The Unachievable American Dream (add hook) The American Dream is the idea that all people should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and happiness through hard work and dedication. In the 1940s and 50s, the American Dream was measured by your possessions, the drive to be successful was from a materialistic point of view. There are some that say the modern day American Dream is now based on one’s stability. Things such as a stable job, a nice house, a spouse and family are thought to be sought after more than ever in this day. Because of the differences in circumstances and institutionalized oppression, the American Dream is not achievable for all people. Lloyd Newman and LeAlan grew up in an environment that embodied all that is dangerous about grouping poor people
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Throughout Our America, it is shown how from a very young age, children start to lose hope in a stable future, even if it is unconsciously. A young neighborhood drug dealer, George, says, “I ain’t gonna be alive in ten years because I'll be selling drugs and they're gonna pop my ass. No one’s gonna be alive in twenty more years!” (Jones and Newman 45) George has learned to be hopeless because of the unrelenting disadvantages he faces; he sees no way out of his current situation. This despondent attitude is portrayed in Robert Creeley’s poem; he says, “This is a heartless, hopeless song. This is an empty, useless song” (Creeley 1). This mindset is one that many people stuck in poverty have, because there is no way to get out of the cycle of continuous privation. Lloyd and LeAlan are also constantly surrounded by gangs, drugs, and violence, Lloyd says, “if you take a kid from a suburban area, no matter what race, and you take a kid from a ghetto area, who sees the things that people do to survive--I mean the raw things: steal, shoot, kill, shoot drugs to get a high;
Throughout Our America, it is shown how from a very young age, children start to lose hope in a stable future, even if it is unconsciously. A young neighborhood drug dealer, George, says, “I ain’t gonna be alive in ten years because I'll be selling drugs and they're gonna pop my ass. No one’s gonna be alive in twenty more years!” (Jones and Newman 45) George has learned to be hopeless because of the unrelenting disadvantages he faces; he sees no way out of his current situation. This despondent attitude is portrayed in Robert Creeley’s poem; he says, “This is a heartless, hopeless song. This is an empty, useless song” (Creeley 1). This mindset is one that many people stuck in poverty have, because there is no way to get out of the cycle of continuous privation. Lloyd and LeAlan are also constantly surrounded by gangs, drugs, and violence, Lloyd says, “if you take a kid from a suburban area, no matter what race, and you take a kid from a ghetto area, who sees the things that people do to survive--I mean the raw things: steal, shoot, kill, shoot drugs to get a high;