Is the “American Dream” dead? The Answer is simple: the dream is not dead. The “American Dream” in my mind is being able to rise and become anybody you want to be such as being the provider in your family or simply making it big by being a millionaire. Many say the dream is dead such as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich in his documentary, Inequality for All. He states the country has a wide economic gap between the poor and rich. The reason for this is many people don’t work for the “American Dream.” Many people just rely on the government just to take care of them, when they should be out working for that dream of making it in life. In the film The Pursuit of Happyness, a single father Chris Gardner with all his life struggles manages …show more content…
He attended Briarcrest Christian School where he then met Sean and Leigh Tuohy parents of a classmate of Oher who later adopted him. Oher being n excellent athlete was offered a scholarship to the University of Mississippi to play football, eventually working hard at his craft of being an offensive linemen he was then selected in the first round of the NFL draft by the Baltimore Ravens. Oher had a rough childhood but his high school years were well spent in a stable environment, yes Oher was lucky to have someone who took care of him, but he had to work hard to become the man he is today a football player for the …show more content…
As a child he was raised by his mother but later had to go to a foster home. Later in life he joined the navy, worked as a medical supply salesmen, and got married and had a child. After his wife had left him, he was forced to raise his child in such bad conditions, such as not having a home and having spent a stint in jail. Gardner never let this get to him; he was a hard working mad who found himself in an intern program for Dean Witter Reynolds, passed his internship with his hard work and dedication while raising a child and working day and night. After being successful in his new job he founded his own firm Gardner Rich & Co. with the money he had saved up, turning the company from being run from his apartment to a multimillion-dollar company. Gardener optimizes the term hard worker no matter what obstacles, he just kept his eye on the prize and became a very successful person
The successes of all these individuals optimize the “ American Dream” that with hard work and dedication no matter what obstacles in their life they have encountered, they still became successful. This raises the question if these people can do it why cant everyone, it just depends on the person whether they work hard or not, anyone can do it. Anybody is society can achieve the “American Dream” with hard work and dedication in other words the “American Dream” isn’t dead its alive and
In the article "Is The American Dream Still Possible?" By David Wallechinsky explains personal stories and statistics in regards if the American Dream is still possible to achieve. As for Oden from Georgia "has since started his own business, a 'leadership and personal development' consulting firm. His wife, Josett, works as a representative in the health-care field "I do believe I will recover But the traditional American Dream? For most Americans, it is still a dream—a pipedream”(56). Principally, there's different interpretations of what the American Dream consists of.
If you look up the meaning of the American Dream, you will keep finding definitions similar to this one: “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” The real meaning of the American Dream however, varies from whom you ask. Many people argue that the American Dream is alive and well, whereas others might argue that the dream is pretty much dead. If you ask me what I think, I personally believe that the American Dream was once a farfetched goal of the people of America, where people dreamed of going from rags to riches. Though the dream might still be alive, it is no longer what is use to be. I believe that the American Dream nowadays, is just a short redefined version of living a middle class lifestyle. But, for others the dream might simply mean to escape poverty and give their children a better life. The American Dream however, is in my opinion not only applicable for natural born citizens but to legal and illegal immigrants as well.
Is the American Dream dead or alive? To many the American Dream is the ability to work hard enough to fulfill their dream and unlock opportunities for success. In the article “Is the American Dream Still Possible”, David Wallechinsky demonstrates the many problems in Americans way. He provides family and individuals stories that explain the reason they don’t believe in the American Dream like prices going up and citizens not getting paid enough. He makes his claim convincing to make individuals believe that his perspective is correct.
In Brandon King’s 2011 book excerpt “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?”, he redefines the American Dream as “the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future” (611). I would disagree with King’s beliefs, I think his definition is wrong as well as him saying that the dream is alive. When I hear the words ‘American Dream’ I think of the definition that dictionary.com gives stating, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” In this sense I think the American Dream is dead, predominantly because there is no equality when it comes to United States citizens. There is no equality when it comes to the
The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold? written by Brandon King discusses what the American Dream is, how it has evolved, and how to live it to the fullest. He writes that the American Dream in the past meant to live a wealthy, materialistic life, however the American Dream today is to live in stability. The American Dream also has the potential to be viewed from multiple perspectives as everyone is different and have their own opinion as to how live the American Dream. King also addresses that inequality is the main problem according to many; the government is only making the rich minority wealthier, ignoring funds for the lowers classes. The American Dream will never die as long as planning ahead and proposing policies to sustain economic growth are tirelessly acted upon.
Through the course of change in the world- either through prosperity, capitalism or greed- people have lost focus with the real meaning of 'the American dream'. It is no longer the gamely aspirations of living life to the fullest, providing a better life for yourself and or others; instead, a pursuit for those materialistic aspects in life.
In the book “They Say I Say”, Brandon King writes an essay bringing multiple perspectives on what Americans golden way of living is. The “American dream” is what most American citizens all strive for. Early settlers came in to try to achieve “the dream”. Those who already lived in America choose to stay because of its grand possibilities. The United States of America is the only place in the world where you have the rights to freedom of speech. What is the American dream? It used to be said that you could come to America and go from rags to riches; you could come with nothing and achieve everything you ever wanted. Take a second and think. We all ponder upon, is the so called “American dream” dead or alive? This has been a steamy topic
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 bills 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).
The American Dream is the traditional, social ideals of the U.S. such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity. “The American Dream is the ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity, traditionally held to be available to every American” (Dictionary.com). It was believed to be a life of material happiness and comfort. Nowadays, The American Dream is nothing more than a mere stipulation. Bob Herbert and Cal Thomas are two individuals that bring up quite a few key points in their arguments pertaining to the American Dream and the economy. While one focuses in on how we as Americans had a huge hand in the current crisis of our “hidden” reality, the other focuses in on the government’s hand in this affair as to cause him to actually question is the American Dream really over?
In Bryant’s article, he describes all of the issues that prohibit American citizens from reaching the American dream and says that it is nearly impossible. However, Jim Motavalli writes in his article “The American Dream Is Alive – These People Prove It”, that the American dream is not dead and that you can still get to that point in your life.
The American dream is a slowly fading dream that seems to be escaping all the lower classes of American society. The American dream still exists if we examine correctly. The dilemma with American dream is that it has become so much harder to fulfill. Social inequality along with a lack of social mobility have negated the ability to accomplish this. As time has passed, the gap between the rich and poor has become larger and larger. Hence social equality has grown overtime. This would not be as consequential of a problem for the American dream if social mobility had stayed the same. Social mobility has decreased with time as well. Social mobility is the ability to move from one social class to another. Sociologically speaking, the American Dream
The American Dream, recognized as being the earning of a college degree, the owning of one 's own home, taking vacations and experiencing upward social mobility, is a very important belief that helped create the success that America is today. Many people believe that anyone who works hard and has determination can achieve this American Dream. In this day and age, experiencing the American Dream is believed to no longer be as available to Americans as it once was. The economy and corporate America have had a strong impact on the availability to reach this state of success. Everyone wants to live the American Dream, whether they know it or not. I have never met a person who did not want to become successful. Even I had a strong belief that the
The American dream is an ideal that most people are often left wanting. To be able to essentially rise from nothing and grow to be financially stable and live life in excess after a great deal of hard work. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the American dream is represented in different ways by the characters, though most of the plot centers around Willy’s failed aspirations for the American dream. Miller shows that the American Dream may not actually be reachable by everybody or that it may not even be a relevant dream for everybody in America.
"I think the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family" expressed Sanford I. Weill. The American Dream is still alive and obtainable. Many people have a definition of what the American Dream that is obtainable in their minds. People all have unique individual lives.
Everything changed in August 1963. America was mesmerized with the famous speech “I Have a Dream” delivered by Martin Luther King. People from all over the nation gathered for one single motive, social justice, and with that citizens of the United States yearned hope for a better tomorrow; a tomorrow in which they could see a breaking dawn to a day full up roaring opportunities for everyone disregarding their ethnic background, gender, sexual preference, or economic standing. This soon led to what is now known as “The American Dream.” America’s reputation for being the land of endless possibilities has captured both foreign attention as well as native patriotism. Success here in America is defined as having a good social position and a plethora of