The American Dream, the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. This is the literal definition of The American Dream. The first American dream. This is the one that our ancestors of the past followed to carve the land, to build, and to prosper. For the original American Dream, this was a definition of hope, a dream that could be achieved. But that was a Dream of a time long past. Is it still the Dream of today? A recent poll in 2014 stated that half the people thought the dream dead. The main reason being that many think it is unattainable for themselves. People that have different financial situations is the second most thought of reason. …show more content…
Many even state that you can’t look forward to a secured retirement. This is what led to the lost of hope in The American Dream. Even books such as The Great Gatsby showed the dark side of the Dream, Gatsby’s inability to get Daisy, despite all he did. “Could we as a nation have lost touch with what makes us so distinctly ‘American’?”(Sokol) Even then there are still people left who believe the Dream lives. A non-profit organization known as Horatio Alger Association has awarded more than $100 million dollars to undergraduate scholarships. And it all started from a single man. Nathan Nguyen, a Vietnam emigrant, was a boy with little money who came to America with his parents. Although they struggled with finances, they were determined to make a life. Two years after receiving his scholarship, he established a music help center known as Instrumental Savings, and Nguyen succeeded this by using the American Dream. Soon, at the age of 22, he was a millionaire. Nguyen’s success wasn’t that uncommon. Many people who have come to North America seek to make a living, and work hard to do so. But what many don’t anticipate is