The American Dream In The Walking Dead

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The “American Dream”, the belief in the ideals of freedom, equality, and personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S. This was the popular ideals of the people of early 1900’s, however more recently it has been widely accepted by U.S. citizens that the American dream is non-existent this day in age. However, the graphic novel “The Walking Dead” has provided countless evidence that the American Dream is not dead; ranging from the survivors of the story attempting to live normal and happy lives, to people of the graphic novel trying to find their significant other despite the ongoing zombie apocalypse. Due to this evidence being present so consistently throughout the novel, I truly believe that “The …show more content…

Once Rick shows up, the idea of a happy family is instilled in the minds of the other survivors. Causing most of the other survivors to go off and look for their own happiness through a significant other; shown through Andrea and Dale having sex in the gated community, Maggie and Glenn deciding to “Fuck”, and Tyreese and Carol deciding to begin “dating shown from their conversation on the farm while they are lying together. While other readers may say that all of these people coming together is human nature, I see their longing for someone to share their lives with as attempting to chase the American dream, in the sense of personal happiness. Furthermore, Glenn told Maggie that “everyone around me is pairing off”, making the act of what should be considered love sound like a job only meant to help him achieve his own personal happiness through chasing the American dream.

Throughout the novel people are trying to live how they did before the apocalypse began. Either it be having family dinners with everyone or having burial services for the people unfortunate enough to be caught by the dead; everyone in this novel has attempted to chase the American dream. Causing the assumption to be made that the graphic novel “The Walking Dead” is a prime example of the pursuit of the American dream. Giving further proof that the American dream is not only still around, but something we subconsciously strive for no matter what the

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