ipl-logo

American Dream Dead Analysis

1296 Words6 Pages

From a young age, children all over the world are taught that America is the "Land of Opportunity." Their parents and their parents' parents have all experienced some type of fulfillment from the American Dream which prompts them to relay belief in it to the newest generation of Americans. However, nowadays, populations of Americans have become increasingly critical of the American Dream and what that dream entails. That particular group claims that the American Dream is now dead due to many different facets of society. Is it possible to demand the "death" of an ideal that is essentially the backbone of a powerful country such as America? There are people who argue strongly both for and against the death of the American Dream with the "for" …show more content…

One example of minorities despairing about their treatment can be found in the poem "A Supermarket in California" by Allen Ginsberg: "Ah, dear father, graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher, what America did you have when Charon quit poling his ferry and you got out on a smoking bank and stood watching the boat disappear on the black waters of Lethe?" (Ginsberg). Ginsberg asks his idol, Walt Whitman, if Whitman's America was the same as Ginsberg's. This is thought to be Ginsberg reflecting on the treatment of homosexuals in "his" America and how he criticizes the attitude the majority of Americans held at that point in time as he had to personally deal with the retributions of that attitude due to him being frank about his homosexuality. To Ginsberg, the American Dream was infeasible for most in his predicament owing to discrimination based on sexual identity. Even today, as Rich Bellis points out in his article, "Only 19 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws preventing LGBT Americans from being discriminated against by employers. Three others protect employees on the basis of sexual orientation but not gender identity" (Bellis). Although this shows only a fraction of America's minorities, it is still a fair indicator that the American Dream is unachievable to certain groups in America all because their differences cause them to have unequal opportunities for success. This is outrageous, especially when the American Dream means equal opportunity as mentioned in a prior

Show More
Related
659 Words | 3 Pages

“The original term ‘American Dream’ was coined during the Great Depression by James Truslow Adams, who wrote that the American dream ‘is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement, regardless of social class or circumstances of birth’ ” (573). He then addresses the views of liberal economists and activists, who think the American dream is dead, using facts from a survey done in 2009 by the New York Times. Essentially, the “survey found that 72 percent of Americans still believed it was possible to start poor, work hard, and become rich in America” (573).

Read More
1309 Words | 6 Pages

The American dream is more alive than it ever has been. A recently published essay “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” written by Indiana University law student Brandon King, exposes readers to a few different approaches to fixing the United States economy. King begins his essay by discussing how within recent years the American population has been exposed to the national debt crisis, stock plummets, high unemployment and surviving through this Great Recession. As a reader you assume that with this deteriorating economy that American’s would lose hope and dread being poor, however King states that 72% of Americans still believe they could become bankrupt and be able to generate wealth again by hard work and determination alone. That

Read More
516 Words | 3 Pages

Final Argument Essay It’s still considered the American Dream to have individual rights, freedom, democracy, and equality. Throughout the essays we have read, people talk about how Americans are still falling short of the American Dream. Although some people have seen that America has set its American Dream, people who worked hard and are observant throughout our society think that people have fallen short of the American Dream. Most of the time, people do not realize that we live in a society where people struggle really hard just to survive and help their families.

Read More
1143 Words | 5 Pages

The Destruction of the American Dream The American Dream for many individuals, is a goal. Some achieve it, others result in failure. So what is the American Dream and why does it seem so appealing to the average person? The American Dream is the idea that anyone can work hard and achieve wealth and success in America.

Read More
1309 Words | 6 Pages

The American dream is having equality, a voice to be heard and stability in one’s life. However, the American Dream is just that, a dream. It cannot be attained because of the power of our government, the ignorant minds of others and the constant want for more. What should be trivial factors in life, such as: race, gender, social class, wealth, etc., all have a significant effect on the impractical American dream. the “TED Talks” video proves this.

Read More
791 Words | 4 Pages

The American Dream is it dead or alive? There are still a few people that believe the American Dream is still alive and is still achievable. Others think it is dead and is a thing of the past. Some believe the American Dream is having a successful job and being financially stable and living in a well furnished house. Some would say that is not possible to achieve the American Dream from coming from a poor upbringing.

Read More
744 Words | 3 Pages

The American dream should be restored to its former glory. Politicians are using the American dream as a ploy to get votes by promising us they’re something to believe in, and that they can make America great again. Donald

Read More
483 Words | 2 Pages

Many immigrants came to this land of prosperity and the land of freedom to give their kids a better life and education. “ I brought you to this country now, do something with it.” (from the article The American Dream Lives On by Yasmina Shaush). I understood this quote because my parents also brought my siblings and myself to get a better education and I plan to do so, to make them proud.

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

The American dream at one point was what drew people to American; the right to life, liberty, and the happiness. The American dream is the hope to acquire currency, large homes, raise a middle-class family, and pursue what brings people joy in life. But in the year 2016, the American dream becomes hard to believe in. The American dream may still exist, but it is not equally accessible to all Americans. This is true because the American dream is not affordable for everyone, it is not available to everyone from different degrees of education, and race and ethnicity creates large social barriers.

Read More
648 Words | 3 Pages

America is known as “The Land of Opportunity” and it established the concept of the American Dream in the 1900’s. The fight for this dream was prevalent even before it was given a name in 1930. The founding fathers wrote this belief into the constitution with the words “All Americans are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” .Some Americans believe that the American Dream can still be obtained in the 21st Century with hard work and perservance ; however, a majority of the American population among race gender and class has a different point of view on what America still provides to their citizens because economic insta8bility and lack of equal opportunity.

Read More
1060 Words | 5 Pages

No matter who you are or where you have come from, you have undoubtedly heard of the American Dream. The idea that no matter who you are or where you have come from, you can do whatever it is you desire in America. What was once one the main driving forces for immigrants to flock to the new world, has slowly changed over the years, but still holds its value in the eyes of those who are looking for a promising new place to live. The American dream might not hold the same awe inspiring sound that it once did, but for many generations before ours it was a beacon of hope that helped build the foundation that the United States was built on. And, still, today the American dream might not be as achievable as it once was, but it is still an important

Read More
398 Words | 2 Pages

In England, two Americans Spoke about the American dream. It was in 1965 at Cambridge University, Cambridge, England, at the Cambridge Union Society, James Baldwin, and William F. Buckley Jr. Faced off regarding whether "The American Dream has Been Achieved at the Expense of the American Negro?" Before the debate began a man named Norman St. John Stevas M.P. Introduced the two American men who were debating. The debate starts off with two college undergraduate.

Read More
1630 Words | 7 Pages

However, the opposite is true and in fact, the American Dream is not dead, it had just evolved; it does not the same vision or idea that it once was. The key is to strive for the American Dream, to do what you love and love what you do. It is not dead because people still achieve their American Dream and so long as one person is able to achieve their American Dream then it can never be dead or die. If the American Dream is truly dead, it can only be a loss of hope, will, and determination. People still come here every year in order to live a better life than what they had come from because they know the United States can offer that to them.

Read More
904 Words | 4 Pages

Dreams can come true if you believe and never give up. The American Dream consists of a national idea that success and prosperity are things to continually strive for. There are many diverse opinions and reasons that people get idea that the American Dream is alive or dead. It is the different stories that are told as examples, that give viewers their opinions. People can twist words in ways that can make the americans hopeful that the american dream is alive, and change it into ways that the american dream is dead.

Read More
2097 Words | 9 Pages

False Illusions "For many the American Dream has become a nightmare. " These words of Bernie Sanders are accurate to an extent. The American Dream is the idea that anyone, with enough resolve and determination, can climb the economic ladder, regardless of where they start in life. It is called the American Dream because the United States is depicted as the greatest nation in the world, that offers the most opportunity and freedom to achieve upward mobility in society. However, many people attach themselves too much to the hope of achieving this dream that they fail to realize the inequalities that take place in front of their own faces, which are the factors that are hampering them from this illusion.

Read More

More about American Dream Dead Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document