Jennifer L. Hochschild describes the American dream as “the soul of the nation.” She clearly illustrates the importance of the dream to American culture. So, what is the American dream according to Hochschild? She was referring to John Locke and his fantasy, then said “But the sentence evokes the unsullied newness, infinite possibility, limitless resources that are commonly understood to be the essences of the “American dream.” She also pointed out the flaws in the American dream and how at times the pursuit of it can lead to counterproductive outcomes not just for the individual but society as a whole.
Annotated Bibliography, The American dream Ştiuliuc, Diana. "The American Dream As The Cultural Expression Of North American Identity." Philologica Jassyensia 7.2 (2011): 363-370. Academic Search Complete. Web.
Since the beginning of time in the United States, the idea of the American Dream has had a heavy influence on society. According to Document C, American Dream is defined as earning enough money to be happy, obtaining a worry-free lifestyle, and running in a high social circle. While working Americans still hold on to the hope of the American Dream, individuals from other countries often move to the United States with the hope that they too may have a piece of the pie. Despite the novelty and allure of the American Dream, it is nothing more than false hope.
It has been contended that the socioeconomics status of an individual does not impact the difficulty of hardships faced while striving towards the American Dream. In “The (futile) Pursuit of the American Dream”, Barbara Ehrenreich suggests “...while blue-collar poverty has become numbingly route, white-collar unemployment and the poverty that often results- remains a rude finger in the face of the American Dream.” To put succinctly Ehrenreich claims all who pursue the American Dream encounter the same difficult hardships. However, the socioeconomic status of an individual impacts the jobs the individual obtains, the education obtained, and ultimately the income of the individual; thus, impacting the difficulty of the hardships faced.
Parry 1 Breanna Parry Mrs.Hayse 1st Period English III 17 November 2015 Rough Draft: My Dream, Your Dream, Our Dream The American Dream is what everyone strives for, promising freedom, equality, religious views of your choice, and also life choices one person may seem to make.
Is the American Dream Still Alive? Being equal means that all Americans have the opportunity to succeed, it doesn't mean that all Americans have the same things. Some people will work much harder to succeed, they should have more than people who don't want to work to succeed. The American Dream is that every United States citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, initiative, and happiness. But many wonder if it is still alive today.
Synthesis Essay Assessing the attainability of the American dream, one may ascertain the notion’s futility and impracticality due to consistent social controversies, impending inequality of opportunity, and persistent discontent of one’s own being. Society’s impending social issues, such as racism and sexism, make the American dream of equality and prosperity exactly that, a dream, hypothetical and utterly unattainable. The illusion of the American dream is a fictitious utopia in which every person is truly created equal and treated as such. Reality, however, is that concepts such as discrimination based on race, gender, sexuality, and countless other defining characteristics of individuals make this American dream simply a figment of imagination.
America is the greatest country to ever exist in the history of all time. Where else in the world are you able to be whatever you want? As long as you work hard and apply yourself, you can achieve anything. In America, anyone can climb the social ladder if they put their mind to it. Success stories are all over the place.
People spend their whole lives chasing the American dream. Unfortunately, the truth for many is that this dream is becoming a nightmare. Contrast to what the American dream has taught people,
Annotated Bibliography Cohen, M. (2014, April 26). The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream. The Guardian, p. 00. “The American Dream is now just that for its middle classes – a dream” by Michael Cohen explains the perception of Americans towards the decline of the middle class. The article details how the middle class was viewed before the elections of President Obama, and how it’s viewed after the creation of the Affordable Care Act.
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
First off, the American dream isn’t accessible to impoverished families in the U.S. The American dream involves having money to occasionally blow on entertainment or extra purchases. But for 50 million Americans, according to the Huffington Post,
The American Dream: Happiness The key to achieving the American dream is to live life happy. No matter if it is happiness with money, love, freedom, or safety all people deserve the American dream. Everyone has their own way of pursuing an "American dream". Many immigrants have come to America to pursue that dream.
To live comfortably is a wish that many people have growing up in America. We see people on television who have and have not worked harder than others to achieve this way of life. These people are able to pay their bills for the nice house saved up for, are able to provide for a decent sized family, and still have extra money in their pocket for themselves. The American Dream seems so accomplishable when looking at the people who have already achieved this, but looking up to these people, we do not realize that this dream is not a few steps ahead of us sitting on a pedestal; this dream is almost out of touch. But what is the reason that everyone cannot achieve this dream as easily as others?
The Problem with the American Dream According to the history books, the widely-known expression “the American Dream” was originally coined by James Truslow Adams in 1931. It was first described in Adams’s book “The Epic of America” as “...not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain the fullest stature of which they are innately capable.” Over the years, America has become more egalitarian, but much must be done until there is true equality. Although the concept of the American Dream has always been believed to be open to everyone, throughout American history it has only been continuously accessible to the upper-class majority.
