“For many the American Dream has become a nightmare” stated Bernie Sanders, 2016 Presidential Candidate, during one of his campaigns after being incredibly frustrated with the country and its high rates of its citizens on welfare. This quote, displays the sense that in current America with how everything is going, the American Dream has now turned into a complete mess that no one wants to go through with. The overwhelming stress and other psychological pressures that come with the American Dream is not worth the stress, psychological, and emotional damage for some people and actually can cause more harm than good for them. They would rather be mentally healthy than end up psychologically damaged in order to reach the so called American Dream. It is understood that hard work goes into the American Dream, but there is a fine line where enough is enough. President Donald Trump once stated “The American Dream is dead”— a powerful statement and testament from him. When he claims that the American Dream is dead, Trump means that the original idea behind the American Dream has disappeared, and now seems as though it is no longer associated with the phrase. The American Dream has been a far fetched idea since it was first proposed back in the late nineteenth century and was something that was impossible from the start, especially for minorities and immigrants.
In his novel entitled Black Boy, Richard claims to want a better life, but does nothing in particular to strive for it.