The American Dream

1. Give an outline of how the American Dream is interpreted.
Arnold Schwarzenegger writes that with hard work and determination he managed to make his dream come through in America. He says, that he understands the immigrants yearning for freedom and opportunity, but that to get those and to get success you have to work hard and give something back to America.
He thinks, that one of the most important things to do to be able to fit in and blend in to the American culture is to learn the language. Not out of duty, but to be able to be a part of the everyday life in America and get the best out the cultural life of America. The second thing, he thinks, is important to get a good life in America is to participate in the democracy and to be involved in how America ended out to be, as it is today. The last thing, that he considers important, is to give something back to the America who has been welcoming you. It doesn’t have to be much; just something that helps people or something that makes a difference, small or big, in other people’s lives.
Arnold Schwarzenegger believes, that your dreams can come true in America and that everything can be achieved, but not without hard work.

Anya Kamenetz claims that the “old” American Dream is wounded. She is of the belief that the young Americans need a new and edited American dream, where the assumption of the dreams aren’t money and material things but a dream based on a social safety net, more time for the Americans and softer issues. Anya Kamenetz is a supporter for a more environmental and less material approach to life of our generation and the generations to come.
She considers it very important for the young Americans that a new and better social security net, so that the American people can feel safer during economic crises.
She believes that these small changes might make the American Dream smaller and less flashy, but more sustainable and suitable in the future.

David Wallechinsky question the American Dream based on that every hardworking American can earn enough money to pay bills, better their lives, give their children a better life and still have enough money to live a comfortable life after they stop working. He gives an example with a statistic that shows, that 84% of the Americans identify them selves as middleclass and most of the interviewed say that, they will succeed or fail financially, based on their own efforts – David Wallenchinsky believes that the Americans are downsizing their dreams. As an example he uses Shelly Cooper, who works hard both night and day to pay for her children’s college educations. She’s planning on using all of her money and savings on her children’s educations, to give them the best conditions in life. She is ready to do despite she has no money saved to her own use.
This is the scenario that makes David Wallenschinsky doubt if the American Dream still is possible.

2. Compare language, tone and style in texts 1 and 2.
The two texts are very different from each other. The text by The Library of Congress is formal and the comparison to Arnold Schwarzenegger makes it look even more formal. Text 2 is based on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s own personal life and is therefore very personal and subjective while “What is the American Dream” is objective and when a view or position is mentioned, it is mentioned in a quote. The language in text 2 is very colloquial and everybody with the ability to read and understand the English language would be capable of understanding what the text is about. Text 1, on the other hand, uses a more complicated and academic language. There’s also a difference in the length of the sentences in the two texts, the sentences in The Library of Congress’s are long and it’s the other way around in the one by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Text 1 is mostly just facts, history behind the American Dream and views on the term the American dream from different persons while text 2 tries to influence the readers to think and do like Arnold Schwarzenegger thinks is best. The texts are not very much alike, the only similarity, I can think of, is the subject.

3. Taking your standing point in one of the texts argue for your own attitude to the American Dream.
Anya Kamenetz puts a question mark against the American Dream as a concept that depends on something material. Times are changing and I believe that the American Dream should change with the times. We need to accept that money, even though it would be great, can’t buy us happiness or success. Happiness and success depends on so many other things and most important is it; that we can’t expect them to come exactly when we want it and how we want it. Hard work, dedication, determination and luck are the factors for dreams coming true. I think, that almost everybody in the world wants and hopes for a life of happiness and success – but we need to accept that these things don’t come for nothing and don’t come easy. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a good example of this – he knew that he wanted to be an actor and therefore he got involved and put a lot of effort into reaching this dream, even if it was hard and sometimes felt impossible to do.
The American Dream is mentioned in many films, books and articles, and we hear about people living the American Dream. But much as often we hear about people not living the
American Dream even though that they’ve tried hard to make their dreams come true in America. I believe, that those who live the American Dream haven’t just made it on hard work alone, they’ve also decided to do the rights things at the right moment and by that I mean; they’ve been lucky. I think, that luck is a huge factor in reaching your dreams and making them come true. Everybody dreams big dreams and wants something, but only the ones granted with good luck, are the ones, who succeed.
This shows that the American Dream can happen, but it can fail as well. It all depends on how lucky and determined you are.