Oppression Of The American Dream

The American dream is the foundation of American beliefs and is still achievable but it only impacts few citizens which shows there are huge problems but they can be fixed. Women have trouble establishing themselves and have been discriminated against over their male counterpart all the time. Not only gender, but race as African Americans are having trouble finding jobs and even in the 21st century the employed black population is not as high as people would think instead the percentage is going down. Social status keeps you where start and can basically predetermine your outcome, whether the disadvantages there are or the fact of the low movement rate in America. Discrimination of gender, race, and social class threatens and determines the …show more content…
The house is the centerpiece of the American dream. Once the house has been obtained, then you have made the dream a reality. The problem is that owning a home is very hard as Arnold says “The common misconception is possession of the home, as most Americans do not own a home, they instead are paying for a home that the bank owns. But the fact that it is still possible now proves the American dream is not dead but is actually broken” (Arnold 13). The system is struggling to stay afloat because it is hard to accomplish this goal, especially for women who are being discriminated against (which is contrary to men). This is due to the fact that men are designed to be the money makers and for that reason there are job opportunities there for them to succeed while women are usually forced the same few jobs like teaching or nursing. That is why Frederick J. Hoffman says, “women 's roles have been predetermined in the novel” (Hoffman page 256). Men are viewed as the earners while women usually stay at home to take care of the family. So once a female is born it already known what she will do as compared to a man can do anything and achieve their goals with hard work. Even Daisy from The Great Gatsby showed why it is so hard for her to accomplish things. In fact, Daisy symbolizes why it is impossible for her or any other women to advance in life. Tom treats her as another possession …show more content…
By having these rankings people are left out in the cold, especially people with very little means. There is very little mobility up and down the economic ladder. Most people usually stay where they start as compared to moving because many people usually do the things their parents did or because of the class they might be in their parents do not really push their children to strive for something great. Movement between classes is very rare, which is contrary to what most American’s believe. In fact an economist from Class and the American dream said “Class based on economic and social differences remains a powerful force in American life and has come to play a greater, not lesser, role over the last three decades” (Hochschild 65). Social status is usually the same for families and is not something that can easily be moved up or down. Therefore, social status and class are a direct reflection of how easily a person can achieve the American Dream. The Great Gatsby uses Nick to show how social classes affect the American dream. In the very beginning of the book he talks about the advantages he had, compared to rest of the world. “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since. ‘Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,’ he told me, ‘just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had”