Great Gatsby, Gatsby has been so hypnotized with this pursuit for his amount of wealth, made his ineligible to achieve the American Dream.
It is impossible for the average American to achieve the American Dream if they are not high status and swimming in pools of diamonds. The American Dream still exists, but it’s not equally accessible to all Americans. The American Dream is the ideology that has shaped the United States into
Everyone has a dream that they wish to pursue and achieve. For some, it is wealth, and for others, it is a life full of happiness. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald tells the story, through the character Nick Carraway, of a man whose end goal was to have the American Dream. While many believe the American Dream is to reach a high status and wealth, for Gatsby, his American Dream was to be with his true love, Daisy Buchanan. In the beginning, Gatsby and Daisy were lovers, but Gatsby went off to war.
Scott Fitzgerald uses The Great Gatsby to depict the American Dream as materialistic, fallible, and otherwise unlikely to work out for the average man. He writes that, while one can pull themselves up by their bootstraps and work their way up to the upper echelon like Gatsby did, true happiness and success will always be out of reach because the American Dream is the constant drive to have and be better, proven in his writing when he says, “It eluded us then, but that’s no matter – to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther” (180). Gatsby’s character in and of itself proves the corruption of the dream. He sets out with pure intentions but is warped by the 1920’s era obsession with materialism and as such misinterprets the American Dream as an accumulation of wealth and status. No cost seemed too high for Gatsby if it meant getting what he wanted, whether it be in money or morals.
The “American dream” is the belief that hard work and determination can lead to success regardless of background or circumstances. With this belief comes assumptions of what one might want to achieve; an assumption of what everyone wants. Of course, it is impossible for everyone to want the exact same thing and unrealistic to believe that everyone can achieve the same thing the same way given the diverse range of circumstances, ranging from financial hardships to discrimination and prejudice. The American dream is not every American's dream nor is achieving it the same experience for everyone. With the “American dream” comes flaws and unexpected setbacks and obstacles that inevitably lead to disillusionment.
The American Dream is often seen as a goal for many people in the United States, with the idea that it can lead to a more fulfilling, richer, and happier life. This concept is rooted in the early days of the country and the belief that "all men are created equal," meaning that the American Dream is meant to be a clear path to success for all Americans regardless of their race, gender, sexuality, political beliefs, or religion. However, upon further examination, it becomes clear that the true American Dream has not been fully achieved. Despite the promise of equality and opportunity, there are still barriers and inequalities that prevent certain groups from achieving the same level of success as others. This suggests that the American Dream,
America is known as “The Land of Opportunity” and it established the concept of the American Dream in the 1900’s. The fight for this dream was prevalent even before it was given a name in 1930. The founding fathers wrote this belief into the constitution with the words “All Americans are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” .Some Americans believe that the American Dream can still be obtained in the 21st Century with hard work and perservance ; however, a majority of the American population among race gender and class has a different point of view on what America still provides to their citizens because economic insta8bility and lack of equal opportunity.
Helen Molina Mrs. Stele AP English language and composition March 6, 2023 When understanding the American Dream what comes to mind is wealth and being successful. However, this also connects to the American Dream in the Great Gatsby; therefore, was also wealthy and successful. Fitzgerald obviously viewed the American Dream and wanted the audience to understand the American Dream as somewhere an individual could be at one point. As a result, Nick’s “American Dream” was one day to become as successful as Gatsby.
In “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?”, Brandon King boldly decides to redefine the concept of “the American Dream” and claims that it is “the key to climbing out of the Great Recession, overcoming inequality, and achieving true prosperity.” (573) In his essay, his new definition of the American Dream is “the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future,” (573) which contrasts against the original idea that it “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 and achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth,” as proposed by James Truslow Adams. While this is an impressive redefinition of the
Source C argues that the American Dream should be a promise of equal opportunity for all and that the current economic and social conditions have made it increasingly difficult for many Americans to achieve
The American dream at one point was what drew people to American; the right to life, liberty, and the happiness. The American dream is the hope to acquire currency, large homes, raise a middle-class family, and pursue what brings people joy in life. But in the year 2016, the American dream becomes hard to believe in. The American dream may still exist, but it is not equally accessible to all Americans. This is true because the American dream is not affordable for everyone, it is not available to everyone from different degrees of education, and race and ethnicity creates large social barriers.
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.