What Is The Melting Pot And The American Dream

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” are the words that symbolically represent the notion that America is a land that opens its doors of freedom and equality to all. Many individuals from all backgrounds sought this land for its eternal promise of land, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. However, along the way some individuals were at odds with finding an American identity due to the color of their skin and standard of living. Some were created more equal than others and the struggles of the foreigners that now called America home were on all platforms; social, economic, and cultural. This is the grim reality faced by many ethnic minorities. The toils of these people in creating a better foothold for them regardless of circumstance are a prime example of the American dream. Through their perpetual struggle to form a distinct identity these people have left their mark for the coming generations and this is their greatest accomplishment. The cultural and economic struggles of individuals from all creeds and faiths collectively make up the melting pot that encompasses the American identity.

The American melting pot represents the cultural diffusion of various ethnically diverse individuals that collectively share the pursuit of this eternal promise of the American dream. Through their distinct struggles and hardships, they have formed unique American identities. Their identity is based upon the continual quest to chase this dream of making it in America that only seems to evade them. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the American dream is explored through its unattainable nature, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us....

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...was substantial in helping to convey the spirits of African Americans in forming a unique identity.

What we call America is the culmination of the voices and actions of the individuals that have tread its earth. Their dreams represented what America stood for and still stands for today, a land of opportunity regardless of one’s status. However, the American dream itself is something that is ever changing and adapts to the likes of those that invest whole heartedly in it. The American dream is shaped greatly by ones circumstance, but that hasn’t stopped the millions that vied to conquer it by overcoming its adversities. On account of the stories of many, Troy Maxson, Richard Wright, or Jay Gatsby, it is evident that the American dream is ever changing, an idealistic centerpiece of American heritage that seems to somehow constantly evade those that believe in it.