We all have dreams as individuals, but what is the American dream? When I think about the American dream the image of a family comes to my mind. But is the picture perfect family in front their home really the American dream? It most certainty is not. My family is far from perfect; the Youngers are also far from perfect. A family of six in a two-bedroom apartment as Ruth puts it is “Hell”. Living in a four-bedroom house with six people can get a little cramped, I cannot imagine living in a two-bedroom apartment.
The American dream is to own their own house. As simple as it may sound it’s not the easiest thing to get. It takes time and hard work. However, it’s also not the only American dream. Just like there are four generations of Younger there are four stages to the American dream.
Lets start with the youngest version and the most simple, Travis. As kids we’re pretty easy to please. Just give us a yard to run around in and were set. Its not until we get older that we begin to discover who we are, and what we want to do with our lives. I personally relate most to Beneatha. She wants to go to school to be a doctor and trying new things in order to express her self. We may not have the same dream but we are in the same stage of our American dream. Which is to go to school to better ourselves and discover our identity.
It is when we began to settle down, get married and have children that the stage of owning our own home comes into play. Walter and Ruth are in this stage of their life. Ruth wants a space for her family to grow and be happy in. I’m not saying Walter doesn’t want this for his family, he’s just is a bit caught up in how he thinks he can achieve this dream. Walter like some American goes about achieving his dreams in ...
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...r had the money to put a down payment on the house. Perhaps if they work hard enough and all pitched in it could be possible. If you truly want something I think anything is worth going after.
Our idea of success is owning your own home. This is the American dream because it is a place for your family to grow a place of privacy. Your house can say a lot about you and who you are. But it is also very materialistic. I don’t think it is the house itself that is the American dream but the family inside the home.
That picture perfect family we talked about earlier. Although no one is perfect, it dose not mean you cant have the happy family. A Raisin in the Sun may revolve around the theme of the American dream I believe that while there is a materialistic America dream there is also one that is a state of mind. A happy family is possible defiantly and worth achieving.
In Lorraine Hansberry's inspirational play A Raisin in the Sun, a working class African American family's life is turned upside down when death comes for their father. In this play, the main characters: Walter, Benetha, Ruth, and Mama(Lena), all dream of having a better life. Despite the living conditions that rule their lives, they each try to pursue the "American Dream." Although the "American Dream," is different for each character, by the end of the play and through many trials and tribulations; the Younger's come to realize who's dream is the most important.
To me the American Dream comes right back to being stable in a financial aspect. I hate to think in a mind set that everything Is about money but that’s how I view The American Dream. Since I was a little girl I have always had the American Dream drawn up in my mind. This was far before I knew how I would have the means to support it such as a college degree and the job after graduation. Both things that I am still seeking but closer and closer to achieving every day. My America Dream has always looked like a large white house, newly build on a corner lot. The garage will be on the side of the house and a long drive-way which will include my black Land
Walter feels as though no one in the family supports his idea of opening a liquor store, but they want him to be an entrepreneur, but opening a liquor store is against his mother's moral grounds. Walter's arrogance is clearer when he asks Beneatha about her decision to become a doctor: He asks why she couldn't just become a nurse or get married "like other women." When he comes home after drinking with his friends and Beneatha is dancing to the African music, he says, "Shut up" to Ruth, just before joining Beneatha in the dance. Walter is obsessed with getting money so that he can buy "things for Ruth"; he is unaware that treating Ruth more kindly and with more respect would be more appreciated and valued than any "gifts."
Lorraine Hansberry’s novel, A Raisin in the Sun, revolves around a middle-class African-American family, struggling during World War II. By reading about the Younger’s true to life experiences, one learns many important life lessons. One of the aforementioned would be that a person should always put family’s needs before their own. There are many examples of this throughout the novel. Just a few of these would be the example of Ruth and her unborn baby, Walter regaining the respect of his family, and Mama and her unselfish ways.
Ruth wanting to get an abortion shows that money has a big influence the character’s actions in the story. She is a woman of about thirty who has given up on life, but she is a kind woman who cares a lot about her family. She is described as “a pretty girl, but now it is apparent that life ahs been little that she expected, and disappointment has already begun to hang in her face (Raisin in the Sun, p. 610).” Ruth knows that the family does not have enough money , and that they are cramped into a little house. When she learns that she is pregnant, she decides she is going to have an abortion because she feels they just don’t have any money to support another child. Her husband, Walter, does not believe she actually thinks of doing this, and tells his mother that Ruth would never do that. Ruth then comes into the room and tells him he is wrong and that she has already put down a down payment on the abortion (p.639).
Their sadness at unfulfilled dreams overlain with the burden of Ruth's pregnancy gets out of hand when Walter says, "Who even cares about you?" The two of them realize at that time that their relationship has dwindled to nothing but nagging and rude comments. Walter may be sorry for having said that to his wife, because he probably loves her, but he is at the end of his rope. He feels that every dream he has had has been taken away from him, either by bad timing or by the white man in general. Ruth, on the other hand, has never had any other dream except to keep her family together and in working order, and now that is falling apart.
The American Dream is something that anyone no matter their background, social standings, or ethnicity can improve their life through hard work.
The American dream can be defined as the promise of living in America with opportunities for all, regardless of social class, and according to their ability and effort (Schnell, 2010). Proponents of the American dream believe that there is equal opportunity for all in the American society to achieve success. Success is not pegged on social status, race, or creed, but rather on an individual’s own efforts. The definition of the American dream has unique interpretations to different people. The most common meaning is that of a life of abundance and prosperity, characterized by economic rewards that enable one to live a middle class life of comfort. Here, success is measured by material possessions such as beautiful homes, cars, a high income, and the ability to spend on luxury items. America is considered a land of plenty, and as such, many who come to the United States in search of the American dream have this form of success in mind.
Achieving the American Dream has been the ideal for people living in the United States for decades. People believed that the way to get there was through hard work, also known as the “Protestant work ethic”. The American Dream can vary depending on the person. Some people think that owning a house with a white picket-fence is the American Dream while others think that it is becoming a celebrity with a lot of money.
The Definition of the American Dream as the Merriam-Webster dictionary stated is a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful With good jobs, a nice house, two children, and plenty of money. For a quite good number of americans and even other nationalities the phrase ' The American Dream ' is the motto of fine living for them. It's a motto that have been romanticized to the extreme, where unrealistic expectations are linked to the idea of living in America and what can the land provide for the individual. Also, it's a long ,controvertial and debated subject. The concept of the American Dream began with the settlement of
The American Dream is one of the central ideals of our country, and it has been one of the most “American” aspects of our society since its founding until today. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, particularly focus how impossible it is to achieve and what the effects of not achieving The American Dream are. As one of the oldest philosophies of our country, the general idea of The American Dream has stayed mostly the same, but some of the finer points of has gone through change in the 400 years since the pilgrims landed. Overall, the message of the American Dream has been making something out of nothing, and making a better life for you and your descendents. The modern American Dream was based on the idea of buying a house being the achievement of The American Dream. This movement largely came from Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, which was an economic jump start in the Great Depression. Part of the New Deal included a 1934 housing bill called The National Housing Act, which encouraged the building and ownership of homes. Even though Of Mice and Men takes place around this time (during the Great Depression) while The Outsiders takes place much later in the same century, both books center around this dream.
First, what is the American dream? According to David Wallechinsky, “the traditional American Dream is based on the belief that hardworking citizens can improve their lives, pay their monthly bill without worry, give their children a start to an even better life, and still save enough to live comfortably after they retire” (1). “The American Dream” states, “It has always represented the possibility for individuals to succeed and live a life of wealth and comfort, made possible by both the political and economic attitudes in the USA and the individual’s own hard work” (1). Daniella Nicole adds that “in years past, chasing the American Dream meant the sky was the limit. . .” (1). “At the core of the concept is the individual’s responsibility to aim for and achieve the American dream by working hard and taking advantage of the freedom offered to them by the country” (“The American Dream” 1). “A recent nationwide survey from LearnVest found that 43 percent of Americans today feel the dream is attainable for everyone - and about the same percentage feels that it’s within their grasp, personally,” notes Camille Noe Pagan. “For American Dreamers today,” states Nicole, ...
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. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth and position.” (Adams) This quote is from James Truslow Adams, a historian, who coined the term “The American Dream”, in his book “The epic of America”, published in 1933.
The romantic idea of the American Dream is in a period of change. While it used to represent an ideal lifestyle that any citizen could achieve if they worked hard enough, that lifestyle is becoming a hard reality to achieve for the majority of Americans. Timothy Egan wrote that living the American Dream meant you could “buy new cars, take decent vacations, and enjoy full health care benefits” (106). Homeownership, a spouse, and a few kids are also commonly described in the American Dream, as well as having a job of which you could feel proud.
Mama talks to Walter about her fears of the family falling apart. This is the reason she bought the house and she wants him to understand. Walter doesn't understand and gets angry. "What you need me to say you done right for? You the head of this family. You run our lives like you want to. It was your money and you did what you wanted with it. So what you need for me to say it was all right for? So you butchered up a dream of mine - you - who always talking 'bout your children's dreams..." Walter is so obsessive over money that he yells at his mom for not giving him all of it. He doesn't know that what his mom is doing is for the family. He thinks that having money will make the family happy, when in reality the family doesn't need anymore than what they have to be happy.