Not Everyone Can Achieve the American Dream The American Dream can only be achieved by putting blood, sweat, and tears into accomplishing goals. The American Dream is accomplished when one is completely content with their life and all they have accomplished. The American Dream means different things to different people, but the overall goal is to be satisfied with your life. Our America follows LeAlan Jones and Lloyd Newman as they attempt to get by and support their families in the ghetto, and work towards success. In “The Diamond as Big as the Ritz” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Washington family seems to have it all with countless diamonds and luxuries, but are living in a constant fear of their secret being discovered. Robert Creeley’s
…show more content…
LeAlan is writing about his purpose, and explains why having a very difficult childhood leads to not having much of a future: “But for a kid whose mother is a crack addict and who doesn’t have a father and doesn’t have a meal at night and has holes in his shoes when he walks the streets and can barely read and can barely communicate his feelings (which is almost the usual for the ghetto), when he asks himself ‘What is my reason for being? What is my purpose?’ what can he tell himself?” (Jones and Newman 200). The likelihood of someone growing up in a dangerous situation achieving the American Dream is slim because they might not see any point in pursuing it. Like LeAlan’s analysis, Robert Creely writes about how the American Dream is never achieved. Creely describes how he envisions the American Dream: “Multiple heavens, hells, nothing is straight./ You earn your money, then you wait/ for so-called life to see that you get paid” (Creely line 5). People are constantly working to support themselves and their families, but even if they get paid with money life does not necessarily repay them. Creely and Jones both described people who do not see a chance of achieving the American Dream. It is often the case that other people that stand in the way of one achieving the American …show more content…
LeAlan Jones talks about how the ghetto is a completely different America, and how he has never felt truly American: “An American is supposed to have life, liberty, prosperity, and happiness. But an African-American is due pain, poverty, stress, and anxiety” (Jones and Newman 199). Most people do not experience the privileges of being a true American. Racial discrimination is still evident today, and can be shown through surveys. The Pew Research Team did a series of surveys asking people about racial equality: “The analysis finds that the economic gulf between blacks and whites that was present half a century ago largely remains” (Pew Research Team 630). Based on the surveys that were taken, the majority of people think that racial inequality is still a large issue today in areas such as household income, household wealth, and being above the poverty line. In all of these areas it was found that blacks are ranked significantly lower on the charts than whites. Both texts talk about racial inequality and how that hinders people from achieving the American Dream. Sometimes the people who achieve the American Dream are the ones who you would least
LeAlan is writing about his purpose, and explains why having a very difficult childhood leads to not having much of a future: “But for a kid whose mother is a crack addict and who doesn’t have a father and doesn’t have a meal at night and has holes in his shoes when he walks the streets and can barely read and can barely communicate his feelings (which is almost the usual for the ghetto), when he asks himself ‘What is my reason for being? What is my purpose?’ what can he tell himself?” (Jones and Newman 200). The likelihood of someone growing up in a dangerous situation achieving the American Dream is slim because they might not see any point in pursuing it. Like LeAlan’s analysis, Robert Creely writes about how the American Dream is never achieved. Creely describes how he envisions the American Dream: “Multiple heavens, hells, nothing is straight./ You earn your money, then you wait/ for so-called life to see that you get paid” (Creely line 5). People are constantly working to support themselves and their families, but even if they get paid with money life does not necessarily repay them. Creely and Jones both described people who do not see a chance of achieving the American Dream. It is often the case that other people that stand in the way of one achieving the American …show more content…
LeAlan Jones talks about how the ghetto is a completely different America, and how he has never felt truly American: “An American is supposed to have life, liberty, prosperity, and happiness. But an African-American is due pain, poverty, stress, and anxiety” (Jones and Newman 199). Most people do not experience the privileges of being a true American. Racial discrimination is still evident today, and can be shown through surveys. The Pew Research Team did a series of surveys asking people about racial equality: “The analysis finds that the economic gulf between blacks and whites that was present half a century ago largely remains” (Pew Research Team 630). Based on the surveys that were taken, the majority of people think that racial inequality is still a large issue today in areas such as household income, household wealth, and being above the poverty line. In all of these areas it was found that blacks are ranked significantly lower on the charts than whites. Both texts talk about racial inequality and how that hinders people from achieving the American Dream. Sometimes the people who achieve the American Dream are the ones who you would least