Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
narrative of the american dream
freedom and the pursuit of happiness
american dream personal statement
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: narrative of the american dream
The American Dream can be traced to the Declaration of Independence which states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed…with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Jefferson). These doctrines are the foundation of the rights of all citizens in the United States. For over a century these ideas have drawn people from foreign shores to America, the land of opportunity, a place where dreams can be achieved. The very concept of the American dream is built upon the idea that whatever you dream can be made to happen because there are few government barriers place upon the citizens. It is deceptive in its name the American Dream; for that implies that there is one dream for all. In fact, the American Dream is very personal. It means different things to different people, but it is always inspirational. It is the dream of its own citizens; some here for generations while some may be new citizens. The concept that this country offers opportunities that can be obtained by anyone provides people with the ability to dream their own dreams. The American Dream can be a motivational fire, but if ne wished to not be burned, one must focus on building a balanced life of family, honest work and love. lf had finished feeling and thinking. The kiss of his memory made pictures of love and light against the wall. Here was peace. (20.12) Although there is a stereotypical American Dream, people personalize it to make it their own. The attainability of the stereotypical goal cannot be evaluated because of the variations of this dream. For instance, the most common version is the idea of rags to riches. When Arnold Schwarzenegger came “here with empty pockets, but full of dreams, full of determination, full of desire" (Schwarzenegger 27), he was fulfilling the dream of an immigrant. While making the Keynote Address at the Republican National Convention in 2004, he stated that he wanted and achieved, success, a career and a family, which he owes to America (27). The traditional concept of rags to riches is not always the foundation of some people's dreams. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s dream is to relive his fantasy with his idealized former lover. He uses the rags to riches portion of the American Dream as a means to an end. He spends his life trying to gain Daisy’s love and subsequently a higher social status.
The American Dream was derived from the United States Declaration of Independence which states that, “All mean are created equal” and that they are “endowed by their creator with certain inalienable Rights” including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness” (US 1776). This means that every person has equal opportunity
The American Dream is an idea that anyone can live in the United States through hard work and live happy successful lives. There are many obstacles that would stand in the way from achieving the American Dream. Fear, money and education/training, families changing in size, disability, race and gender, are some of the hurdles that many Americans face as they try to achieve the typical American Dream.
Dreaming is a big part of all our lives. We all dream to someday do something with our lives. For this reason many people come to America to be better off than they were in their native countries. The American dream is the hope people have coming to America. They hope to be wealthy. They hope for no more struggling. The American dream is well and alive in this day and age and will always be because people will always have the hunger to prosper. The American dream cannot be reached without hope and without hope all is lost.
The American Dream has changed; it is no longer the same as it was fifty or even one hundred years ago. Today, people not only search for prosperity and wealth, but they also search for happiness, equality, and determination. The American Dream is for everyone, not just the rich. The term “The American Dream” is a term used to describe the American way of life in general. It is a noun stating “the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” Dreams are not limited to just one social class, everyone has a different version of the American Dream but they all work together in a community to create an organized, working society. A dream is a cherished aspiration, ambition, or idea that is open to anyone.
Up until now, the term American Dream is still a popular concept on how Americans or people who come to America should live their lives and in a way it becomes a kind of life goal. However, the definitions of the term itself is somehow absurd and everyone has their own definition of it. The historian James Tuslow defines American Dream as written in his book titled “The Epic of America” in 1931 as “...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 root of the term American Dream is actually can be traced from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which stated “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
“The American Dream is still alive out there, and hard work will get you there…It can be done with an idea, hard work and determination” (Rancic). Bill Rancic, an entrepreneur hired by Donald Trump, gave this quote about The American Dream to motivate others to reach the dream. The American Dream is the picture people envision when they move, to or live in, the United States. Whether or not it is reachable, people come from all around attempt to live out this dream. The American Dream is defined as the idea that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Most teenagers imagine The American Dream daily when in school or while working; furthermore, it helps motivate them to push for their future. In addition, United State citizens are not the only people entitled to this goal; in large part, immigrants come to the states to live the dream. It is written in The Declaration of Independence “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by
The idea of an American Dream is older than the United States dating back to the 1600’s, when people began to have all sorts of hopes and aspirations for the new, largely, unexplored continent. In 1776 the American Dream was rooted in the Declaration of Independence “That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, which among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Where many of the citizens have expanded upon the definition to include things such as freedom, fulfillment and meaningful relationships. Where the American represents the desire to live a better life than the previous generation did, and about giving their children a better life-pertaining to “the system works.” The idea of America being a melting pot where everyone can live peacefully together. This version of the dream is based more on avoiding things such as poverty and loneliness. “The American Dream” has a lot to do with America being a country of immigration, and these immigrants all hoped to live a better life in the new world. There’s nothing dreamlike about how Americans perceive the American Dream. Nothing surreal, or vague, or involving the stereotypical family of four, three bedroom home with a white picket fence, or harried white rabbits in waistcoats. The American dream is simply complex connect-the-dots matter. For many
The American dream is the idea held by many in the United States of America that through hard work, courage and determination one can achieve prosperity.
"The American Dream" is that dream of a nation in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with options for each according to capacity or accomplishments. It is a dream of social stability in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve to the fullest distinction of which they are essentially competent, and be distinguish by others for what they are, despite of the incidental conditions of birth or stance. The American Dream is often something that humanity wonders about. What is the American dream? Many people discover success in a range of things. There are many different definitions of the American Dream. However, the American Dream embraces prosperity, personal safety, and personal liberty. The American dream is a continually fluctuating set of ideals, reflecting the ideas of an era.
The basic element of the American Dream is the freedom of the possibility to obtain whatever you dream of. These dreams are usually of a materialistic nature; the dream to own property and to be financially secure. They also can refer to the freedom of education and expression without censorship. To achieve this dream, it is believed that you must work hard and remain modest and consistent.
The American Dream was and always will be something that makes America great. It allows those with aspirations to make them come true. In America alone needs is a dream and the motivation to carry out that dream. Ambition is the driving force behind the American Dream. It allows any one that has an aspiration, a desire, a yearning, to carry out the individual dream. It knows no bounds of race, creed, gender or religion. It stands for something great, something that every one can strive towards. A dream can be a desire for something great. In America, the American Dream allows dreams to become realities. According to Webster's New World Dictionary, the American Dream is defined as "An American social ideal that' stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity". To live this dream is to succeed. It allows anyone, rich or poor to have the opportunity to succeed. It is the ability to come from nothing and become so me thing. To succeed at any thing you do, you must have patience and persistence. It requires hard work, persistence and a desire for something better. To have these qualities and the desire and ambition to carry the moutis part of the American Dream.
When the term ‘American Dream’ was first mentioned in 1931 by James Truslow Adams, he described it as “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.” (Clark). When Adams mentioned the term, it had much more of an idealistic meaning, rather than the materialistic meaning it has in modern society. At the time of it’s mention, the dream meant that prosperity was available to everyone. In the beginning, the American Dream simply promised a country in which people had the chance to work their way up through their own labor and hard work (Kiger). Throughout history, the basis of the dream has always been the same for each individual person. It
The American Dream, is about becoming something, to the best way to achieve fulfillment of ones life. The dream is and always has been a reality. The more that Americans and immigrants insist on the dream as a right, and pursue it with determination, the more likely it will be to remain a live option accessible to all. The dream does not originate from America; it derives from us, the people. If we exert all our efforts, we at any moment in American history are more likely to be what the country had intended to become. With that predicament already visible, every advance we make may very well lead to another, and every realization of the American Dream will evolve.
In today’s society it is questioned that the American Dream can or cannot be reached. The answer to that question is yes it can be and their is a simple definition for it. The American Dream is a dream where someone can come from nothing, like being poor, to becoming something or somebody with goals and aspirations in life. United States is the land of opportunities as said by many and anyone can achieve success through hard work. This dream gives hope to people born without privilege, and its one of the reasons people come to the United States from throughout the world. The dream today has many reasons to why it is achievable or not.
The American Dream is a circumstance for every people in America to believe what they can do for their own and take advantage of every opportunity that gave them the chance to live in the country. That advantage will lead to a fact that life only flows on how the world has gone on, and on how the citizens of America reacts to it. Every person in America has a different perspective on life, to the point when they will look for a solution on how they will approach for their dream to live comfortably. American Dream is a dream that makes people experience challenges in life due to diversified circumstances present in the country.