After being stuck en route for an enormously long period of time, would you think that the destination had better be worth all the time spent getting there? Many people would say yes. Think about it. If you were on a journey which lasted months, possibly years of your life, you would want to arrive at your destination seeing the same thing you had dreamt of during the trip. What if, when you got there, you discovered that the dream was actually a myth? The American settlers discovered just that. Is this not similar to High School? Everybody has a specific view, or dream, of High School that very first day they walk in as a freshman. How often is this dream a realistic one?
Take, for instance, the first settlers in Jamestown. These people came solely for capitalistic purposes. They figured that if they developed settlements, they would surely profit. With this goal taking over all others in their minds, they did not survive. Many factors contributed to this. For example, the settlers were not prepared for the new area. They believed that they could walk right in and succeed. What they did not realize, however, is that they needed to prepare more. They settled on a horrible piece of land, which killed many off due to sickness. They weren’t able to take care of themselves, as they figured that the Indians would provide cheap labor. The settlers were proved wrong, as the Indians rebelled against the Europeans in raids. Settlers in Jamestown were not prepared for America, thus leading to their downfall.
High School can be directly related to Jamestown. Every year, many freshmen catch themselves doing a complete turn-around soon after the year begins. Freshmen usually split into different cliques soon after High School starts. These cliques are usually groups of people with similar interests, whether it is fashion, sports, or math club. All through Middle School, the children were guided along by the administration. This leads them to believe that High School will be the same way. Once in High School, many feel lost and unprepared. The first day of High School, many freshman get to the lunch room, sit at their tables, and wait to be called up to the lunch lines. They were pampered all through their earlier schooling, so they figured that they would be told when to go eat.
In the chapter entitled, “American Dreams,” In Creating America, Joyce Moser and Ann Watters write:
The long and dangerous journey halfway across the continent was definitely not for the faint of heart. After reviewing both accounts, the general impressions were that of hardship, perseverance, and a will to survive. All for the hopes of a better and more successful life that the new lands promised. While some did not survive the journey, those who did were rewarded for their efforts with new land, opportunities, and even gold.
Every American has a different definition of the American Dream, and what has been at the root of the American Dream differs between each individual. A popular myth about the American Dream is that every citizen has an equal chance to achieve success and wealth with ease. An immigrant may have a different idea of what the American Dream means to them, whereas an American that was born in the states may not entirely see it in the same light. The same goes for Americans who had to claim refugee status to enter the country and for those who became Americans through forced migration. Some Americans may not believe the American Dream is tangible, while others may think the American Dream is denied to them and actively
Mostly anything you want to achieve requires time and perseverance it doesn 't just come to you easily. In America we all have dreams we want to achieve, a set of goals for the future. The American dream is in your perception, what you want it to mean for you. It’s what you want to consummate in America where you can 't anywhere else. How you can succeed in life enough to survive and be happy. The reality of the American dream is the essence of any person living in America, immigrant or not. Trying to achieve in life more than their parents did and to be successful with a prosperous life, but many people believe it can’t be achieved, but with assiduous work and determination you can make your
The American dream is something that has been epically built up in the media and in each individual Americans thoughts. To some the American dream is the pursuit of happiness, to others the shallowness of wealth. In the Novel the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and movie Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen, which is based off of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. Characters fall short of their own views of the American dream.
Making the transition from middle school to high school is a huge stepping stone in a teenager’s life. High school represents both the ending of a childhood and the beginning of adulthood. It’s a rite of passage and often many teens have the wrong impression when beginning this passage. Most began high school with learning the last thing on their mind. They come in looking for a story like adventure and have a false sense of reality created through fabricated movie plots acted out by fictional characters. In all actuality high school is nothing like you see in movies, television shows, or what you read about in magazines.
From families looking to flee harsh living conditions in their native country to American citizens wishing to escape impoverished conditions through hard work and determination, the “American Dream” is a concept that people throughout the world have aspired to achieve for hundreds of years. Regardless of birthplace or socioeconomic status, the “American Dream” promises success, prosperity and upward mobility to any citizen with ambition and work ethic. Hundreds of millions of American citizens as well as immigrants have flourished in the United States throughout the course of history in a society with a thriving middle-class. However, in recent years, this dream has become increasingly difficult to achieve for those who are not already wealthy.
People will journey far and wide, traverse the entire continent, suffer all manner of pain and suffering, if they believe that, in the end, they will be rewarded. That is why it comes as no surprise when people from other countries struggle to get to America, believing the ancient tale of "the American Dream", convinced that they will finally make it big in this land of riches. But they find out it is not like that.
The American Dream is referred to by many people as the reason to come to America. It is, or so they say, the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. Unfortunately they are incorrect, there truly is no American Dream, it is all an illusion given to us by our founding fathers as a reason for the inequality in which people are treated. I have lived in this country for 16 years now and have all the patriotic bullshit about how we give everyone equal opportunity and how everyone is equal in the eyes of the law. I just laugh when I read this. Throughout our country’s 300-year history, it is all about raising one person over the other. It started with the movement of the Native Americans. They were here before anyone else, and they were moved because they did not live with all the violence our ancestors did. The founding fathers continued to push them further and further away because it was beneficial to them at the time. They said if you stay here we will not bother you anymore, then when they decided that area was nice and they needed it for the white man. Then we began to take the black man out of Africa and use them on our plantations so the white man could get more money. The President ended slavery, but there were ways around it and everyone knew it. No one ever said any persecution of the black man is wrong for years and why not, because it was more convenient for us to ignore it. Now the people from Latin American countries have come in homes of freedom, and better lives. We tell them they have to speak English, since they are in America, but I do not recall being taught the language of the Native Americans. Since they were here first should you not have to learn that language?
To do what makes oneself happy. The American Dream is represented in many different ways and every person lives and chases a different version of the American Dream. Chris McCandless lived his American dream by walking alone into the wilderness of Alaska. The song written by Toby Keith, “American Soldier”, shows the price some pay for their dreams and ours to come true. Jay Gatsby died trying to acheive his dream and get the girl he loved, but died happy because he had pursued her until his death. The band All Time Low wrote a song called “The Reckless and The Brave” that brings a new light to how we go about achieving our dreams. So I believe that the American Dream is all about doing what will make you the happiest in the end.
This generation of American teenagers and young adults have the greatest advantage in the history of humankind when to comes to advances in technology, science, and every other field of study. Yet, today’s youth of America is facing obstacles that past generations did not have to deal with. According to Josh Mitchell, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, student loan debt has surpassed one trillion dollars with two-thirds of college students graduating with over thirty-five thousand dollars of debt each. Competition for jobs has made it progressively harder to find a stable job and make a living. According to Hardin’s metaphor of the world being a lifeboat, it is increasingly difficult for people who are not on the lifeboat to find away
Comparing the perspective of the American dream in the 1920’s to the American Dream in the 1940’s and present day seems to be a repeating cycle. The American dream is always evolving and changing. The American dream for present day is similar to the dream of the 1920’s. An Ideal of the American life is to conform to what our society has determined is success. Money, materialism and status had replaced the teachings of our founding fathers in the 1920’s. A return to family values and hard work found its way back into American’s lives in the 1940’s. The same pursuit of that indulgent lifestyle that was popular in the roaring twenty’s has returned today for most Americans, many Americans are living on credit and thinking that money and the accumulation of material items can solve all problems. Through film, literature, art and music, an idealized version of what it means to be an American has changed from money, materialism, and status of the 1920s to hard work and family values of the forties.
One recent situation where I had to persuade someone to accept an idea was when I pitched a marketing proposal to the president and CEO of the company I worked at for the past two years. I was trying to persuade them that it was a good idea to bring esports to the Ivy League. This was an especially difficult pitch because I was presenting something that is very popular among younger generations, and trying to convince older people that it was a worthwhile investment. I worked for several months putting together a full presentation and pitched the idea to them at the end of the summer. I believe the most important aspect of persuading them to accept this idea was to supply as much information as possible. I gave a lot of details about how the
When the term ‘American Dream’ was first mentioned in 1931 by James Truslow Adams, he described it 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.” (Clark). When Adams mentioned the term, it had much more of an idealistic meaning, rather than the materialistic meaning it has in modern society. At the time of it’s mention, the dream meant that prosperity was available to everyone. In the beginning, the American Dream simply promised a country in which people had the chance to work their way up through their own labor and hard work (Kiger). Throughout history, the basis of the dream has always been the same for each individual person. It
The original American Dream is still alive in our great nation, and with hard work, it is within reach for almost all Americans. This quote from the winner of the first season of “The Apprentice,” construction manager of Trump Tower in Chicago, and entrepreneur, Bill Rancic, sums up what it takes to achieve the original American Dream. He said, “The American Dream is still alive out there, and hard work will get you there. You do not necessarily need to have an Ivy League education or to have millions of dollars of startup money. It can be done with an idea, hard word, and determination.”