Meaning Behind The American Dream

Improved Essays
What exactly is the American Dream? To many people in the United States the idea and the meaning behind the American Dream has faded away to an unreachable scheme. To others the American Dream is the ideal of having a nice family with a house surrounded by a white picket fence keeping all of the problems and issues that you face outside the borders. Particularly, to me, the American dream is being able to live a nice and prosperous lifestyle with a beautiful house and children. Many things go into this dream and the things that go into it define what it is. Money may or may not be the biggest factor, but it does play a huge role in how happy a family can be because without money your family will be living in troubled times and that can cause

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Introduction The true meaning of the American dream is nonexistent, everyone will define it differently. “The charm of anticipated success” that is the American dream according to Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political thinker and historian. Jim Cullen states in his book The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation “The Pilgrims may not have actually talked about the American dream, but they would have understood the idea: after all, they lived it as people who imagined a destiny for themselves. So did the Founding Fathers.…

    • 2178 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jack Benton Mrs. Maggeart English Honors III 16 March 2016 The Corrupted American Dream The American dream is defined as the goal of a hard, honest worker, as they successfully fulfil their wants. Cars, clothes, big houses, and family is ideal to the dream, but in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald interprets the corruption of the American Dream; although many characters from the novel seem to be successful, those characters are immorally feeding their wealth and success towards parties, alcoholism, and materialism.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Broken Dream Now and days people dream of achieving their American Dream some emigrants come to america for a chance at the American Dream. for people the american dream is being financially stable to be able to buy a house and having a family. Being able to but your kids into good schools and being able to retire from work with no worries. But the American Dream has lately been very impossible to achieve because people are not financially stable. The American Dream has slowly started being impossible because people try to fulfil their dream can’t because they are living paycheck to paycheck.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What does American dream meant to you? In my opinion, the American dream doesn’t exist anymore; it’s dead. Look back in the history, Americans fought for their freedom through the war of independence. Americans wanted equality, fairness, wealth, and ,of course, freedom on this new land.…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There are many paths to success, but what does it truly mean? Not everyone defines success the same way, and it can vary greatly in different cultures, societies, and economic class. Although it can be so broad, it can also easily be defined by the context of an individual’s life and struggle. The American Dream is a goal that many people are inspired to achieve as they believe it to be their definition of being successful.…

    • 727 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American dream is one of the most sought after items. Thousands of people flock to the united states in hopes of making it big and getting the American dream. What is the American dream and how can it be so desirable? The very definition is that every person would have an equal opportunity to achieve happiness through hard work and determination. But what is the measure of true happiness now?…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American Dream varies between each individual. Everyone has a different goal that they would strive to achieve. Some may think the American dream is accomplishing great actions or events, such as obtaining a countless amount of money or living in a mansion. Another perspective is that others would want to get more out of life then what they have previously, such as not being homeless or being financially stable. The American dream can become a reality if the person can motivate themselves to keep going even with one or multiple obstacles in their way.…

    • 1072 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I will be writing about how the last quote in the book, The Great Gatsby, and situations throughout the novel that relates to the American Dream. The American Dream is basically everyone having freedom, the same rights, and opportunities, or a life of personal happiness. The American Dream is also believed to be that anyone can be successful in America if they just work hard enough. I feel as if this book is related to the American Dream much through personal happiness and hard work.…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “If you work hard, you can accomplish anything”. This statement represents the American Dream and is ingrained in every Americans mind from the day they are born. But why do Americans instill so much hope into this statement of the American Dream? As everyone knows, to be successful in anything you must work hard, but the American population believes that if you work hard then you will accomplish the American Dream.…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    American Dream Immigration

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The essence of the American dream is the understanding that we are here on this earth and in this land for a higher purpose. The "American dream" is different for every person. To some it means financial success, to others it means freedom of expression. It’s a complex concept providing immigrants with the hope of better life. The U.S. government provides the environment and resources for everyone to pursue their dreams.…

    • 1580 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    American Dream Meaning

    • 2307 Words
    • 10 Pages

    1.IS THE IDEA OF THE AMERICAN DREAM UNIQUE TO AMERICANS, OR IS IT A “HUMAN” DREAM? EXPLAIN The idea of the American Dream is not unique to Americans. I think that every human dreams of having a better life for themselves, just like what the American Dream is. -Eddie…

    • 2307 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The American dream is having everything you've ever wanted. Being rich and debt free. Having the freedom to do as you please and the goals that you want, to be achieved. Although it might be hard and take time to get where you want , you reach your goals in the end. Overtime everyone's point of view towards the american dream has changed.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The American Dream, it is a very well known statement, though over the years its meaning has changed for many people, and for some it no longer has meaning at all. There are some people that are optimistic in life and they believe in things like the American dream, in the words of Stanford I. Well, “ I think that the American Dream says that anything can happen if you work hard enough at it and are persistent, and have some ability. The sky is the limit to what you can build, and what can happen to you and your family”(BrainyQuote, 2). Then there are the realists, the people that see the facts in the situation and rely on those facts to form their opinions. Those people often have opinions like Rita Dove, who once said “The American Dream is…

    • 1310 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most people, if not all in the US always want to live the American dream at some point in their lives. But the question is, what is the meaning of the American dream, and how can people achieve this vague and elusive realisation? The American dream is a national philosophy or a belief that specifies the ideal factors such as democracy, freedom, rights and equality that accords every citizen equal opportunity to prosper and achieve their set goals (Glenn, 2002). The foundation of the American dream is deeply rooted in the declaration of independence that assert that “all men are created equal”. In simple terms, the American dream eliminates the artificial barriers to prosperity and promotes upward social mobility for every individual in the US depending on their hard work irrespective of their, social, religious, historical and racial background.…

    • 1562 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is the “true” American Dream? How can everyone achieve the American Dream? In past years, the U.S. has had many views upon the American Dream. Like most people in the United States, many have tried achieving the American Dream, but they do not quite know what it is. In the books that the sophomores were required to read, they showed many views of the American Dream.…

    • 1206 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays