...“The American Dream” as defined by James Truslow Adams in 1931 is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward social mobility achieved through hard work. Truslow states "life should be worse and poorer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. The idea of the American Dream is rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." The American Dream is viewed by many Americans as not only an American pursuit, but also many Americans, most especially those citizens that identify themselves as Christians see this pursuit as a Christian right of passage. In the catechesis of Christian language the American dream has become synonymous with the being a Christian. In the minds of many Americans the American Dream is a Christian reward to faithfulness. The proliferation of the American dream through the vehicle of the “Prosperity Gospel” is a cause for the continuance of poverty in America. In this writing I plan to discuss the origins of the American, the canonizing of the American dream in scripture, and the growth of the Prosperity Gospel as an answer to the rising poverty rate in this country. ORIGINS OF THE AMERICAN...
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...The “American Dream” is defined as, according to Dictionary.com, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” Many people face obstacles in the attempt to pursue this dream, some obstacles larger than others. People come to realize that the idea they had of the American Dream is not always how they expected it to be. They also realize the many hardships, successes and failures on the way to achieving this dream. Some of today’s obstacles to achieving the “American Dream” are that some people that want to obtain this lifestyle have no money, no education, and no determination. It is believed that money is needed to make money, and while this is not completely true, someone with less...
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...What is an American Dream? Base on articles over the years the "American Dream" is different for everyone. Our founding fathers view of the American Dream was freedom and not about materialism. Back then it was about getting rid of slavery and letting people of color equal like everyone else. In the 30's the great depression was happening so people wanted wealth and self sufficiency. The 50's having is was having freedom and democracy. The 90's everyone could attain their version of the dream and not take if for granted. Now where in the 21st century/ 2000's where everything is completely different and the American dream is too. Most people today believe that the American dream is being rich and marry a millionaire. Even though there are many successful people, American dream isn't attainable for all because some weren't considered as people, materialism and social mobility. People like women, former slaves and other disenfranchised groups did not have access to the American dream. Around this time slavery was very popular, wealthy white had all the power. Former slaves, women and other disenfranchised groups were not considered as people, in which they were mistreated, segregated and took...
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... education or tools to attain higher success. Poverty class has a larger income gap compared to the upper class, and the American Dream is diminished in terms of opportunity and is demonstrated by way of statistics. First of all, poverty does exist and is high in some part of the world because of the number of income and wealth that is shared in terms of power. In America for example, the income...
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...Name: Tutor: Course: Date: Shattered American Dream Every immigrant has a dream, a vision full of hope expecting to make it wherever he goes. In grapes of wrath, they had this vision too. “[People are] movin’ ‘cause they got to. That’s why [we] folks always move. Movin’ cause [we] want somepin better’n what [we] got” (Steinbeck, 128). The American dream was seen as a simple concept by the immigrants in the Grapes of Wrath. According to them, “You can reach anywhere and pick an orange” (Steinbeck, 34). They thought they will just go to California and get plenty of jobs for everyone and get rich. This is highlighted in page 34,”there’s work there and it never gets cold”. What the immigrants did not know was that finding an ideal life in the west was nearly impossible. Additionally, those who were looking for an ideal life were corrupted by the system. In his book, Steinbeck said that the attainment of the American dream was nearly impossible due to the economic instability and constant government interference. The Joads found unpredictable jobs in California (Ownby 73). They failed to achieve the American dream and so they did not succeed in California. Before they migrated from Oklahoma, the Joads had a good life. They had land, a home and money. Their migration was fuelled by their hopes of finding success and a better life in California. The Grapes of Wrath is set during the great depression. The great depression was a result of the inaction by the federal government...
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...The Unachievable American Dream One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, and one of the most iconic civil rights activists in our countries history, Martin Luther King Jr., both believed in equality for all. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” ( 327). Since then, America has become the number one country for achieving life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Today, we know this better as the American Dream. The American Dream is something that every American strives for. Immigrants from other countries come here and become American citizens with the hope of someday achieving their ideal American Dream. We all design and carry this image in our heads of our own American Dream. The job we hope to have and the pleasant family we hope to build and raise in our perfect ideal homes, are all images that come to mind when thinking of the American Dream. Most of us, every day of our lives, are doing the best we can. We try to make this dream become a reality, but the reality of this dream is that it’s getting harder and harder to reach; due to unemployment, poverty, and our countries overall economic state. Over the past few years the country’s economy has been in a downward spiral and we’ve reached an economic recession. Poverty and unemployment rates amongst United States citizens have...
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...for better or worse, is centered around changes in policy and legislation. Especially in the last twenty or so years changes such as the recent ones of administrations and regarding social issues such as welfare and and healthcare have greatly impacted American lives. In addition to those changes our vision of the American Dream and how one obtains it has also changed drastically. It is hard to say if the changes are for the better or worse objectively. Surely they were better for some and worse for others, but either way the changes have been quite impactful. Changes in administration have the most obvious and overarching effect on the lives of “everyday Americans” whether we realize it or not. In the past few decades we have gone from Ronald Reagan to George H.W. Bush to Clinton to Bush Jr to Obama and most recently to Trump. The most obvious change regarding those administrations is that in past twenty or so years we have switched political parties four times. With each incoming party there are have naturally been different sets of values and goals,...
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...Name Instructor Course Date of submission Let America Be America Again By Langston Hughes Theme: Freedom In his poem, let America be America again, Hughes focuses on American freedom and equality. His concern was on the socio-economic division in the American society. Relating the American declaration at independence, Hughes observes that the road to achievement of equality and freedom lost. The country has become corrupt and its leaders and businessmen are greedy. The grabbed land and gold making them wealthier during the common American citizen; the Negros, red Indians, the poor whites and immigrants lavish in poverty (Schmidt, and Lynne, 776). They have not achieved the American promise of freedom. Hughes wrote the poem with the poor and the American dream in mind. He relates the national stratification based on class division to see the possibility of realizing the American dream. According to him, America has turned into a country of the mighty crushing the weak (line 24) and the economic powerhouses accumulate more wealth while the poor lavish in more poverty. Capitalism has embraced the American philosophy and, therefore, it hinders the achievement of the long waited and dreamt for dream; a dream of equality, freedom and wellbeing. Greedy businessmen have altered the American dream. They have substituted equality and brotherhood with capitalism. Their actions have created a society that holds the slogan, ‘everybody for himself but God for us all.’ Nobody cares about...
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...play surrounding the life of a black working class family in Chicago. The name of the play is taken from a Langston Hughes called “A Dream Deferred”. The poem describes the possible outcomes of dreams that are cast aside and forgotten. This poem relates the Lorraine Hansberry’s play, as A Raisin in the Sun focuses on the dreams of the family and how society impacts and defers their dreams. The protagonist, Walter Younger, strives to achieve the American dream; however, his economic standing, his race, and his family defer his dreams. Walter Younger dreams of becoming a wealthy entrepreneur so that he can drive his family out of poverty. However, economic circumstance interferes with his dream. In the beginning of...
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... Life in America was tense for African Americans in the 1950’s or 1960’s. They were not treated the same way as white people were and this created many conflicts in society. Lorraine Hansberry wrote the play, “A Raisin in the Sun” to depict the story of a black family living under these circumstances who are trying to find a way to be happy. The Younger family, including Beneatha, Lena, and Walter Younger, all had positive dreams that were taken away by the negative encironment that were surrounding them. The image of these characters created by Hansberry reflects with the history and culture focusing on African American events. From the beginning, Lena Younger or Mama is seen flowering her plant. She treats the plant as a way she would to her kids. It symbolizes a way to nurture dreams and keep them thriving such as a plant. Everybody has dreams, and Mama’s dream is to live in a nice house. She has “been thinking that we maybe could meet the notes on a little old two- story somewhere, with a yard where Travis could play in the summertime” (989). In addition to her dream, she describes her house with a nice backyard for the kids to play in and “a little garden in the back” (990). She would also help pitch in some money by “take on a little work again, few days a week” (990). She just hopes this one dream would bring the family together under one roof. Her dream cannot be reached because she still lives in poverty in an apartment of Chicago’s Southside. Mama...
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...Views over the American Dream In the articles “The American Dream is Alive” and “Restoring the American Dream” the authors explain in detail their views over the American Dream. In the reading . In the reading, “Restoring the American Dream” Zakaria Fareed explains her view points on the American dream, and shares her solution on how to restore it. In the article “The American Dream is Alive” the American Dream well defined. The term ‘American Dream’ was coined during the Great Depression by James Adams to give people hope and a goal to be prosperous. It is the dream that everyone will have the opportunity to have a life better than the poverty of the Great Depression. It is the dream that a land can reverse poverty. The main idea of the definition of the American Dream is that all citizens have justice and freedom. In the article “Restoring the American Dream” the American Dream is similarly defined. The...
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...are challenges to getting to the American Dream. Have you ever been in a situation where you have not had enough money to do anything you wanted or get what you imagined or needed? Have you ever been discriminated because of your race, religion, or sex? Is there ever a time when you couldn't get something because you didn't know a language, or didn't understand what someone was saying? These are all interferences to reaching the American Dream. A big obstacle to the American Dream is discrimination. In document D it shows discrimination being shown to Geraldo, who was hit by a car in a hit and run. Geraldo was a party person who was wearing a saturday shirt...
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...before the founding of our country, the American way of life has, and continues to be, hypocritical to the first lines of the Declaration of Independence. “That all men are created equal.” The lines that every American should hold dear to the heart, and many even lose their lives to uphold. America has seen many times of economic downturn, and economic prosperity. Though for African Americans; economics has been consistently been a downturn. The opportunity to play a role in, and to enjoy economic prosperity has always been an uphill battle for these groups. Racial inequality in America has always been inconsistent with equal opportunity in the job market. Which ultimately means that groups such as African Americans have always been deprived of their equal rights to fairly compete for jobs. Because the level of playing field is heavily shifted against minority groups and woman, there will always be high unemployment for these groups. What people tend to forget to realize is that this disparity in equal opportunity hurts the overall economy. When the nations employers deprive particular groups of economic opportunity, unemployment rises, and when unemployment rises, the poverty level will also rise. This is especially true for the case of African American. As we will see, African Americans fall below Caucasians in median income, and above Caucasians in poverty. We will also see a long history of inequalities towards African Americans in the Housing market. Comparative Median...
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...Absolutely True Dairy of Part-time Indian. It is a magnificent story of overcoming the obstacles of being an Indian teenager while stepping outside of the reservation world and striving for better opportunities in the world. Junior, who carries the Native American blood in his roots, gives an insight into Native American culture, encompassing all of its sacred and astonishing details. Through Junior’s experience and between the storylines, various aspects of the Spokane Indians community are revealed, such as poverty, alcoholism, and kinship that make the novel stand as an unique Indian literature piece....
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...The American Dream is achievable and obtainable in America because that is what shaped America. There is room for more people to seek their dreams and obtain a better life. Anyone can achieve this dream if they work hard enough, and make the right choices. It’s tough, and may be unbearable, but anyone can try again to make a better life. It may be difficult and hard to do, but America was shaped by people who were poor who rose up from the ashes of poverty. The United States is a big country, and surely, it can save people from poverty and horrors of the world. People can come in poor, and with enough education and hard work, they could end up rich. It doesn’t always happen, but it’s possible. People are losing faith in this concept. (Source 5: The New York Times Poll: “Many Feel the American Dream Is Out of Reach”, Poll Shows” by Sorkin and Thee-Brenan, 2014.) Perhaps it’s because of the pollution, over crowding, or how much harder life has become. No dream is easy to achieve, so the American Dream isn’t easy either. People will make room and move on, it’s a step by step process to become rich, or even middle class. It isn’t easy, but it isn’t impossible....
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