For many the American Dream is just that, a dream. It is almost inconceivable to some people that they could ever reach the goal of being successful and comfortable in the United States, but that has never stopped anyone from trying their hardest to achieve this feat. For some though that goal is not as unattainable as it is for others and the reason for this is because there is no set definition of the American Dream. The meaning of the American Dream varies for each person and therefore the road to someone accomplishing his American Dream can differ greatly. These alternate perceptions based on the person can lead to one person believing he has failed in his pursuit of the American Dream, while another may be convinced that he has accomplished
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Rather they believe that people who are smart should be scrutinized and be bullied for their superior intellect. Part of the American Dream for some is that they are able to learn what they want and use that information however they please. Conversely others believe the freedom to make fun of the intelligent and face little backlash is what they should pursue in their quest for the American Dream. In Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” he speaks of how when he was a child, he was worried to ever show how smart he was in fear that the neighborhood kids would beat him up. Because of this he put up a facade that made him look just like the brutish children that he wanted to impress so badly, not even caring if he gave up his identity to do so. He establishes this when he says, “I grew up torn, then, between the need to prove I was smart and the fear of a beating if I proved it too well; between the need not to jeopardize my respectable future and the need to impress the hoods” (Graff 246). To fear being yourself around others is a spit in the face of my concept of the American Dream, but others may believe they should have the freedom to treat others as they please, no matter how horrible and childish it
Rather they believe that people who are smart should be scrutinized and be bullied for their superior intellect. Part of the American Dream for some is that they are able to learn what they want and use that information however they please. Conversely others believe the freedom to make fun of the intelligent and face little backlash is what they should pursue in their quest for the American Dream. In Gerald Graff’s “Hidden Intellectualism” he speaks of how when he was a child, he was worried to ever show how smart he was in fear that the neighborhood kids would beat him up. Because of this he put up a facade that made him look just like the brutish children that he wanted to impress so badly, not even caring if he gave up his identity to do so. He establishes this when he says, “I grew up torn, then, between the need to prove I was smart and the fear of a beating if I proved it too well; between the need not to jeopardize my respectable future and the need to impress the hoods” (Graff 246). To fear being yourself around others is a spit in the face of my concept of the American Dream, but others may believe they should have the freedom to treat others as they please, no matter how horrible and childish it