As writer Jon Meacham said, “The American Dream may be slipping away. We have overcome such challenges before. To recover the Dream requires knowing where it came from, how it lasted so long and why it matters so much.” The American Dream is the belief that with hard work, anyone, from anywhere, can be successful and live a prosperous life. Through his book, Our Kids, Robert Putnam illustrates how the American Dream is much less attainable. Unfortunately, many opportunities for children are now determined the day they are born. Putnam brings this to light and the fact that the “land of opportunity” we know, may not actually be what we think, especially for those in the lower class. Throughout the book, Putnam used personal portraits to show
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David himself even mentioned the importance of education, “‘I really want to get a higher education,’ he says. ‘I need one. It’s hard to get a job without one anymore”’(Putnam 28). In the book, Putnam continually noted inequality and the significance of education and how that is a measure of how we are doing and our opportunities (Putnam 183). The last main trend in David’s life is the parenting he received or the lack of. It was clear that his dad was not responsible when it came to David’s future and the book states, “He has essentially no support network”(Putnam 28). Sadly for David, Putnam’s research showed, “Even ideal parenting cannot compensate for all the ill effects of poverty of children, and even incompetent parenting cannot nullify all the advantages conferred by parental affluence and education”(Putnam 134). David’s family was both poor and uneducated, so his opportunity for success was very …show more content…
Indeed it was the seminal event in her life”(Putnam 58). Putnam later revealed that with Kayla’s parents being uneducated, they had a large chance of divorcing (Putnam 67). He also stated the influence divorce ad on children, “Children in divorced or remarried families face distinctive challenges partly because their family’s limited resources must be spread across more than one household, and partly because their parents’ lingering grievances, and physical and emotional distance from one another, hamper effective communication and coordination”(Putnam 78). Considering that Kayla’s family involved multi-partner fertility, the family’s finances were very stretched. The situation became even worse when Joe remarried and Kayla said, ‘“She’d treat her sons and daughter like royalty,’ she says, ‘and I was kind of like the peasant of them all’”(Putnam 58). The result of being neglected brought about other issues for Kayla, “Multi-partner fertility is associated with less parental involvement, less extended kin involvement, and more friction, jealousy, and competition…”(Putnam
David himself even mentioned the importance of education, “‘I really want to get a higher education,’ he says. ‘I need one. It’s hard to get a job without one anymore”’(Putnam 28). In the book, Putnam continually noted inequality and the significance of education and how that is a measure of how we are doing and our opportunities (Putnam 183). The last main trend in David’s life is the parenting he received or the lack of. It was clear that his dad was not responsible when it came to David’s future and the book states, “He has essentially no support network”(Putnam 28). Sadly for David, Putnam’s research showed, “Even ideal parenting cannot compensate for all the ill effects of poverty of children, and even incompetent parenting cannot nullify all the advantages conferred by parental affluence and education”(Putnam 134). David’s family was both poor and uneducated, so his opportunity for success was very …show more content…
Indeed it was the seminal event in her life”(Putnam 58). Putnam later revealed that with Kayla’s parents being uneducated, they had a large chance of divorcing (Putnam 67). He also stated the influence divorce ad on children, “Children in divorced or remarried families face distinctive challenges partly because their family’s limited resources must be spread across more than one household, and partly because their parents’ lingering grievances, and physical and emotional distance from one another, hamper effective communication and coordination”(Putnam 78). Considering that Kayla’s family involved multi-partner fertility, the family’s finances were very stretched. The situation became even worse when Joe remarried and Kayla said, ‘“She’d treat her sons and daughter like royalty,’ she says, ‘and I was kind of like the peasant of them all’”(Putnam 58). The result of being neglected brought about other issues for Kayla, “Multi-partner fertility is associated with less parental involvement, less extended kin involvement, and more friction, jealousy, and competition…”(Putnam