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Does The American Dream Exist?

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Does the American Dream exist? The American Dream has been questioned on its legitimacy in whether it is fact or fiction. Writers have pondered this idea in many forms in their writing, poems, songs, and essays. The American Dream seems to be a complex phenomenon that cannot be explained yet so many long to achieve it. It proves to be true to some, but breaks promises in others. It has the power to give hope or take it away. The American Dream is in fact true many would argue, but for the hopeless, it was only a Dream, a Dream that no longer exists today. “A hope deferred makes the heart sick…” (Proverbs 13:12). Many immigrants coming to America see America as the Land of Opportunity, but much like this verse, their aspirations are struck …show more content…

“As one of the dumb, voiceless ones I speak. One of the millions of immigrants beating, beating their hearts at your gates for a breath of understanding…” (America and I, Pg16). To many, America seems to promise a life fulfilled, but it doesn’t uphold its promise and immigrants seem to seek a reason for their suffering. They desire to be heard, to be understood. Anzia Yezierska, author of America and I, expresses the viewpoint of the average immigrant desiring a successful life. She begins to explain how American was the land of living hope, woven of dreams, aflame with longing desire, and how it was a sunlight burning through my darkness, but later in the story she doubts whether the American Dream really exists. “Where is America? Is there an America? What is this wilderness in which I am lost?” (pg19). As an immigrant she struggles to obtain the hope she once had, …show more content…

She tells of a time when the settlers first laid eyes on America, and standing triumphantly in front of them, was the Statue of Liberty, high and mighty. Its shadowing presence seemed to take away all fear as it cried with silent lips, “… Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door” (Pg 9). As the new settlers stepped foot onto the Land of Opportunity, as they step through the golden door, the American Dream patiently awaited them. With high hopes of what is to come the settlers boldly stepped off the ships and into, The Promise Land. A dream was what motivated these settlers. It’s what drove them to earnestly seek what they desire. The American Dream is what gave them hope, and without hope, they couldn’t expect to ever comprehend the American Dream. President Roosevelt, a man of great honor, gives a speech addressing the fiftieth anniversary of the Statue of Liberty. He goes back to when the immigrants first came to the new world and solidifies that if not for their sheer effort, and devotion towards the American Dream, America would not be the same without the bravery and hope they longingly held onto. The American Dream is not always about having success right at this very moment in time, but believing that you will become

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Upton Sinclair portrays the economic tension in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries through his novel “The Jungle”. He used the story of a Lithuanian immigrant, Jurgis Rudkus, to show the harsh situation that immigrants had to face in the United States, the unsanitary and unsafe working conditions in the meatpacking plants, as well as the tension between the capitalism and socialism in the United States during the early 1900s. In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, there were massive immigrants move into the United States, and most of them were from Europe. The protagonist, Jurgis Rudkus, like many other immigrants, have the “America Dream” which they believe America is heaven to them, where they can

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The American dream has been an idea that has circles the minds of many since the establishment of the colonies. Like within its name, the American dream still remains a dream in the minds of many families who work hard, hoping for the better. The American dream will allow for them to better themselves, but not to a point of ultimate

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Within Ellis Island by Joseph Bruchac, On Being Brought from Africa to America by Phillis Wheatley, and Europe and America by David Ignatow there are different views of what the American Dream is and what it means to immigrants. Each author writes about their own experience of immigration and life in America, which shapes their view of the American dream. The common theme between the three poems is the variable nature of the American dream and how it has different meanings for each person coinciding with contradictions between leisure and suffering.

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MODEL Paragraph in response to “Where Worlds Collide” English 10A: The new arrivals to America in Pico Iyer’s “Where Worlds Collide” are less affected by their new surroundings than they are by their own expectations of the land and promise that awaits them. Iyer describes the “unending cacophony” of sounds and the “opportunities that are swirling, dizzily, promiscuously” within the newcomers vision. Even so, the barrage of colors and noises do not suggest that they are going anywhere but the “the Land of Opportunity” a phrase whose idea is repeated at least four times. This allusion to the Promised Land” a biblical place that beckoned God’s chosen people for 40 years, is synonymous with America, also referenced as a new life they can

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The “American Dream” is defined as the ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. However, to one impoverished woman, it seemed like exactly that: a dream. That woman, Anzia Yezierska, addressed this in her book Hungry Hearts when she wrote “Like all people who have nothing, I lived on dreams.” (114) Anzia Yezierska addressed this in her book Hungry Hearts when she wrote “Like all people who have nothing, I lived on dreams.” (114) Yezierska was a Jewish-American novelist born in Plotsk, a Russian-Polish village, between 1880 and 1885, who emigrated with her family to New York in 1898.

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Impossible Dreams The meaning of the American Dream can be seen as ”A uniquely American vision of the country consisting of three central ideas. The American dream consists of a belief in America as the new Eden- a land of beauty, bounty, and unlimited promise; a feeling of optimism, created by ever expanding opportunity; and a confidence in the triumph of the individual.” Using this definition of the so called “American dream”, it seems to be a great representation of it at first, until you realize it includes everyone as the individual. From the beginning of the Civil war to the end of the War to End All Wars, the American Dream wasn’t possible due to the treatment of the Native Americans, the inequality between women and men, and the false promises given to the immigrants coming to our country in their time of need.

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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.

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The American dream is a term used in a lot of ways. Although research has shown that American dream can’t be attainable by most people, closer examination shows that it can be attainable by the following reasons. As Daniel J. Mitchell stated in New York Times im January 1st, 2015 “The United States is not a perfect country, but the American Dream is still a reality.” By that he meant that even with America’s Grow rate, poverty, unemployment rate in the past years and still going Americans can still chase their American dreams If we look at the history and the definition it shows that infact it is possible to attain it.

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The American Dream is an opportunity in which a determined person can have exceptional success through dedication and hard work, achieving equality, freedom, and personal goals. As immigrants, my grandparents followed this beacon of hope, and had this one thing in mind: a better life. Coming from

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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

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The real question is, is the American Dream a reality, or is it just a dream? To me the American dream is making money, a supporting loving family, and having a career you love. I think that many people come to the U.S. looking for their own idea of The American Dream, but in my opinion I’m not sure how much of the american dream still exist. There is many obstacles for the dream; endless you 're born into your wildest dream. For immigrants coming from different countries grasping their dream can be very hard.

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“It was my father who taught us that an immigrant must work twice as hard as anybody else, that he must never give up.” This quote by Zinedine Zidane shows how hard The Americans Dream is to immigrants. This essay will explain a little about immigrants coming to the United States looking to achieve the American Dream and their struggles and accomplishments. Also this essay will talk about two speeches from the mid-1900’s for both Martin Luther King Jr. and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Immigrants have many ups and downs through their live in America.

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The American dream is always an opportunity for anyone in this world, but the way they you achieve the dream is what really matters. Anyone seeking the American dream has a lot of work on their hands. Some people want this dream because in their own country they do not have safety or freedom. Some people also wants this dream because in their lives they do not have happiness, so they look towards this "dream" to help them financially.

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The American Dream was created for all to be equal with the right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. A dream is a series of thoughts on possibilities one can attain, hence, only one can choose to believe in the American Dream and if it’s achievable. In particular, Steve Tobak’s article called The American Dream is Alive and Well focuses on the opportunity Americans have unlike others and that the dream is attainable by all who work for it. A book by John Winthrop called City Upon a Hill implies that all men are capable of anything if they put God first. The American dream should make life fuller for all, provide happiness, and lead every American to believe they can do anything.

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