In his essay, “Economy,” Henry David Thoreau argues that luxuries do not provide happiness. More specifically, Thoreau argues that luxuries hinder the development of humans; he says, “Most of the luxuries, and many of the so-called comforts of life, are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. With respect to luxuries and comforts, the wisest have ever lived a more simple and meagre life than the poor” (13). In this passage, Thoreau is suggesting that it is wise not to live a luxurious life. In conclusion, Thoreau believes the number of luxuries a person has should not determine if a person has led a good life. In my view, Thoreau’s insight into luxuries and life proves useful in discussing the transformation of the modern American Dream. Americans today tend to believe that luxuries and comforts determine if they have achieved the American Dream. Common aspects of the American Dream include buying a house and a car, but as Thoreau would argue, these materials serve no real purpose besides a false sense of prestige. Actually, commercialism has transformed the American Dream into a materialistic ideal, where, as for example, the more Apple products you have, the more successful you are. That is, you are not truly following the American Dream, but you are contributing to a much larger problem—slavery. Much like in Thoreau’s time, we use slavery, or at least a form of slavery, in the process of making luxuries. These luxuries, in turn, falsely measure your happiness, at the expense of others. Not many people will argue that slavery in any form is good, but why do we passively support such slavery in many of our luxuries? Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” directly responds that we should not supp... ... middle of paper ... ...r. The amount of things an American has should not determine if she has achieved the American Dream. No, the virtues this country was founded should be the detriment of whether or not a person has achieved the American Dream. If an American joins with others to stop the injustices of the world through not only passive approval, but also active petitioning, community service, and advocating, we can definitely say she and others have achieved the American Dream because she upheld the virtues of life and liberty. Finally, we should not view the American Dream as a singular dream, but a national dream, that is the goal for a better and brighter future for all Americans. Works Cited Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, Civil Disobedience, and Other Writings: Authoritative Texts, Journal, Reviews and Posthumous Assessments, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.
The American Dream is a dream that no matter what race you or what social class you are born in you are still able to achieve it no matter what. Many believe that the American Dream doesn't exist and that you cannot achieve the American Dream, however they are wrong. America provides access to the American Dream because people who make sacrifices are able to become successful, people are able to become closer to God, and people are able to get a better education.
Indeed, the American Dream has come to represent. the attainment of myriad goals that are specific to each individual. one person might consider a purchased home with a white picket fence her. version of the American Dream, another might regard it as the financial. ability to operate his own business.
During his experiment in the woods, Thoreau discovers that to become successful, “one [must advance] confidently in the direction of his dreams.” (Thoreau 3) During this time, America was seen as the ‘land of opportunity’ and Thoreau’s ideals conform to the belief everyone has a chance to succeed and live the life they wish to choose. All people had the chance to aspire for bigger and greater things and living in America would give them the opportunity to prosper. Furthermore, believing in individualism, Thoreau deemed it acceptable “if a man [did] not keep in pace with his companions, perhaps it [was] because he [heard] a different drummer.” (3) America gave people the freedom to follow the economic, religious and political ways of life they wished to follow. People finally had control of their life and did not have to conform to the practices they had to follow in their homeland. Although the American dream gave people the chance to succeed, in reality this was not the case for
The philosophy of the American Dream has been with Americans for centurie; James Truslow Adams says that, regardless of social class, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams). Although this vision has never fully encompassed the entirety of America, it has been generally a positive ambition that all Americans should look past their circumstances and rely on only themselves to succeed at life. However, American capitalism and Marxist ideas have contradicted the traditional dream. Materialism is a simple concept, but its definition has been skewed over time. At ...
Truth Behind the American Dream: Is the American Dream only a dream or can it ever be achieved? In the United States, the basic motto is to attend the American Dream. It is the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. It does not matter if a person was born into a poor family; he or she has equal opportunities to attain the American Dream. The American Dream basically means success in life with a nice house, a job, knowledge and especially the pursuit of happiness.
Achieving the American Dream has been the ideal for people living in the United States for decades. People believed that the way to get there was through hard work, also known as the “Protestant work ethic”. The American Dream can vary depending on the person. Some people think that owning a house with a white picket-fence is the American Dream while others think that it is becoming a celebrity with a lot of money.
Thoreau decides to spend two years isolated and living off the land. He’s committed to being debt free but borrows items from different people in town. He’s determined to discover and demonstrate the benefits of living a simpler lifestyle, as he states in chapter one: Economy. Thoreau often criticizes people saying in chapter three, Sounds and , that an owl voices the “unsatisfied thoughts which we all have”. In this Thoreau implies that the desire to have better things, or the availability of better items results in the unhappiness of human beings.
In the modern world, people posses more than what they can actually keep tract of physically and mentally. Everyone wants to live the “good life” where they can have no limits to the things they want. Whether it is clothes, cars, jewelry, or houses, the need to buy things that are affordable and are in style preoccupies the minds of many people. The argument for necessity goes against this way of modern living, but agrees with Thoreau's view on it. The argument is that people should have enough of each just ...
The American Dream, recognized as being the earning of a college degree, the owning of one 's own home, taking vacations and experiencing upward social mobility, is a very important belief that helped create the success that America is today. Many people believe that anyone who works hard and has determination can achieve this American Dream. In this day and age, experiencing the American Dream is believed to no longer be as available to Americans as it once was. The economy and corporate America have had a strong impact on the availability to reach this state of success. Everyone wants to live the American Dream, whether they know it or not. I have never met a person who did not want to become successful. Even I had a strong belief that the
The American dream is the very foundation this country was built on. The belief that an individual can take their dreams and make them into reality . By actually taking the cards you've been dealt and changing your life with enough perseverance, self sacrifice and dedication and not relying on luck or chance. Initially, the dream is based on the concept of being able to achieve upward mobility in society regardless of your race, gender, economical and social background. It relies solely on the belief that everyone is considered equal. Unfortunately, it was an extremely long time before this country was able to succeed in providing those rights to all individuals. "Inequality, then, is less an inevitability than a choice… we can alter the course of inequality" (Leonhardt 543). What makes one person achieve and obtain the American dream over someone else or is it just one huge hoax?
The American Dream is something that anyone no matter their background, social standings, or ethnicity can improve their life through hard work.
The American Dream, yes everybody has one, it can be from living in a large house and having a million dollars to just having the privilege to live in America and try to make something better for themselves in this new life or new start they are trying to grasp. There are many traditions and dreams of every American today while some dreams are practical and some are not and most of all their dreams are from the heart. The American dream is really simple--it consists of a house a job a car three kids and one dog but this is not always the case.
The American Dream. What is it exactly? Well, it is the ideal that every U.S. citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. However, can everyone really achieve it? Yes, anyone can achieve the American Dream with enough hard work and dedication to pursue a good life. In order to maintain the American Dream there are some important ways to achieve it. Such as: a strong work ethic, a good education, and being determined.
The American Dream can be a motivational fire, but it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, one must focus on building a balanced life for themselves, participate in honest work and practice their craft to have marketable skills that just stick out from the competition. People work their whole lives making money so they can satisfy their desires. The idea of being able to purchase the items people have always dreamed of is an achievement in itself. Having a great family, owning a home and having beautiful things to fill it with is a common dream amongst people. Many people take pride in what they possess.
..., a person who earns $25,000 is happier than a person who makes $125,000 and an employee who makes $500,000 is only slightly happier than someone who makes $55,000. Lastly, there are more important things in life that and make you happy, for example, friends. They don’t come with a price tag, and if they do, you definitely need new friends. Money won’t make you happy since good times can’t be bought. You don’t need a fancy vacation to have a good time; it’s just a matter of who you spend it with. Over the years, humans have blown the value of money way out of proportion. People make it seem like if you’re not filthy rich, then you won’t live a good life but it’s not true. You can lack money and yet still live a perfect, happy life.