Walter’s dream to be rich creates consistent conflict between him and his family, while the deferment of his dream escalates the conflict. Walter holds his dream very close to himself and invests significant time and energy to attempt to realize his dreams. Walter pours his soul into attempting to get a liquor store to get rich. As a result, Walter’s entire being is shaken when he encounters obstacles to his dream. Ruth notes Walter’s changed behavior whenever he is concentrated on his dream in her conversation with Mama, where she extrapolates that “he needs something – something I can’t give him anymore”(1,1,187). Because Walter is so tunnel visioned, he can only see his dream, and as a result he pays less attention to his family. After Mama gave Walter her remaining insurance money, he finally believes that he can achieve his dream. Walter suddenly becomes elated, and exudes an aura of happiness. The hue of his aura reminds one of Mordekaiser, because Walter’s hue was indeed number one.  It should come at no surprise that when his dream was crushed because Willy ran away with the money, all of Walter’s energy, hopes, and ambitions came crashing down. For a brief moment, Walter was extremely desperate, in disbelief he said “Maybe you was late yesterday and he went on down there without you. Maybe – maybe – he’s been callin’ you at home tryin’ to tell you what happened or something. Maybe – maybe – he just got sick.” (2.3.180). His disbelief is natural as his dreams just came crashing down from the heights of the elated euphoria that he was experiencing just moments before.And when Walter loses the money, the entire family turns on him. Ever person becomes bitter and distances themselves away from Walter. As a result, the deferment of Walter’s dream impacts not only himself but also his entire family. In fact, the family unit nearly shatters as a result. Desiring riches, Walter takes risks that distance himself away from his family.

When Beneatha has her dream deferred, she loses faith in herself and in the world. Beneatha’s one dream was to be a doctor, to be someone. Beneatha gives the reason “I that wanted to do that. I always thought it was the one concrete thing in the world that a human being could do. Fix up the sick, you know – and make them whole again. I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. It used to matter. I used to care. I mean about people and how their bodies hurt”(3.1.14) for her attending medical school. Not only did attending medical school give Beneatha a chance to help others, but the prospect of becoming a doctor also would set her apart from the traditional roles for African American women set for her. When Walter loses the money, Beneatha loses her hope of becoming a doctor in a flash. She indicates that she used to care, and that she used to think very highly of healing others. The impact of the lost insurance money is so severe that Beneatha refuses to persevere, and gives up on the dream that she once had. In addition to herself, Beneatha also has her attitudes towards other people changed.  When Asagai starts talking about Africa during his visit to her, she chides him “you with all your talk and dreams about Africa! You still think you can patch up the world. Cure the Great Sore of Colonialism – (Loftily, mocking it) with the Penicillin of Independence – !”. (3.1.22) Beneatha demonstrates that she no longer believes in others, she no longer has faith in Asagai’s dream either. Her world has become grey and hopeless, and she reflects that in her personality. Fragility was one property of her dream, as she shattered it over one event.

The impact of Lena’s dream being deferred is her loss of faith for a better life. When Walter loses the insurance money, Lena becomes extremely depressed. That insurance money was meant to also pay for the house and sponsor other people’s dreams, but Walter thought his dream had more weight than the dreams of other people in the household. The melancholy in the household and inside Lena is evident in her recalling that “people saying, “Lena – Lena Eggleston, you aims too high all the time. You needs to slow down and see life a little more like it is. Just slow down some.” That’s what they always used to say down home – “Lord, that Lena Eggleston is a high-minded thing. She’ll get her due one day!” (3.1.69) While usually not one to submit to other people’s opinions, after Walter loses the money Lena begins to see validity in the statements of those who thought she aimed too high. Lena also expresses her melancholy in her actions as well. She ”[went] to her plant, which remained on the table, looks at it, pick[ed] it up and [took] it to the windowsill and [sat] it outside, and she [stood] and [looked] at it a long moment” (3.1.66) while talking to her children. Lena’s treatment of the plant, indicates that she had given up on moving. While there might be some semblance of hope for the plant in the old house, Lena accepted to herself that the plant was never to thrive in the environment of their new home in Clyborne Park. Thus, after Walter loses the money, Lena gave up on her plant, and her hope for a better life.

            THE IMPACT OF DEFERRED DREAMS ON THE YOUNGER FAMILY IS A SERIOUS ONE, impacting each member of the family. EACH INDIVIDUAL MEMBER HAS THEIR OWN DREAM WHICH THEY WANT TO BE FUFILLED, BUT IT SEEMS AS IF THOSE DREAMS ARE ALL MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE, THE DREAMS CAN’T EXIST AT THE SAME TIME due to financial constraints. THIS RESULTS IN ENDLESS FRUSTRATION WITH OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS, AS WELL AS A MYRIAD OF EMOTIONS AMONGST THE FAMILY MEMBERS RANGING FROM DEPRESSION AND FRUSTRATION TO ANGER AND DEJECTION.HOWEVER, However, THE FINAL IMPACT OF THE DEFERRED DREAM CAUSES A REAFFIRMATION IN THE FAMILY, AND A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION TO INTERFAMILY CONFLICTS. Perhaps good can come from deferred reams after all.

“The American dream has long been an ideal of prosperity not just for Americans, but for people across the globe.” Just as the quote from an article says everyone wants to be part of the American dream, and in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one can see that people will stop at nothing to attain their dream. Gatsby, a rich male, tries to impress his old lover Daisy, who is married to Tom Buchanan, by gaining wealth and social status just to have her back. While Nick narrates the story, he explains his encounter with the American dream. Throughout the story, Fitzgerald portrays his negative view of the American dream through the Illusion, Materialism, and Corruption shown by the characters.

            The first negative view that Fitzgerald uses is illusion. At the party that Tom takes Nick to Tom’s secret lover was there and her name was Myrtle. Myrtle was a lady from the Valley of Ashes, the slums, who wanted nothing more than to share the wealth that Tom had. In this party, however, she changes her dress halfway through and along with her physical appearance changing her actions change as well. When she wears the dress she seems to act more elegant and fancy than before. She is creating the illusion that she is rich when she wears this dress even though she is a fairly poor person. Nick tells of her illusion by saying, “With the influence of the dress her personality had also undergone a change.”(30). The next illusion that Fitzgerald creates is when Gatsby is showing off his clothes to Daisy and Nick. While Gatsby shows his house to his guests, he takes them to his room where he is throwing his really expensive shirts on his bed to show Daisy that he has nice clothes. He is trying to create the illusion towards Daisy that he is a genuinely rich person so that she gets the picture that he has a lot of money.  Nick describes Gatsby’s illusion saying, “While we admired he brought more and the soft rich heap mounted higher.”(92). Still in Gatsby’s house we see him creating another illusion. Gatsby has a massive library in his house containing all real books. Unlike most houses that have libraries full of fake books to create an effect of a full library, Gatsby’s library is completely genuine. An old man referred to as Owl Eyes is completely astounded at the fact that the books are not cardboard. Owl Eyes describes the illusion saying, “Absolutely real- have pages and everything.”(45). With all of the people using illusions to make them seem richer it is almost unbearable to Nick and it was one thing that Fitzgerald did not like about the American Dream.

            The next example of Fitzgerald’s negative view is through materialism. Materialism is a very common theme in the book that Fitzgerald emphasizes. Within the first few pages Nick explains Gatsby’s massive house. Nothing shows wealth more than a house that’s the same size as a hotel. Gatsby’s house has pools, a huge lawn, and a gigantic house if that’s not enough. He could live perfectly fine without a house quite as grand as his, but he still insisted on showing off his wealth by buying an extremely opulent house. Nick describes Gatsby’s materialistic house saying, “It was a factual imitation of some Hotel de Ville in Normandy.”(5). The next example of materialism is when Myrtle gets angry at Wilson for borrowing a suit for their wedding. Seeing as Myrtle and Wilson live in the Valley of Ashes, they are pretty tight for money. Therefore Wilson cannot afford a suit so he borrows a suit for the wedding. From that day on Myrtle never wanted to marry him even though she went through with it. The fact that Myrtle almost didn’t want to marry someone because he had to borrow a suit for the ceremony shows that materialism runs her life. She keeps such a high standard and requires a constant need for money even though she doesn’t have it. Her desire for wealth runs eats away her humanity. Myrtle herself shows how her materialism affects her saying, “I knew right away it was a mistake”(35). The last major example of the greedy ways of the main characters is when Daisy takes the Pearls. Right before Daisy was about to get married to Tom she is faced with a problem. She can either go to Gatsby who wrote her a love letter or she can go marry Tom who gave her a pearl necklace worth three hundred thousand dollars. Put simply, Daisy can choose to marry someone she loves, or marry someone for their wealth. Daisy chooses to marry Tom and wear the pearl necklace while the love letter fades away. This is a clear example of the materialistic ways of Daisy because she chooses money of happiness. Nick describes the opulent pearls that Daisy accepted saying, “He gave her a string of pearls valued at three hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”(76). Fitzgerald portrays his negative views of the American Dream though all of the materialism that the characters have.

            The last negative theme that Fitzgerald uses to portray his view of the American dream is corruption. Along with the money that many of the characters possess, they tend to have very corrupt actions. The first time we see this is when Nick learns that Jordan Baker cheated in a golf tournament. She enters a golf tournament one day and she mover her ball closer to help her out. Some of the people saw her and accused her of cheating but then they mysteriously took back their comments. Jordan paid off the people who saw her move it so that they said that they were mistaken. She uses her money in a very corrupt manor to cheat to make herself do better in a golf tournament. Nick even agrees that it is fairly disgusting to cheat, however she can because of her wealth. Nick tells of the corruption saying, “The thing approached the proportions of a scandal-then died away” (57-58). Another instance of corruption within the story is when Gatsby flashes his white card to the police officer. Driving through the Valley of Ashes with Nick, Gatsby is speeding and a police officer pulls him over for speeding. Gatsby then just whips out a white card and the police officer apologizes and lets them go without any price to pay. This shows the corruption of Gatsby because he can get out of a speeding ticket that every other person would have to pay for, but just because he has money he gets a special card that keeps him free from the law. Being able to pay to keep out of the government’s hair is a corrupt action in itself. The police officer says this during the flashing of the white card, “Know you next time, Mr. Gatsby. Excuse me!”(68). The last and most important example of corruption is how Gatsby came about all of his money. Gatsby is a very wealthy man; however he made all of his money through bootlegging. Meyer Wolfshiem and Gatsby work together to bootleg knock off stuff and sell it to stores for money. This is really corrupted because Gatsby made all his money illegally. Therefore all his wealth is tainted in a bad manor. Tom exposes Gatsby’s corruption in bootlegging saying, “That drug store business was a small change”(134). Along with all of the money that the people had in the story came corruption to get them out of the annoyances the rest of society has to deal with.

            The view Fitzgerald has of the American dream can be strung together by the common themes we see in the Great Gatsby. Illusions, Materialism, and Corruption are everywhere you turn. For some like Nick, it’s too much to take. That’s why the views of the American Dream are negative. 

When a company that builds its success on the American capitalist system and employs thousands of American to produce its product removes its production system into another society, the laid off workers are not easily absorbed into the local jobs. There are not nearly enough extra jobs to go around. These laid off workers now add to the number of people dependent on the welfare system, taking taxes instead of contributing. There is more draw on the welfare system and less people paying taxes to fund it. The elite few that run these corporations get richer and use their money to influence things to their advantage that should be for the better good of America. They promise some of their money (made by using Mexicans or Indians instead of Americans as workers) to politicians in exchange for passing laws advantageous to the business. American society is all about improving the economy and contributing to it, all except for the people that really benefit from it, the ultra-rich who own and run these companies. Companies that become successful on the capitalist system in America should be required to keep their production within the capitalist system, and not be allowed to take advantage of other types of economic societies in a capitalist manner. This would ensure our capitalist society continues to work as a successful system of equality, keeps the American Dream a reality, and does not weaken and lose its meaning as is happening now.

The America Dream of being able to succeed and become rich no matter where you come from, if you work hard at it, is becoming more a dream and less a reality. The middle-class IS disappearing, that is apparent. Mobility is stagnant in this country which prides itself on its lack of social class and attainable mobility (Scott and Leonhardt). Rising standards of living and extensive credit lines have blurred the appearance of the social class lines, but behind the appearance is the reality that most of it is bought on credit by the lower class. It will stay with them their entire lives, crippling their financial stability while they try to pay off their debts and making it even harder to get ahead financially, especially if they lose their job. Meanwhile the ultra rich buy these same things outright and do not need to worry about owing anybody anything. Money they earn is theirs alone and free to use it to become even richer.

This includes their education and their children’s education, which they can pay for outright and it will not follow them the rest of their lives. They can also pay for the best education in the most elite schools, landing them the top choice for the dwindling jobs available to college educated people. Lower class people set on the American Dream and willing to take the risk of buying loans to pay for their college will usually have those loans follow them a long way after they are out of school, even when they find a job to be able to begin paying it back. The off-shoring tactics of many American companies has made getting a college education even riskier for the lower classes. They offshore their jobs which require an education, removing the chance at a middle-class or upper middle-class move for a lower class American who has worked hard to be able to fill that job. Between 2000-2003 it was found that college educated people had the toughest time finding a job because the companies could find a cheaper alternative in another country or replace them in some other way, such as with technology (Cooper). This leaves many college educated people scrambling for low class jobs in hopes to keep up with their college loan payments, while getting placed in the welfare system to make ends meet. They receive no reward for any of the effort they went to, to try to attain the American Dream.

Big businesses that have built themselves up on the American system are now dumping the system, working in every manner to keep themselves getting richer and everyone else poor. They outsource their available jobs and influence politicians with their money, asking for tax cuts while they dump Americans into the welfare system, creating an overburdened system with less taxes coming in to fund it. They claim that outsourcing is good for the economy because it allows their business to create higher paying, cutting-edge jobs for Americans (Cooper). Where are these jobs they talk about? They are being transferred to other countries too. “Today, many good-paying manufacturing jobs are being sent overseas, as are many of the high-tech jobs that were supposed to replace them.” (Greenblatt) What about the people that went to college to be able to work for them and are now making minimum wage and trying to pay off their tuition debt? What about all the tax money the government is having to spend on the welfare system to support these replaced workers? What about the huge bonuses the company executives are now getting while they take advantage of enormous tax subsidies and turn their middle-class workers into people on welfare?( McIntyre)

People who use our capitalist society to succeed, and then take their capitalist ventures into non-capitalist societies need to be reined in. They should not be allowed to cheat the system that helped them succeed. The government should recognize that the money they receive from big businesses is not enough to shore up the weaknesses in our society caused by from big business taking its production into other societies, and should pass laws regarding companies that start in America on our system, and how they need to stay in our system or it will weaken as it is beginning to do. The American Dream and right of a business person in our society is to make money, but it should not extend to taking advantage of other types of economic societies. Social responsibility is not enough for these company executives who are only intent on getting more for themselves. Their tax cuts that they wrangled out of the government also need to be rescinded. As they are cutting workers and contributing to the pull on welfare while they support people in other countries, they should have to pay their extra share of taxes. William Domhoff reports on skyrocketing wealth for the ultra-rich while the lower class enjoy a decline in wealth, “It’s due to cuts in the tax rates on capital gains and dividends, which were down to a mere 15% in 2007 thanks to the tax cuts proposed by the Bush Administration and passed by Congress in 2003. Since almost 75% of the income for the top 400 comes from capital gains and dividends, it’s not hard to see why tax cuts on income sources available to only a tiny percent of Americans mattered greatly for the high-earning few. Overall, the effective tax rate on high incomes fell by 7% during the Clinton presidency and 6% in the Bush era, so the top 400 had a tax rate of 20% or less in 2007, far lower than the marginal tax rate of 35% that the highest income earners (over $372,650) supposedly pay. It’s also worth noting that only the first $105,000 of a person’s income is taxed for Social Security purposes, so it would clearly be a boon to the Social Security Fund if everyone — not just those making less than $105,000 — paid the Social Security tax on their full incomes.” The tax cuts proposed to help businesses make more jobs has obviously so far only made more loopholes to cut jobs and keep more money. This needs to be rectified along with making sure they keep their production in America, instead of outsourcing to contribute to other economies and take away from ours.

These tax cuts for them decrease funding for the welfare system, the safety net put in place to help out those with no other options. The safety net by definition should give those without other options the opportunity to create other options for themselves, and support them while they do it. Specifically, it should provide education to find other jobs or produce new innovations. It should also provide healthcare that won’t cripple them financially for the rest of their lives. Replacing the taxes on the rich to create better welfare programs along with requiring American corporations to employ American workers would put the system back on the right track. The rich man might not be able to get instantly exorbitantly richer, but it would keep the lower-class out of poverty and possibly give them an opportunity to improve their own status and provide for their family a good education and hope for success. Bringing back more jobs and taking back the taxes on the ultra-rich would shorten the divide between the classes.

Sources:

Moore, Michael. “Roger & Me”. 20 December 1989. Video.

Domhoff, William G. “Wealth, Income, and Power” Who Rules America?

September 2005 (updated July 2010).Web. August 13 2010.

Cooper, Mary H. “Income Inequality”. Congressional Quarterly, Inc. April 17, 1998 • Volume 8, Issue 15. Web. August 14 2010.

Cooper, Mary H. “Exporting Jobs”. Congressional Quarterly, Inc. February 20, 2004 • Volume 14, Issue 7. Web. August 14 2010.

Greenblatt, Alan. “Upward Mobility”. Congressional Quarterly, Inc. April 29, 2005 • Volume 15, Issue 16. Web. August 15 2010.

“Layoffs and CEO Compensation” Daily Headlines. University of Arkansas. October 03 2006. Web. August 17 2010.

McIntyre, Bob “Tax Subsidies Reward Job Cutters” Citizens for Tax Justice. September 19 1996. Web. August 17 2010.

Scott and Leonhardt. “Class Matters: Shadowy Lines That Still Divide”. New York Times. May 15 2005. Web. August 10 2010.

            The appearance of the American Dream as an obtainable open-to-anyone conception has grown to a critical point and is being rooted into the next generation of dreamers. This theoretical concept of improving one’s status in society with guaranteed satisfaction is no more than a fantasy, and the nihilism of this reality deteriorates the feasibility of actual progress while promoting dependency of this chicanery. Our American Dream is not a tangible object, you cannot have the American Dream; you can only pretend to have it.

The 21st century experienced war, natural disasters, and economic drops that created an ambience of hardships and troubles. Even when the gap between the rich and the poor are enlarging, Americans are still clinging to their dream of the happiness they hoped a long time ago. In these desperate times, where everybody seems to be in need of money, people seize and choke the first opportunity they encounter. Today, according to Gregory Rodriguez’s “Do Americans pursue too much happiness?” people of our time are blinded by what are put in front of us that gives us immediate satisfaction and therefore are caught in the mirage that we are living the American Dream. When the momentary pleasures vanish, we experience uneasiness and the anxiety to have something in our plates again to feel safe, failing to realize that “hastily written laws” fuel the “inevitable tragedy.”

Sometimes, the “Dream” is quite visible: whether it is evolving into a rich, powerful company man or in Jay Gatsby’s case, forming a relationship with Daisy. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, the novel’s very own Jay Gatsby symbolizes the decay of those who pursued this dream. As James Gatsby fell in love with the luxury he experience during his momentary relationship with Daisy, and Daisy herself, he became a victim of the Dream. Underneath his opulent accouterments, Jay- or legally James Gatz , a name he abandoned to carry on a new person’s identity- shoulder a somewhat pitiful gloom. His highest throne in the social hierarchy was achieved through shady bonds, mostly behind-the-scenes actions, which ultimately defeat the purpose of the supposed American Dream in the first place. Even when he had obtained immense amount of money, Gatsby is not content. His famous party where all the rich men and beautiful women attended display the chagrin of his life. Jay, as well as, the people invited do not seem to be happy people at all; the same people who acted out the “happy vacuous laughter”(46).

The missing element of his life is Daisy, the wife of Tom. Daisy is the green light, the green light the Dutch sailor saw in the beginning of our history, the green light that controls the way and order people move, a green light- something he cannot touch, no matter how far he reach. The last closing words of the book Nick states that in pursuit of our American Dream, “we will run faster”(180). We will keep on running faster and faster to capture our dream, but like “boats against the current”(180) we will simply drift back to where we started. The death of Phil was a tragic, but not surprising one. The death takes place in Ellen Goodman’s “The Company Man” where a typical man faced the final current of his life. Unlike Gatsby, Phil is a true, dedicated worker who worked six days a week until eight or nine o’clock. The only leisurely activity he ever wasted his time enjoying was the monthly golf game. His dedication to work to try to have a more satisfactory life for his family backfired when “he worked himself to death, finally and precisely, at 3:00 A.M. Sunday morning.”  Phil symbolizes majority of the hard working, truly dedicated workers who have come devastatingly short of their final goal; they never achieved it and never was satisfied by the progress, if any, he made.

The overwhelming majorities are not rich, they are not famous, and even so, they are not guaranteed happiness. Working hard to push back the currents is not enough to obtain wealth and fame and happiness – success. The fact is that there are people just like Phil who cannot stop working hard or things detach. The fact is that there are people like Gatsby who have their fame and riches, but is missing a part of them that they strive for. The American Dream cannot be real because the American Dream never was a dream in the first place, but rather a motivator. The Dream exists still because it is necessary. People are motivated to work hard by the dreams of success although there is no real chance at it. The reality is that the American Dream is not whether or not you or I can succeed, but can America succeed. Our society, our economy, our America cannot exist without the competition of people believing that someday, perhaps one fine morning, wake up better than yesterday.

            It is difficult to pinpoint the true American dream as it is a highly individualistic, elastic, and fleeting concept. The founding fathers pronounced the rights of men to be “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, and this statement serves as the cornerstone of the American ideal. The American spirit lends itself from these unalienable rights of mankind and envelopes those in society willing to dream the American dream. These are some of the manifestations of American spirit that stir the heart, soul, and mind; success, money, power, family, religion, democratic voice, artistic expression. These are the American Dream.

            But is this American dream truly alive in our society today? Jay Gatsby had his American dream. He had the money. He had the company of the famous and affluent. He had the house, and the lifestyle, and the cars, and the servants, and everything he ever imagined for himself as a young adult. But still he wanted more and it seemed for a short time that he could rewrite the past and at the pinnacle of his dream, at the climax of his pursuit when it seemed he had won Daisy away, it was all ripped away from him in a fantastic finale of tragic irresponsibility and disrepute. His aspirations had outreached his means and he never was able to experience his American dream. And so it goes for many in American society today. The American dream seems unrealistic at times and the true success stories are few and far between. In a seemingly classless society devoid of aristocratic notions and nobility derived from genealogy, a blockade has been forced between the affluent and the poor. So many times it seems the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and the cycle repeats itself from generation to generation.  The old earmarks of class division found in traditional European have faded and given way to “a good education (as the) most important determinate of class, and in America access to good schools–whether private or public—(that are) increasingly reserved for the well-to-do”(Maidment).  If education is a precedent of wealth then we truly are stuck with a vicious cycle of fiscal distribution, in which wealth is more or less bound to the top tiers of the economic elite. This statement is further supported by a study conducted by Gary Solon, a professor at Michigan State University, in which he “estimate(s) that if your father was twice as rich as mine, you are likely to be 40% richer than I am, meaning that wealth and privilege would last at least three generations” (Harford). So it seems that wealth and the American dream with it are for the most part rigidly preserved to a small percent of a larger whole, and if you dream in seven figure salaries, you may end up like Gatsby, staring into the green light of your aspirations but failing to ever grasp them.

            However, wealth is only a small part of the American spirit. Wealth is material and the American dream is immaterial. How can such an abstract idea be measured on the concrete ruler of total wealth amassed?  There is another American dream that deals in true American spirit. It is one of love. Of passion. Of striving in vision and thriving in sustenance. This is the American dream that smirks at the blind pursuit of wealth and welcomes the genial advances of family and friends, all the while laughing in the face of adversity. This is the American dream that wakes with the dawn, looking to the day in front of them with a calm spirit and a sound mind. This is the American dream of my grandfather and in it he has never failed. With great precision of words and strong stance he delivers to me his single ambition in life, beautiful in its simplicity and remarkable in its implicit wisdom. “My American Dream,” he says to me “is to have a close-knit family and sufficient funds to feed and provide for them.” It is not the dream that is kept alive in traditional tales of rags-to-riches successes, but it is a dream shared more commonly and more truthfully in American society today. In Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie wanted very little from life and all they truly needed to be happy was each other’s company.  In the long run the American dream is most often not defined by the obscene piling up of money, but by the ability of one to be content with what they are capable of and to find greater consolation in other aspects of life.  In the case of finance “go easy on yourself when it comes to how you define success”(Eaves) and live for the greater joys in life.

            These two views share in common the possibility of success and of failure. They share also in the common subjects of the American people. These are a people that do not shudder at the possibility of failure, but welcome adversity with enthusiasm.

            With these opposing views of the American dream, I am an advocate of hope and a believer in the American dream.

            I believe in the American dream, because I believe in the American people. Those with an ambition and a true belief in themselves as the captains of their own destinies will always have a place in the collective success of our nation. As long as their ambition does not supersede their ability and they place their aspirations in the aspects of life that will truly allow them to find joy, then the American dream will always be available for them.

            It is with these guidelines and conditions that the American dream can be fulfilled in a person’s life.  Having realistic and meaningful aspirations for oneself will increase a person’s quality of life.

            The American dream is real and attainable. It is not something that should be cast away in cynical dejection and must be held within the hearts of all Americans.  Our forefathers would look down in disdain if their vision for America was distorted and we should do likewise, as not to forget what we are, and what we could someday become.

As with all nations since the dawn of civilization, there comes a period where re-evaluation and self-scrutiny become necessary to determine whether or not the nation still contains the the core beliefs and values needed to continue its progress and hold on to its power in the face of adversity and hardship. For the U.S. this critical point has arrived. With the country facing pressure from the economy, social relations, and a host of the other current issues, many citizens have already begun the process. Many of the values and beliefs held since the foundation of the country are cited almost like a mantra. At nearly every sporting event, national holiday, public occasions and so on there are remainders of what the U.S. stands for in the form of song, pledge, and every other media. It is as if the repetition is necessary to keep the nation on track and in line. Yet, one must ask whether we have already fallen off track?

From the very conception of the nation, our values have created a precedent. Our core values- equality, freedom, opportunity – form the American mindset for U.S. citizens and foreigners abroad. Citizens often view these rights as a given. Others feel that these values distinguish the U.S. from many other world governments. The U.S. is viewed and cited as a working example of these values. In Jean de Crevecoeur’s “ What is an American?,” American is viewed as a place where “individuals of nations are melted into a new race of men, whose labours and prosperity will one day cause great changes in the world.” Though the statement was made by a Frenchmen over 200 years ago, it continues to resonate with people today. This mindset also appears in the novel Tortilla Curtain in the character, Candido, who comes to America with his wife in order to manifest his own version of the American dream.

There are probably many versions of the American dream. Many view the American dream in the terms set by the Declaration of Independence, a founding American document. “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” is a phrase taken from the Declaration that is used to describe the American Dream. Many people follow the idea that this interpretation of the dream is in synchronicity with happenings in the U.S.

However, it appears that the dream is not automatic. In Jose Vargas’ article, “My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant,” Vargas states that he believed that if he “achieved enough, I would be rewarded with citizenship.” Yet, despite his achievements, he still faces a risk of deportation. In a similar thread, Candido and his wife, America from the novel Tortilla Curtain have a similar discovery where Candido’s wife discovers that even “native” U.S. citizens are not treated with the same material equality as others considered higher on the social scale. A seemingly more accurate description of the dream is that developed from Robin M. Williams Jr. in his book from 1970, American Society: a Sociological Interpretation. In the novel, the core values are listed as “Equal Opportunity, Achievement and Success, Material Comfort … and Freedom.” This does not seem to be present in all levels of American society. Vargas met the requirement for Achievement and Success yet he was not given the rights of citizenship. This can be viewed as an hypocrisy considering that the majority of citizens are descendants of immigrants.

That leads to the issue of whether or not the American dream is subject to prejudice. In Abigail Adams’ “ Letter to John Adams” it is clear that despite the fact that women during the revolution were more than capable of managing independently in their husbands’ absences. Phyllis Wheatly, a Black female slave, used Christian principles to argue in her “Letter to Reverend Samuel Occum” that the actions of Christian slave owners was “Absurdity of their Conduct whose words and Actions are so diametrically opposite.” Despite the moral implications of Christians owning Christians, combined with the fact that many Africans both enslaved and free had been converted to Christianity, slavery still prevailed for nearly a century after the letters publication. In both situations prejudice and hypocrisy work their way into American dream, the closely related American values and in some areas, the American people.

The average United States citizen believes in the American dreams as a promise to all U.S. citizens. Yet, the inequality observed can’t be ignored. It appears that the American dream is used to imply that the individual is widely responsible for the economic or social situation they are in and that as long as the opportunity is given, the individual is often at fault and has the responsibility and ability to fix the situation. As long as there are examples of individuals who possess more material wealth than other, the general idea is that abundance is achievable by all regardless of any adversity faced by individuals. It seems as if the American dream is an excuse for the country and its inhabitants to not confront issues that may be impeding the growth and overall unity of the country and its citizens.

“My son is already giving me lists of what he wants for Christmas,” Shannon, a single mother, told me. “I don’t even know if I’ll still have my job come Christmas. I can’t be thinking about who’s going to be President next year. I got other worries right now.”

I was a single mom, too, so I know first-hand the struggles Shannon and other single moms face every day. But I did not have to contend with the pressure of Christmas in October, and I did not live in fear of losing my job during a bad economy when chances of getting another job would be next to none.

Shannon’s comments are typical of what I hear from many people I have talked to in my community. They are tired and worried, and they feel defeated and frustrated. Any “extra” energy they have after all their daily and weekly responsibilities are satisfied is NOT going to be used to support a campaign for an election that’s more than a year away. I know how that feels! There are times when I wonder if I’ll have the inner resources to help. So far, I’ve been able to dredge it up from my inner reserves. Why do I push myself? Because I know what is at stake for Shannon, for our communities and our country; I know what is at stake for me and for you. I know that our history of providing opportunity and support for all Americans is at stake and I know that I – we – have to fight with everything we have to make sure our citizens have every possible opportunity to achieve the “American Dream.”

Maybe you feel like you have so much going on that you can’t begin to think about who’s going to be elected President in 2012. But, the fact of the matter is that President Obama is the President of the United States TODAY and will continue to be President until at least January 2013. And OUR President needs our help RIGHT NOW to overcome the obstructions created by Republican members of congress. President Obama wants to champion for the single moms, for the working poor and the middle class, but the GOP keeps holding OUR Country hostage by blocking every attempt get legislation passed that would benefit the majority of people living in the United States of America.

We are at an important pivotal place in our Country’s history and whether you are a single mom or not, what is going on right now in our political system affects you today and will continue to affect you for years to come. But you can do something to help protect your personal interests: You can get involved by volunteering for one of your local candidates or for President Obama’s team. And don’t say you don’t have the time. You can do as much or as little as your schedule allows. If you have two hours, you can make phone calls to people in your community. Or you can help sign in people at an campaign event (and have some fun in the bargain!). We as individuals need to understand what is at stack not only for our country but for ourselves. We can no longer afford not to think about it. I’m in. How about you? Our democracy depends on you. Will you get involved?

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Immigrants came to America to get away from their old lives and live the American Dream, but were impeded by discrimination and poverty. Economic conditions in China and Eastern Europe caused many people to emigrate from those places to America, the land of opportunity. People also came from Eastern and Southern Europe to escape military service or religious persecution. The boat ride to Ellis Island was far from luxurious. Irish immigrants were hired to work in tough conditions; harsh weather, temperatures, and under attack from Nativists. Immigrants settled in ethnic regions they recreated their cultures in. Some Americans who were born in America became nativists, or strongly opposed immigration and disliked immigrants. One of the only victories for the nativists was a law passed in 1882 banning poor people, mentally disabled people, and convicts from immigrating to America. The Chinese Exclusion Act was also passed at the same time banning Chinese from immigrating to America and those already in America from becoming citizens.

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African Americans in the second half of the 19th century were former, or the children of former, slaves, and started off in a bad position and environment to achieve the American dream. By the second half of the 19th century, the Civil Rights Act, 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment had all been passed. African Americans could legally become citizens, own land, get fair trials, vote, become educated and literate, build churches in their communities, and not become the victims of hate crimes (esp. KKK). African Americans had quickly organized politically and become a part of the US government. However, when the Reconstruction failed, African Americans in the South had to go back to plantations, as poorly paid workers or sharecroppers. Sharecroppers became stuck in an endless cycle of debt, and so were not able to use and enjoy the new rights they had recently acquired.

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Laborers in the second half of the 19th century pursued the American Dream, but were not always lucky or were unable to because of big business. Miners in the West set off with hopes of striking it rich every time new sources of valuable ore were discovered. Some became rich, and some kept chasing around the boomtowns, leaving each one deserted. Cattle ranchers brought the Texas Longhorn breed of cattle into the Great Plains and set up ranches there, this breed could survive the conditions, and the government provided an area of land for them to graze called the open range. Transporting the cattle East became practical after beef prices soared when the civil war ended and railroads were built, which reached within 200 miles of the Great Plains in the 1860’s. A huge profit could be made with this transfer. The Cowboy’s stories also provided profit for writers of dime novels. With price drops, cold winters, and the invention of barbed wire to fence in and protect cattle, the excitement of cowboys’ jobs decreased. Homesteads and advancements in agricultural technologies allowed Americans to settle, living under harsh conditions, and start farms. If their farms became successful they could bring over their families as well.

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Successful miners, cattle ranchers, and farmers began mini big businesses (companies with paid workers), this was especially true for the miners which later formed huge companies and were no longer part of the working class. The invention of the automatic loom and new shoe-making technologies created new jobs mass producing standard sized clothes. With machines replacing skilled labor, workers began to be hired to perform specific tasks operating the machines, repetitively. These jobs required little skill, so the workers had little to be proud of, and so did not enjoy their professions. Industrial workers usually worked long hours for small salaries, which were relatively large compared to earlier decades, and in unhealthy environments inhaling a variety of toxic chemicals on a daily basis. These workers formed Unions to protect them from the greed fueled actions of their employers. Craft workers had more specialized skills and so were paid slightly higher wages and had slightly more personalized work. They formed trade unions. Unions called industrial unions formed, consisting both of unskilled workers and craft workers. Employers fought back against unions and strikes with lockouts and scabs. Scabs were often immigrants, which is one of the reasons nativists did not like them.

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In the second half of the 19th century some people achieved the American dream, and some people did not. This depends not only on what people achieved, but what they wished to achieve. The American Dream for immigrants was to come to America, and increase their own standard of living. I think that in current times the American dream remains the same for immigrants from worse condition, but is the idea of becoming a rockstar or national sports star among the youth. The American Dream is different and unique depending on who’s dream it is, especially so among young people. Many people lead lives they consider to not have turned out well, with conditions they consider unbearable. These same lifestyles some people consider to be so horrible, are the “American Dream” of potential immigrants, or even more so those who do not have the choice to immigrate here. 

And what is that American Dream but in most cases the dream of material things? Most Americans are uncomfortable about their possessions, naturally looking out for the self and family before country— their idea of patriotism. America is the biggest producer and consumer of cars, clothes, and scientific devices than any other nation, but they live with these objects rather than by them. America is a consumer culture, and when they change what they buy, they also change who they are. It is high time to  think that most of the luxuries in life are dispensable. Living within one’s means, to reduce cost to its lowest terms if possible is important to keep the light in the home burning.

The Americans should stop talking about the American Dream for the time being and start listening to the Dream of the American: all for one, one for all, “to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” Let the hearth in the home continue to glow and not allow the warm heart to stand still like a frozen waterfall when it is deprived of material things. When life  is greeted with joy in spite of the deprivation of material things, this becomes your  real success. Deprivation is a sharp word but in life it is sometimes necessary to lose than to gain. “A seed will only germinate when it dies.” ###