The American Dream: The Disastrous Fantasy

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Stahley 1 Billy Stahley Ms. Homewood Ravenna 21 May 2014 The Disastrous Fantasy Throughout history the American Dream has been a fantasy that everyone has wanted to achieve. The American Dream focuses on opportunity, equality and overall achievement that includes both tangible and intangible objects. The American Dream came from the early settlers in America who were striving to achieve equality and opportunities and appealed to everyone because the thought of achieving the dream seemed possible for everyone. It wasn't all about how much money a person could achieve, but more about how everyone had the ability to achieve it. The American Dream is still trying to be achieved today and is an ongoing process that many people are working hard to attain. The advertisements of the American Dream are mostly focused on what people are capable of becoming as well as the material part of the dream and how much they can own. Although the American dream seemed like a reality for most people living in the 1920's, 1950's, 1980's, and 2010's because of the economic prosperity, it was actually unattainable because of the corrupted values of people living during these eras. The American Dream can be thought of as a broad subject, but each decade in history focused on a different part of the dream. In the 1920's, the dream focused on wealth and how much material products people had. Wealth was something that everyone yearned because it gave them a sense of power and made them feel like their life was a success. The 1920's was a time of Stahley 2 change with unbelievable economic prosperity. Many technological advancements happened in the 1920's which lead to economic prosperity that the people had never seen. Cars and telephones are just a co... ... middle of paper ... ...able like relationships with friends and family. The American Dream can be considered ironic because people in pursuit of the American Dream are looking for financial success and the comfortable lifestyle that is associated with success, but even when the think they have achieved the Dream, they are still unsatisfied with what they have and are always looking for more. This paradox of the American Dream could be resolved by having a balanced perspective between their aspirational goals and what truly makes them happy beyond financial gain. The satisfaction that one receives from the hard work he or she puts into achieving his or her goals is often more rewarding than the goal itself. The American Dream does not have a definite definition, it is dream that everyone interprets differently with the belief that it will bring them success, happiness, and satisfaction.

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