The Lesson By Toni Cade Bambara

John Meacham, the author of the reading, states many things surrounding the American dream that may be factual or opinionated. One of the many statements in the reading is that “Capitalism produces winners— and losers” (Meacham 5). One may agree to this statement due to the current state of society in America. Currently, society in America is greatly divided into sections, such as the distinction between the rich and the poor. Meacham addresses the topic of the social classes stating “Difficult now than in the past for many people to achieve middle class” and “Widening gap between the rich and poor suggests dream is becoming more elusive” (Meacham 3, 5).

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: that 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.” Thomas  Jefferson. The American dream is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to meet success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. George Hilton from mice and men, traveled miles to find a successful job. George also, dreamed about big houses and jewelry, but instead found a stable job.

People around the nation have been changing their view on what type of economy America should have. Bernie Sanders a Democratic nominee wants to replace capitalism with a more socialistic economy and hopes to remove income inequality. Americans are unsure on where they should stand on the issue of America’s economy and the wealth gap, presenting an ideal opportunity for the article to get recognition and convince readers that the wealth gap is beneficial to America. Throughout the piece, Will makes many valid points on how income inequality can be beneficial to all income classes. Will builds his appeal through the use of logos by providing information about previous monopolies in American culture.

The majority of the American dream has undergone unquestionably many changes, and the American dream’s fundamental meaning has also altered, which is sort of noteworthy, or so they thought. The belief that everyone should, in principle, have an absolutely equal opportunity to attain success and fortune via fairly arduous effort, resolve, and initiative actually is the essence of the American dream, which for the most part is quite significant. This concept may explicitly for the most part be understood in a wide variety of ways, and we can clearly kind of see this in how various characters perceive the American dream. Such as Lyons, Jay Gatsby, Jody Starks, and John Proctor. All of these characters essentially had an American dream, and through

The American Dream is an ideal that every citizen should have an equal right to achieve success. In modern times, there are many obstacles to reaching the American Dream. Many people struggle to overcome the obstacles of the good life, but eventually finds a way out. In the passage, “A Smart Cookie”, it says, “I could’ve been somebody, you know?” People give up, when they could have ended up living the good life.

Although The Great Gatsby depicts the American Dream as prioritizing financial wealth, this concept may carry on a culture that is overly materialistic and ignores the structural limitations that exist in society. The emphasis of a more welcoming and just version of the American Dream would be on progression and accomplishments, and it would take structural impediments that hinder people from realizing their full potential into account. While pursuing individual achievement, the American Dream may also be seen as a path toward personal

The struggles of the lower class alluded to lead the reader to infer that the American Dream is unattainable due to its lack of consideration of one’s mental health, the strength of the social class barriers, and its over reliance upon achieving wealth and power which may

As American culture changes over the decades, so does the meaning of the American Dream. The American Dream, a term first coined in 1931 by freelance writer James Adams Truslow, was the theory that each person, regardless of their background, can work hard and get wealthy. It was a very idealistic way of thinking, but unrealistic for many due to inequality and individual aspirations. The literary works of F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Luis Valdez’s “In Lak 'ech:You are my Other Me” and “Zoot Suit”, Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, and Eleanor Roosevelt’s speech “What has happened to the American Dream?” depicts how individuals from different decades in American history define the American Dream. As America evolves throughout the twentieth century, so does what people view as important, which adds on to what the American Dream means.

Blogger Dr. Anna Wulick defines the American Dream as “the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America if they just work hard enough.” Historian James Truslow Adams also defines the American Dream as “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” According to these individuals, the American Dream can be obtained by anybody as long as they work hard enough to be equally as rich as everybody else. The only problem with this is that by the time one person gets to the same level as a

This proves that Americans have lost their morale when it comes to achieving “The American Dream”. If the majority of people do not believe that it is possible to attain “The American Dream”, nothing compels them to strive for it. In addition, the article also states, “To be free. There has been no American dream for me. I am a Native American, born on a reservation, and my people’s freedom has been taken away before, and my freedom is taken away and I have been thrown in jail.”.

False Illusions "For many the American Dream has become a nightmare. " These words of Bernie Sanders are accurate to an extent. The American Dream is the idea that anyone, with enough resolve and determination, can climb the economic ladder, regardless of where they start in life. It is called the American Dream because the United States is depicted as the greatest nation in the world, that offers the most opportunity and freedom to achieve upward mobility in society. However, many people attach themselves too much to the hope of achieving this dream that they fail to realize the inequalities that take place in front of their own faces, which are the factors that are hampering them from this illusion.

In his novel Of Mice and Men, Steinbeck outlines many corrupt societal structures intended to exploit and demean individuals based on their perceived value: the inherent exploitative nature of the American Dream, the hierarchy of power in America based on an individual 's ability to work, and the way in which oppressive systems are maintained through a mis-projection of anger of the oppressed. The idea of the ‘American Dream’ motivates workers without giving them any actual gratification; individuals are led to believe that success is inevitable and thus abstain from carrying out the necessary work to achieve their long term goals, preventing lower class individuals from entering positions of power. The American Dream is the concept that

According to the Journalist and writer Nicholas Kristof, “Inequality causes problems by creating fissures in societies, leaving those at the bottom feeling marginalized or disenfranchised” (Nicolas). While some people believe that inequality is not an obstacle preventing them from achieve the American dream others think inequality makes the average citizen work hard to achieve it. In the article “The American Dream: Dead, Alive or on Hold”, Brandon King states that the American dream is still alive regardless of any hardships. It has only changed its definition. The American dream is no longer about being a part of the rich.

America is viewed as the “land of opportunity”, however, these opportunities are not equal for all Americans. The upper class and elite are more likely to have access to higher education and lucrative jobs, thus setting them up for a more successful future. Income inequality further widens the gap in quality of life and resources between the upper and lower class. The vision of the American Dream fails to take into account the hardships faced by those of lower socioeconomic classes. By grouping all Americans into one category, people are misled into believing hard work and determination is all you need to achieve the idealized American Dream.

The author makes it significantly clear to us that they believe the American dream is flawed. They believe that it is unfair, contains inequality, and injustice. This is clear when the author says, “means everybody in the good ole u s a should have a chance to get ahead or at least should have three squares a day as for myself I do okay”. This supports my claim that the author is saying the American dream is flawed and unfair.