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The nature of the American dream
The american dream motivation
Misconceptions about the american dream
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Recommended: The nature of the American dream
America is the land of opportunity, where everyone can succeed and everyone has a voice... Or it’s supposed to be. People in America today put so much pressure on kids. They tell them that in order to be successful you can never fail. As if by saying that it is somehow motivating us to work harder. You are going to fail at some point in your life and it is not going to ruin your chances of being successful. Success isn’t defined by your ability to fail or succeed success is something that can’t even be classified. Success to one person is totally different to another and our society tries to define success. We try and say that failure is bad and if you fail you won’t have a good life, you won’t achieve the “American Dream”. Failure is a very important part of achieving the American Dream because without failure you will never truly learn.
If you fail at something your life isn’t over. The world doesn’t stop revolving
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We push everyone to their breaking point because we want everyone to have that “American Dream” that makes our country what it is. But the fact is our society is pushing people to the point that they fail so much they just give up. Failure is good because it allows you to grow, but too much failure and people quit. Instead of being a nation united by one common dream, we need to be a nation united on building back up from failure. President Barack Obama once said “ We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America”. He is saying that we need to rise up as a nation and support each other. If someone fails we don’t shun them and tell them they aren’t good enough, we help them and tell them they can do it. Our society should be encouraging people to fail, because if they failed it means they tried and trying is one of the bravest things you can
America has always been known as the land of the free, living in America you’re always taught on the idea of living the “American Dream”. That means the chance of being whoever you want to become, deciding the route you want to go in life to live. To most that also means to have a family to take care of and also to have a stable career, own a house, car and more. The part of the dream they don't stress you about enough is that it's not easy to achieve. It takes a lot of hard work in which a lot of people don't achieve unfortunately.
In Bernard Malamud’s, The Natural, the American Dream traps many people in a never ending cycle of failure. This is seen when Roy is shot by Harriet in a hotel room after he tells her he will be the best in the game despite that she points a gun at his head. Secondly, when Roy and Gus are making bets, Roy keeps betting despite losing every time, showing his false sense of hope that traps in a cycle of failure. Finally, Roy’s desire to be with Memo finally corrupts him thus causing him to ruin his dreams to be the best in baseball and when he regains hope that he can win the game, it does not happen. The American Dream causes insatiable hunger and results in a never ending cycle of failure because Roy has a false sense of hope causing him to make the same mistakes multiple times.
Some say the American dream is completely dead in today’s society. No. The American dream is alive and well for those who will go the extra mile for it. People may believe it is dead due to factors that may “hinder” a person from achieving it. These factors include, but are not limited to, discrimination, lack of job opportunities, debt, natural disasters, etc. These theories may be proven wrong in most cases, with the exception of some. The American dream is the idea that anyone, no matter the situation they are currently in, can eventually live a happy and stable life in America. The dream is attainable for a willing individual, who will work hard for what they want. This does not mean it will be easy, nor does it mean
“The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it's possible to achieve the American dream,” - Tommy Hilfiger. There is nothing more American than the theory we hold called The American Dream. In the book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald demonstrates the false idea of the American Dream through the life of Jay Gatsby. The American Dream Theory holds that the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity are available to any American as long as they put in the hard work and dedication.
In an average day, an American is exposed to over 3000 advertisements, (Kilbourne). Whether they want to admit it or not, they are drawn toward them. A common scheme of the advertisers is to allow the consumer to “picture the new them.” Whether this be a wealthier them, a skinner them, or a prettier them, they gear there product towards every person and want everyone be able to connect with the advertisement and picture the “new them.” American Idol, Nutrisystem, and The Biggest Loser, the lottery, and many other “products” promote that anyone has the chance to be famous, fit, or fortunate. The successes from these “products” present themselves as they were before, with the sob story that hopefully touches a nerve with Americans, or the “consumer”. Then, like some sort of miracle occurred, they are the “new them,” giving a testimonial that “you can do it too!” and you can be who you have always wanted to be. However, the sad reality is that these people are lucky. It rarely happens that someone makes it in the music industry in a matter of months, looses two-hundred pounds in less than a year, or wins millions of dollars within days of buying a piece of paper. Because few exploit the American Dream by promising wealth or fame to many others, a false sense of hope has been created for those who are economically marginalized.
...able like relationships with friends and family. The American Dream can be considered ironic because people in pursuit of the American Dream are looking for financial success and the comfortable lifestyle that is associated with success, but even when the think they have achieved the Dream, they are still unsatisfied with what they have and are always looking for more. This paradox of the American Dream could be resolved by having a balanced perspective between their aspirational goals and what truly makes them happy beyond financial gain. The satisfaction that one receives from the hard work he or she puts into achieving his or her goals is often more rewarding than the goal itself. The American Dream does not have a definite definition, it is dream that everyone interprets differently with the belief that it will bring them success, happiness, and satisfaction.
“The essence of the American dream is the understanding that we are here on this earth and in this land for a higher purpose…Anything that stands in the way of the dream, we must fight. Anything that enhances the dream, we must support.” Steve Forbes could not have said it better. The American Dream is continuing to prosper and flourish since our founding fathers sat together in a room and created a document in which every man may follow. For years the idea of the American Dream has been sturdy, however, as America aged so did the idea of the American Dream. America and her citizens started to rouse from their long slumber and realize that the dream does not swab away the realism of their waking life. Because of this, Foreigners have been reluctant in believing in the United States; but one must understand that it is not the American Dream but so many other factors such as Wealth, Influence, jealousy, and imperialism. However, one must not forget the debate on the United States attendance in Iraq and its activities as an “imperial bully” and its domination culturally in the United States.
If the American Dream had to be captured within a frozen image, how would the visualization be conveyed? For the majority of today's society, the image would likely include the traditional father, mother, and child(ren) standing pleasantly beside a moderate two story home, a well kept lawn, and neatly trimmed hedges. In the background of this family portrait, a guarded and welcoming neighborhood would appear, complete with similar home designs and family arrangements lining its streets. In other words, the image of the American Dream resides within the typical American suburb. And within this typical suburb lies (supposedly) the remaining components of the ideal American lifestyle.
People will journey far and wide, traverse the entire continent, suffer all manner of pain and suffering, if they believe that, in the end, they will be rewarded. That is why it comes as no surprise when people from other countries struggle to get to America, believing the ancient tale of "the American Dream", convinced that they will finally make it big in this land of riches. But they find out it is not like that.
In the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck illustrates the dreams of George,Lennie, and other characters and how these dreams are unrealistic and unattainable .Their dreams were the reason that these characters kept moving forward but because of difficult circumstances the dreams of George,Lennie,Candy and Curley's wife are shattered , they knew that their dream was never really attainable but they still had hope but because they were so greatly impacted by Lennies actions their dreams are never accomplished.
The American Dream is referred to by many people as the reason to come to America. It is, or so they say, the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Unfortunately they are incorrect, there truly is no American Dream, it is all an illusion given to us by our founding fathers as a reason for the inequality in which people are treated. I have lived in this country for 16 years now and have all the patriotic bullshit about how we give everyone equal opportunity and how everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. I just laugh when I read this. Throughout our country’s 300-year history, it is all about raising one person over the other. It started with the movement of the Native Americans. They were here before anyone else, and they were moved because they did not live with all the violence our ancestors did. The founding fathers continued to push them further and further away because it was beneficial to them at the time. They said if you stay here we will not bother you anymore, then when they decided that area was nice and they needed it for the white man. Then we began to take the black man out of Africa and use them on our plantations so the white man could get more money. The President ended slavery, but there were ways around it and everyone knew it. No one ever said any persecution of the black man is wrong for years and why not, because it was more convenient for us to ignore it. Now the people from Latin American countries have come in homes of freedom, and better lives. We tell them they have to speak English, since they are in America, but I do not recall being taught the language of the Native Americans. Since they were here first should you not have to learn that language?
This generation of American teenagers and young adults have the greatest advantage in the history of humankind when to comes to advances in technology, science, and every other field of study. Yet, today’s youth of America is facing obstacles that past generations did not have to deal with. According to Josh Mitchell, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, student loan debt has surpassed one trillion dollars with two-thirds of college students graduating with over thirty-five thousand dollars of debt each. Competition for jobs has made it progressively harder to find a stable job and make a living. According to Hardin’s metaphor of the world being a lifeboat, it is increasingly difficult for people who are not on the lifeboat to find away
The idea that this country offers so much opportunity 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 it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, one must focus on building a balanced life for themselves, participate in honest work and practice their craft to have marketable skills are just stick out from the competition. People work their whole lives making money so they can satisfy their desires. The idea of being able to purchase the items people always dreamed of is an achievement in itself. Having a great family owning a home and having beautiful things to fill it with is a common dream amongst people. Many people take pride in what they possess. People want to own nice homes, nice cars, and nice clothes. Some need to look successful in order to feel successful. These people feel successful when they can admire what their hard work has given them and when they can see they build something their kids can also benefit from.
What is the American dream? Is it having a nice house, car, and a nice and steady income? What does it take to get there? You may think that any college degree and a nice resume can get you there, but think again. In Barbara Ehrenreich’s short story “The Futile Pursuit of the American Dream,” she explains that having the American dream isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be. Ehrenreich explains in her story that it requires an enormous amount of work than you think it would, and I agree. Achieving the American dream can be a challenge, especially in today’s world. So many high achieving people competing for the same job, and so many long nights of work that will make you question whether it was all worth it.
There are thousands of people in the world today who are outsiders looking in on the United States Of America. They really have no clue on how America really is immigrants think that Americans are just free living it up in boatloads of money, but little do they know America is a corrupt society. Lets just say they have never picked up an American history book or learned any type of American culture once they touch down either legally or illegally they would be in for a rude awakening. America is a money hungry country who values war over education, the military can get millions of dollars, yet students are stuck doing fundraisers just get new books for their school our whole system is corrupt. Americans live in a society where depending on