Peoples’ dreams of “striking it rich” is far from the financial reality of blue-collar America. When immigrants first crossed the windswept seas to wonder at the New York skyline, this land of opportunity promised refuge from the poverty stricken countries of their origin. Hard work and dedication was said to guarantee success, yet the realities of a capitalist system soon became apparent. The work was hard, the pay was low, and for many of these opportunists, they never seemed to save more than a few dollars in their bank account. Financially, middle-class people today still cannot get ahead, while those on the highest echelons of the prosperity pinnacle continue to get wealthier, “the percentage of income that goes to the top 1 percent of …show more content…
Willy Loman, an old and degrading salesmen is disappointed by his lack of achievement throughout his career. Often indulging in illusions of the past, it soon becomes apparent that success to Willy is measured in prestige and wealth. Distraught over his ever increasingly dire financial status, Willy confronts his Boss, Howard, “I've put thirty-four years into this firm, Howard, and now I can’t pay my insurance!” For a substantial portion of his working career, Willy has put all his effort into his company, yet, even thirty four years later has yet to see the fruits of his labor. Willy’s story is reminiscent of millions of workers never achieving a higher stature in society through hard work. An article in the New York Times succinctly addresses this issue in Modern Day America, “Ever tightening financial straits for the average American and the erosion of social safety nets have given the lie to now quaint values like hard work” (Siegel 1). Our capitalists system and bureaucracy does not aid the working middle class, instead the constrictions of government suppress them as one articles notes, “...capitalism grabs everything a man can give to society, every piece of strength and work, and leaves him with no money, no compensation and no worth” (Bitoun
In a country where 45 million people struggle to survive below the poverty line, inflation continues to rise as wages remain the same. What happened to the American Dream? As the rich continue to get richer, even those in the middle class can’t seem to catch a break. The structure of American society makes it nearly impossible for those in poverty to rise above, and there are other factors, including race and gender, which play a role.
Although most Americans continue to believe working hard is the most important element for getting ahead, they no longer believe that it guarantees success (Hanson 2010: 570). "Lack of thrift, effort, ability, motivation, and self-control are the most popular explanations for poverty among Americans. Thus, inequality is justified and the Dream can stay alive in the context of one of the wealthiest nations with one of the greatest wealth divides" (Hanson 2010: 571). Instead of one undifferentiated American dream to collectively strive towards, there are several interpretations which pertain to differing social locations. This is because of the inequalities of advantages and disadvantages across generations produced by cumulative institutional processes and an unfair opportunity structure (Pallas 2008:
America was once known as the land of opportunity. However, that is no longer the case. Americans are still suffering from a depression that began three years ago in 2008. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2007, the United States unemployment rates were 4.6 percent. In 2009, one year after the depression began, the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent. Millions of Americans are living in poverty, unable to afford the basic necessities. On the other hand, there is a minuscule percent of the population that are billionaires. Written in 2005, Holly Sklar’s essay “The Growing Gulf Between the Rich and the Rest of Us” argues that if something isn’t done about the growing inequality between the rich and the poor, the American economy as a whole will weaken. A year later, the Economist published the article, “Inequality and the American Dream” implies that the American dream is broken. Sklar’s argument sheds light on the Economist’s argument. In particular, Sklar’s use of facts regarding the wealthiest Americans, the poorest Americans, and the discussion of the impact of inequality on society provide insight into the Economist’s article.
America was once known as a land of opportunity and prosperity. Now we are seeing that upward mobility is increasingly rare in the US. In fact, many Northern and Western European nations provide greater opportunity than the US. Despite this, many Americans continue to believe that social class is determined by hard work. 69% of Americans in a survey agreed that people are rewarded for intelligence, skill, and effort (139). This is obviously not the case, or millions of Americans would not be in the situation they’re in today. For instance, Terry Neumann strived to find full time work, but she could not afford her house after years of part time jobs and her divorce. The Stanley’s were also very hardworking, but stayed in their class. After years of work from both Jackie and Claude, they still had to put Keith’s college tuition on a credit card. Both of the families illustrate the challenge of upward mobility and America’s declining prosperity.
The American dream can be achieved by education, opportunity, and hard work, but is this is not a reality, but just merely a dream. Opportunity in American feels as if everyone has a fair chance of being successful. In America, it seems that the idea of everyone has a fair chance to opportunity. But this is not the case, in Gregory Mantsios essay “Class In America-2012” he talks about how there are many myths that are wide spread about the differing classes in America. Then he further goes on disproving the widely proclaim myths with stats that show in real world the gap between the wealthy one percent of the population owning 36 percent of the capital in comparison to the 99 percent of Americans in the U.S. For the purpose of this essay, the
Success: Accomplishing Your Dream Completing the "American Dream" is a controversial issue. The American Dream can be defined as having a nice car, maybe two or three of them, having a beautiful, healthy family, making an impact on the world, or even just having extra spending money when the bills are paid. In the play "Death Of A Salesman," by Arthur Miller, the "American Dream" deals with prosperity, status, and being immortalized.
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller was first presented in 1949 and has been studied and reproduced countless times since. The plot revolves around a salesman named Willy Loman and his family. Willy is 63 years old, and on the decline. His career as a traveling salesman is going badly, and during the play he is let go. Willy’s flashbacks to a better past take up much of the past, and are brought on by the return of Biff, Willy’s favorite son, who comes to visit from out west. Biff is 34 and Willy’s favorite son, but Willy’s high expectations him cause many issues for both of them. The overall tone of the play is sobering as we watch the family (especially Willy) fall apart because of various reasons, including the way they treat each other.
When I was growing up, I often reflected on what my chances of success would be later on in life. I always wondered if I would have the same opportunity to make as much money as top richest 1 percent of Americans who hold 34 percent of the total national wealth.(Mantsios 284) These were the rich and successful people I had seen in movies or on television that made billions of dollars a year. I was raised in a middle class family and my parents from the beginning did everything in their power they could to provide me with an opportunity for success. My father, who came from a lower class family, dropped out of college after his sophomore year and began working in construction. When my mother became pregnant with me, my dad decided he would launch his own construction business. I have witnessed first hand how hard he works each day to make the living he does, working from dawn till dusk, 6 days a week. My father is good at what he does but in contrast to the top one percent of Americans, his annual salary (along with the other 99 percent’s) is incomparable pocket change to them. Although my father began with nothing and was able to work his way up and out of the class he began in I still wondered why he was not able to make as much, or even half, in a lifetime as some elite Americans make in a month. It seemed crazy to me that the majority of wealth in America is concentrated within a group of a few, elite Americans that make hundreds of times more than what the rest of the country’s citizens do. I began to ponder the questions: Does everyone in America have an equal opportunity to succeed?...If not, then why? Do the other 99 percent not work hard enough?. I whole-heartedly believe that the amount of effort an individual puts int...
From families looking to flee harsh living conditions in their native country to American citizens wishing to escape impoverished conditions through hard work and determination, the “American Dream” is a concept that people throughout the world have aspired to achieve for hundreds of years. Regardless of birthplace or socioeconomic status, the “American Dream” promises success, prosperity and upward mobility to any citizen with ambition and work ethic. Hundreds of millions of American citizens as well as immigrants have flourished in the United States throughout the course of history in a society with a thriving middle-class. However, in recent years, this dream has become increasingly difficult to achieve for those who are not already wealthy.
The pursuit of the American dream can inspire ambition. It can transform a person and cause him to become motivated and hard-working, with high standards and morals. Or, it can tear a person down, to the point of near insanity that results from the wild, hopeless chase after the dream. This is what occurs to Biff, Happy, and Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's book Death of a Salesman. In the play, Willy Loman is a traveling salesman whose main ambition in life is wealth and success, neither of which he achieves. Corrupted by their father, Biff and Happy also can not attain success. Biff fails to find a steady, high-paying job even though he's 30, and he hates the business world, preferring instead to live on a farm in California. Happy, on the other hand, has a fairly well-paying, steady job, but still suffers from emptiness and a sense of being lost, a void which he fills by sleeping around with many women, some of whom are even married or engaged. Thus, Miller uses motifs, such as deception, theft, and hallucination, to show the pathology that all three of these characters experience in the wake of the American dream.
The “American Dream” consists of all U.S citizens having the opportunity to obtain success and prosperity through hard work and determination, but, in a capitalistic economy such as the United States the “American Dream” is merely impossible. Low wages are masked as starting points, taught to eventually pay off in the form of small raises or promotions. Competition to obtain unequally shared resources, is used to define an individual’s extent of initiative. In reality, these are all concepts used by the wealthy to deter the poor working class from obtaining upward mobility. Middle class America, the key factor in helping the wealthy stay wealthy, have adapted to these beliefs and concepts, created to keep them far behind. Conflict theorist
Death of a Salesman is centered around one man trying to reach the American dream and taking his family along for the ride. The Loman's lives from beginning to end is a troubling story based on trying to become successful, or at least happy. Throughout their lives they encounter many problems and the end result is a tragic death caused by stupidity and the need to succeed. During his life Willy Loman caused his wife great pain by living a life not realizing what he could and couldn't do. Linda lived sad and pathetic days supporting Willy's unreachable goals. Being brought up in this world caused his children to lose their identity and put their futures in jeopardy.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman and Edward Albee’s The American Dream, Willy Lowman and Mommy possess the trait of superficiality. Their priorities are to look good and be liked, and this contributes to their misguided paths to reach success. This attribute is one of many societal criticisms pointed out by both authors. Arthur Miller criticizes society for perceiving success as being liked and having good looks. He illustrates society’s perception through Willy, who thinks the keys to success are being popular and attractive. Willy transmits this philosophy to his sons by ignoring their education and personal growth and setting an example that popularity is most important. Edward Albee criticizes society for the same thing. He points out the wrong priorities in life such as emphasizing good looks and the wish to be liked at the expense of deeper ethics and morals. Through Mommy’s incident with the hat, which showed she wanted to be liked, and her problems with her own son’s physical and mental faults, which showed she cared too much for good looks, Albee shows how society is misguided in its methods to achieve success.
The American Dream in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Material happiness provides the ambition behind seeking the "Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman." In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy Loman's determination to live up to his "American Dream" and to seek material happiness only takes his life. What is the "American Dream"? The "American Dream" cannot be defined. I know that my "American Dream" consists of a Porsche, a large house, and a happy family.
America has long been known as a land of opportunity. Out of that thinking comes the "American Dream," the idea that anyone can ultimately achieve success, even if he or she began with nothing. In "The Death of a Salesman", Arthur Miller uses the characterization of Willy Loman to represent the failure of his ideal of the American Dream. Willy’s quest for the American Dream leads to his failure because throughout his life he pursues the illusion of the American Dream and not the reality of it. His mindset on perfection, obsession with success, and his constant reminiscence of the past and predictions of the future, all contribute to his defeat in the end.