Wyatt-Nicol: The American Dream

For decades, hope of attaining the elusive American Dream has filled the hearts and minds of many diligent students, ambitious entrepreneurs and aspiring creatives. The idea that hard work and perseverance can spur on success was at the core of what America represented for so many of its citizens and admirers. Rightfully so, American was once dubbed “The Land of Opportunity.” Unfortunately, the endless possibilities depicted in the American Dream have become nearly extinct. No longer is it true that anyone can make it in contemporary America; in fact, the idea of the American Dream proves itself to be inaccurate and even prejudiced in today’s culture.

American Dream The American Dream has come from a desire to increase social standing and quality of living. Although the U.S.’ numerous opportunities have allowed many people to achieve their dream, the American Dream is also flawed. Certain demographics tend to live together in areas with little opportunities reducing their chances of achieving the dream, increasing wealth inequality allows only some to support themselves, and economic downfalls make the American Dream exist in a flawed manner.

Is the American Dream Still Possible? There are 318.9 million people living in the United States and every citizen has the desire to fulfil their own American Dream. The traditional American Dream is a common concept known by all citizens but is viewed differently by each individual. Every American is different and believes they can be granted their dream or denied it.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald used The Great Gatsby to show his belief in the American Dream: “He warned that a pursuit of happiness driven by greed was not attainable. That is because someone else always had more” (Amadeo). Jay Gatsby tried all his life to fulfill his dream but he always faced failure because he yearned beyond what could be given to him. The definition of the American Dream is a farce that leads to discouragement and disappointments (Arnade). No matter how hard one works, the American Dream will bring people to discontent because of society’s obsession with unattainable desires.

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.

The American Dream The American dream has been hoped for centuries. The example is in the 80 's a large number of people left Europe. With a determination to achieve they dream, some of them saw their dream come true, but other did not. People think the American dream says that anything can happen if peoples work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The American obtainable in their minds.

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.

The American Dream is 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 was first publicly defined in 1931. James Truslow Adams used the quote in his book. He said, "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." The American Dream is in the Declaration of Independence.

The American Dream is a concept in which an opportunity for success and prosperity can be achieved through hard work in a society with very few barriers standing in their way; a dream to live a rich, fruitful and luxurious lifestyle that could only be achieved in a country such as America where all your dreams could be made into a reality, to live in big houses and drive fancy cars and never having to worry about not having money ever again. In “Of Mice and Men” I understand the ‘American Dream’ in the context of this novel to be George and Lennie’s fragile dream to one day own a ranch of their own. That one day on their very own ranch will have a large vegetable patch, cows, pigs, chickens and of course rabbits that Lennie will tend to. That

Throughout the course of recorded history people have always had ambitions of living a safe and secure life free from excessive control. The discovery and expansion of America created a melting pot for people from all over to immigrate and begin new lives. The people migrating to America dreamed of a new beginning and a flourishing lifestyle, driven by hard work and dedication. The American dream can be accomplished through perseverance and hard work to achieve our goals; and the strong sense of community to increase the well-being of everyone, not just oneself.