Class Barriers In The American Dream

The American dream has lost a lot of its innocence as America has developed. Everything in the America of today has become business based, and as a result the purity of the original American Dream has been tainted. It seems necessary in modern society to have loose morals to be successful. Perhaps this is where the American Dream really started to deteriorate; when someone realized they could achieve success much faster by capitalizing at another’s expense. Scott Fitzgerald’s character Gatsby found this out. In his younger days Gatsby had a regiment for self-improvement, a testament to his willingness to work for success and break through class barriers. However, Gatsby learns that the world does not work that way. Gatsby is supposed to have

In many cases the transition of class involves a lot more than hard work and opportunity. In the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, the Younger family is faced with a situation where an opportunity to be prosperous comes at the price of pride. The grandmother talks to her son explaining how the American Dream is not worth losing your pride for, “Son – I come from five generations of people who was slaves and sharecroppers – but ain’t nobody in my family never let nobody pay ‘em no money that was a way of telling us we wasn’t fit to walk the earth. We ain’t never been that poor. (Raising her eyes and looking at him) We ain’t never been that – dead inside.” Slaves had little choice, but to keep their pride hidden; the Younger family now has the choice. This is the issue emphasized by grandmother; a shot at monetary success is not worth pride. However, because the Younger family did not take this opportunity they will be forced to continue working for other people, and even if they feel as though they are working hard little progress can be made. In the trouble with geniuses by Malcolm Gladwell he explores various explanation for the lack of correlation between intelligence and success. Gladwell cites a study preformed by sociologist Annette Lareau. In Lareau’s study she observed an advantage rooted in the

Crèvecœur describes the conditions of America where a person’s home reflected their work ethic, and even then the houses did not contrast in their appearance or reflection of wealth. If Crèvecœur were to stroll down the streets of America today he might be appalled by what he sees. If he walked down in the right area he might see a large mansion, and then just a few paces later see tiny apartments in pitiful condition, or perhaps he would see a small bakery being demolished to give way to a corporate manufacturing plant. Crèvecœur would certainly be disappointed in Americans. Crèvecœur also raved about how being American is being diverse and embracing diversity. Separate and Unequal a documentary by Frontline describes a situation in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where the city plans to break into two smaller cities, the proponents of this break off are white middle class people, claiming the lower class and African American families are ruining their schools and area. This new city would be 70% white and middle class. This is not diversity. Crevecoeur a man who struggled to describe his joy