At the turn of the century, immigrants flooded into the U.S., each hoping to achieve their personal goals. Their different hopes, dreams, and aspirations have been clumped together and became known as the American Dream. Though times have changed, the dream remains the same and can be defined as achieving success through hard work and perseverance. The novels The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, along with the poem “I Was Dying” are all sources that make specific points about the dream. The movie McFarland, U.S.A. and the “American Dream Game” graphic also introduce thoughts on the dream. Based on these various perspectives, the American Dream is not accessible to all
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The fact remains that people don’t have enough hope to try to achieve their dream. For example, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie says, “‘The only thing you kids are being taught is how to give up” (Alexie 42). Directly stated in the quote, children are being taught it’s okay to give up, and it’s acceptable to be hopeless. The movie McFarland, U.S.A. makes the same point when it states, “Because there ain 't nothing ‘American Dream’ about this place” (McFarland, U.S.A.). This ties into Alexie’s point because both are lacking hope and directly and indirectly discrediting the American Dream as a whole. Continuing the point of the complete lack of faith in the American Dream, people’s acceptance of his/her lives demonstrates that people don’t believe in the dream enough to want to change. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie validates this point when he describes how Junior’s family resign themselves with their awful lives and never make any true effort to change it (Alexie). People don’t believe in the American Dream because it is considered unnecessary to change; therefore, people’s lack of will for change is directly linked to a lack of belief in the American Dream. Validating this further, the movie McFarland, U.S.A. describes a group of boys who believe they are going nowhere in life, just like their families. As stated in the movie, “We’re pickers. And we’re always going to be pickers” (McFarland, U.S.A.). The boys accept their position if life and make no effort to change it, thus demonstrating their disbelief in the American Dream. Because people are hopeless and accept his/her position in life, he/she do not believe in the American Dream, making it impossible to
The fact remains that people don’t have enough hope to try to achieve their dream. For example, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie says, “‘The only thing you kids are being taught is how to give up” (Alexie 42). Directly stated in the quote, children are being taught it’s okay to give up, and it’s acceptable to be hopeless. The movie McFarland, U.S.A. makes the same point when it states, “Because there ain 't nothing ‘American Dream’ about this place” (McFarland, U.S.A.). This ties into Alexie’s point because both are lacking hope and directly and indirectly discrediting the American Dream as a whole. Continuing the point of the complete lack of faith in the American Dream, people’s acceptance of his/her lives demonstrates that people don’t believe in the dream enough to want to change. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie validates this point when he describes how Junior’s family resign themselves with their awful lives and never make any true effort to change it (Alexie). People don’t believe in the American Dream because it is considered unnecessary to change; therefore, people’s lack of will for change is directly linked to a lack of belief in the American Dream. Validating this further, the movie McFarland, U.S.A. describes a group of boys who believe they are going nowhere in life, just like their families. As stated in the movie, “We’re pickers. And we’re always going to be pickers” (McFarland, U.S.A.). The boys accept their position if life and make no effort to change it, thus demonstrating their disbelief in the American Dream. Because people are hopeless and accept his/her position in life, he/she do not believe in the American Dream, making it impossible to