Essay On Andrew Carnegie And The American Dream

Andrew Carnegie, one of the founders of US Steel, has one of the most inspiring “rags to riches” stories in American History. His success story is one of the most prominent examples of the American Dream, an idea whose validity is commonly debated to this day. The American Dream is the idea that anyone in the United States, regardless of social class, can achieve all of their goals and accomplish anything. Although romanticized and over exaggerated due to certain misconceptions regarding opportunity in the United States in the present, there are several biographies and novels that tell the stories of those who have lived the American Dream. The literary eras of Modernism and Postmodernism in American Literature are saturated with a recurring

Carnegie began to progress up the chain of railroad positions. The use of the telegraph opened up doors to several different industries at the time, since railroad managers utilized its use to communicate with different stations regarding cargo shipments. Carnegie’s expertise in the telegraph allowed him to progress (Investopedia). The trend emerging from these promotions is quite evident in today’s culture, that being “the climbing of the corporate ladder”. In the United States today, many believe that everyone has the potential to climb up the corporate ladder to achieve different positions, such as chairman, chief executive officer, chief financial officer, or chief marketing officer. The idea is that if one is skilled enough in their industry, they can gradually achieve whatever goals they desire. In the early stages of Carnegie’s life, it’s evident that he was on a similar path. Carnegie was said to have an “able mind and charm”. Not only does this relate to Jay Gatsby’s charming characteristics, but it also relates to Willy Loman’s interpretation of the American Dream in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman believed that if one was charming, handsome, and dedicated, they could achieve anything. This interpretation of the American Dream perfectly fits Carnegie’s timeline at an early age, as he received numerous promotions as a