The American Dream In John Steinbeck's 'America And Americans'

Golden Dreams The American Dream is an aspiration known throughout the world. Due to that reason, when gold was discovered in California, people inundated the rivers with pans. Robert Elder describes this phenomenon fancifully in “The California Gold Rush.” Elder argues that the American dream was redefined by the California Gold Rush, conforming the ideals of the Dream to hopes of money and accepting failure as a more natural part, promoting perseverance. Although the Gold Rush sated many people’s desires, it ultimately deterred future generations and perplexed the new millionaires. This led to a rebranding of the American Dream, one that diverged into a variety of dreams as opposed to the sole desire of money, just as “The Battered American

This deviation occurs due to a loss of purpose and state of bewilderment. In contrast, Elder envisioned monetary possessions to sate people’s desires, but after earning the yearned goal of money, people want to flaunt their new status and adjust their lifestyle. In “America and Americans” by John Steinbeck, Steinbeck describes the many paradoxes that are associated with that change of status. In the process of pretentiously displaying their wealth, people might donate their money to charity or squander their money through other practices, contrasting their initial motive to earn money. Money essentially becomes just another material possession and happiness is found through other actions. The American Dream is not only limited to the money and success but the actions associated with attaining true happiness. As more and more realize this, they become paragons of the numerous possibilities of the American Dream, one that recalls to the original principles of the American Dream of perseverance and hard work. Instructing others about a topic or helping kids in a third world country cannot simply occur by chance but by pure motives. The Gold Rush not only increased the number of people who became rich but also promoted other definitions of the American