The American Dream is still alive and achievable by today's standards, and many different factors will come into play. Justice and equality, social status, determination, willingness, and goals. I believe three main things set standards for the “American Dream” in today's society, social structure, hope, and freedom. All of these things have been around, associated with the American Dream since it was claimed as the title “American Dream.” First, social structure, the way someone contributes and acts in society is how the rest of the community will see them, and subsequently the social status of a person. In the song “The American Dream,” the musician, sings a story about a few different people who have achieved the American Dream by working hard and being determined. Williams sings these two very important lines, “You gotta keep on grindin’ / …show more content…
He says this to express that even during tough times, people should still push forward to achieve their goals, in this case, the American Dream. In the first few lines, Williams talks about the many accidents that happen in sports, but people are still willing to play to “live the American Dream” (line 7). This proves that if someone were to work hard enough and push themselves, they could achieve the dream. In today’s society, this is the same concept taken, for example, Damar Hamlin who is on the Buffalo Bills team, suffered a heart attack in early 2023 & was in critical condition for a while, now this year in 2024, he’ll continue playing football as it is a dream for him. This relates to what Williams says about pushing for the American Dream. Williams also talks about how society has set a standard for anyone and everyone, “They want you to send your money to the Lord / ‘Cause all of your donations are completely tax-free,” (lines 10 & 12). Williams describes society as this set of rules people have to follow if they want to fit into society's standards and rules.
“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
The American Dream is an outlandish imagination of the perfect place, where one attains maximum freedom of opportunity as well as assimilation. However, it seems that it is only granted to those who have the white American personality, or exorbitant sums of money. Those of low income, however, do not attain that privilege until they fit the standards by sacrifice. While the American Dream is pictured as freedom and opportunities given to grow as individuals, most low income individuals soon realize
The American dream is the ideal that every U.S. citizen should be able to achieve success and prosperity through equal opportunities such as hard work, patience, determination, initiative. In William Zinsser’s essay “The Right to Fail,” the readers are presented with the idea that failure is a part of the pathway to life to be able to achieve the American dream. Like most people, this complicates what we see as the American dream. Do we all face failure at some point in life? Will we be able to pick
“Hiding from Reality.” In today’s society the idea of “American Dream” has become a controversial and widely interpreted issue that awaked opinions and research from professionals in fields such as Economics and Journalism because of the concept that in general the American dream involves. In his essay, “Hiding from Reality,” Bob Herbert examines how the achievement of the American dream is affected by the economy and quality of education in American society, and the effect of the inadequate utilization
The American Dream, “the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American.” This dictionary definition of the American Dream has been alive and referred to for hundreds of years. The unique part about the American Dream is that it is slightly modified and differentiates between people. Personally, I believe the American Dream is that everyone has an equal opportunity to become successful if they work hard. For many years people have written, spoke
Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and “Paradox and Dream” by John Steinbeck, it is extremely clear that both authors believe the American Dream differs from person to person. Though, the main similarity between American’s different versions of the American Dream is that each person wants more than they have. No matter the social status or salary, each person dreams of more; more money, a bigger home, a better job, etc. When reading “Paradox and Dream” by John Steinbeck, it is clear that Steinbeck does
Comparative Analysis Essay The American Dream, a concept that has been said and written a countless number of times in American culture since the United States declared its independence in 1776. And with a concept as old as the American Dream comes several different views and interpretations throughout its lengthy history. So how did the concept that the Founding Fathers originally created stack up to reality? The Founding Fathers originally believed that “The American Dream” opens the door for people
Identity and Culture Amy Tan’s ,“Mother Tongue” and Maxine Kingston’s essay, “No Name Woman” represent a balance in cultures when obtaining an identity in American culture. As first generation Chinese-Americans both Tan and Kingston faced many obstacles. Obstacles in language and appearance while balancing two cultures. Overcoming these obstacles that were faced and preserving heritage both women gained an identity as a successful American. In the work of Amy Tan’s “Mother’s Tongue” she provides a look
Americans live a beautiful paradox their entire lives without knowing the truth about anything and then being dumbfounded when they reach the real world.This idea expressed in the essay “Paradox and Dream” written by John Steinbeck. Which flows into the idea of what is John Steinbeck is trying to say about Americans and what is its literal meaning? Americans do all of things any other person in the world would do,but because their history they think they can do things that nobody else can do. This
"What is an American". This country is full of individuals of many backgrounds, and diversities and each person has a different opinion on this question. In my opinion, an American is someone who values freedom and equality and pursues the "American dream." Every American exercises these rights and these are great adjectives to describe our country. Each of the seven readings, and the one image I compiled help mold this broader definition into a more precise description of an American. Robert Creeley
The American Dream is the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. Although this may be the definition that the internet has given me, it does not necessarily mean this is the definition that all people think of when they hear the words “American Dream.” To some people it may mean being able to live comfortably, and not having to scrape by everyday on what little money they have. To others it may
Here the narrator put her own example of her mother. In this essay, the author(tan) shows the comparison between the non-standard English(Tan’s mother speak and other Immigrants ) and fluent English; how the people who speaks English as second
is detained by the top one percent of its people; whereby eroding the self-identity it was built on and slowly destroying the ideal of the "American Dream." As an ideal, individually, it exists; however, as a reality, statistics show that our political and economical situation is "for the 1%" instead of "for the people." Furthermore, it is not only our American self-identity that is being deprived; this rut-like state and growing national debt is caused by our own pragmatism. What is the solution you
The American Dream is one of the most sought-after things in the United States, even though it is rarely, if ever, achieved. According to historian Matthew Warshauer, the vision of the American Dream has changed dramatically over time. In his 2003 essay “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Changing Conceptions of the American Dream”, Warshauer claims that the American Dream had gone from becoming wealthy by working hard and earning money, to getting rich quickly and easily. He attributes this change to
Adrian Cadiz Anthony Hinckley Writing 101 2/26/2018 The Slippery-Slope of False Dreams In the essay American Dreams, Kevin Jennings believes his American dream is impossible to achieve as society’s injustices and prejudices demoralized his sexuality and identity. Growing up in a rural community of Lewisville, North Carolina, Kevin Jennings came from poor beginnings. He descended from poor white confederates. After his father’s demise, Jennings’ life became more miserable. His mother, having limited