The American Dream And Happiness

Throughout the world many people from artists to novelists to even politicians have based many of their ideas upon the concept of the “American Dream.” Truslow Adams defined the American Dream as, “A better, richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank” (Kamp).Where this phrase has been an inspiration for people in history, this concept has also been the creator of misfortune. Examples both good and bad can be found throughout history, and in some cases have even been the result of an author’s imagination. This ideal has led to the creation of self-made millionaires, slavery, and Civil Rights movements. People must be cautious when making decisions using this ideal as their base, or tragic results may ensue. This concept of

People all over the country use this American Dream as a basis for what being happy means but when people focus on “richer” (Kamp) as meaning only financially richer, this becomes a negative goal. Although many people may believe that money and riches are not the keys to having a happy life, this is not true. This can be seen when the article explains, “The participants maximise points at the expense of maximising their happiness...Points are easily compared which overshadows our knowledge of the kind of ice cream we enjoy most” (Stafford). In this experiment people are focusing more on the point values rather than whether or not they will receive their preferred ice cream choice. This proves how people are using the idea of monetary value, in order to make their choices. Where people would rather have the most points, than have something that they could enjoy. This is very negative because no longer are these people happy, instead they are focusing on this idea of becoming wealthier. Though, some may argue that this is very positive for people, since this motivates them to do more hard work. This can be seen in the

Racism continues to be prevalent within America, and characters like Crooks from the fictional novel, Of Mice and Men, prove the negative psychological impact that can come from trying to believe in a dream of equality. Crooks tried to believe in the dream, by becoming hopeful about leaving the ranch and being able to work as part of the other ranch hands who would own the new farm, moving up in rank, but this dream ends up being shattered when Curley’s wife barges in and threatens to have him lynched if he doesn’t keep his place (Steinbeck). This shows that there is not equal opportunity for all within the country, as well as racism is playing a key role in being a barrier. Where Crooks is being hurt emotionally due to his race, and is unable to receive the same benefits as the rest of the ranch hands, even to the point where he is completely excluded from the rest of them. Some may argue that it is important to overcome such a psychological impact and rise above the racism or any other obstacle to move up in “rank” (Kamp). This can be seen in the case of Ruby Bridges who was the first African American to go to an all white school in Mississippi. Bridges faced the full blatancy of racism during her integration, but continued to strive in