Essay Sample: is the American Dream Still a Potential?

📌Category: American dream, Philosophy
📌Words: 974
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 07 August 2022

Is achieving the American dream still a possibility? People of color have never had access to the "American Dream." Today's financial disparities and power imbalance are the primary reasons why "The American Dream" is no longer alive for all Americans, regardless of race. The wealthy become wealthier, while the poor become poorer. They will struggle to escape poverty and improve their level of living. Every resident of the United States wishes for a prosperous and happy life, yet the American Dream has become just that. It is simply flawed that no one receives an equal quantity of opportunity. Some may argue that Throughout history, people have traveled to America intending to become wealthy and successful. The American dream is commonly associated with this philosophy. The American dream is the concept that every citizen of the United States may achieve success If a person works hard, is determined, and is patient in obtaining it, they will succeed. However, After all, the American Dream does not come true. Income disparity has negative consequences not just for individuals but also for our society. Only the wealthy will be able to keep the planet running. As politics becomes more involved, the gap between the wealthy and the rest of society will expand.

Everyone believes in the American dream, which appears convenient in movies but is far from straightforward in reality. According to A Raisin in the Sun, “But Lord, child, you should know all the dreams I had about buying that house and fixing it up and making me a little garden in the back—(She waits and stops smiling) And didn’t none of it happen.” It's easy to fantasize about attaining the American dream, but the unfortunate truth is that it's not as straightforward as it looks. Mama had an ambition of buying that home, fixing it up, and installing a tiny garden in the back, as you can see, but none of her desires came true. According to another assertion, from the text Of Mice And Men,  “You’re nuts.” Crooks was scornful. “I have seen hundreds of men … come by on the road an’ on the ranches, with their bindles on their back and’ that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, an’ they quit an’ go on; an’ every damn one of ’em’s got a little piece of land in his head. An’ never a God damn one of ’em ever gets it. Just like heaven. Everybody wants a little piece of land... Nobody gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land.” Although achieving the American dream appears to be simple, not everyone succeeds.

This implies that each of those who worked on the ranches had a mental image of a little piece of land. Because of the tragic truth of life, none of them ever grasp it.

Individuals have little to no choice but to accept less as a result of a variety of difficulties in their lives. A Raisin in the Sun, as mentioned in the text, “while I was sleeping in that bed in there, people went out and took the future right out of my hands! And nobody asked me, nobody consulted me—they just went out and changed my life!” Nobody counseling her indicates that because she is a woman, constructing a future is significantly more difficult. Beneatha feels her destiny is in the hands of others at this moment of weakness and sorrow. According to another assertion, from the text Of Mice And Men, “He says he was gonna put me in the movies. He says I was a natural. Soon he got back to Hollywood and he was gonna write to me about it.” She

looked closely at Lennie to see whether she was impressing him. “I never got that letter,” she said. “I always thought my ol’ lady stole it…Could have been in the movies, and had nice clothes—all of them like they wear. An’ I coulda sat in them big hotels, and had pitchers take off me.” Curley's wife wonders how different her life might have been if she had embraced an acting profession. She, like George and Lennie, has dreams, although hers tend to be a bit bigger. As well as how the obstacles she experienced throughout her life made it difficult to pursue her aspirations.

Racism is prevalent today and has a significant influence on obtaining the American dream. According to A Raisin in the Sun, “Mama – sometimes when I’m downtown and I pass them cool-quiet-looking restaurants where them white boys are sitting back and talking ‘bout things…sitting there turning deals worth millions of dollars…sometimes I see guys that don't look much older than me.” Walter is desperate for Mama to realize how difficult and exhausting it is to be a poor Black man in the 1950s. Seeing affluent white males his age just adds to his rage and helplessness. Walter feels that he's miles behind his contemporaries. Walter believes that the only way to achieve independence, respect, and a position in the world is to have money. According to another assertion, from the text Of Mice And Men, “You keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny…‘If I say something, why it’s just a nigger sayin’ it […] This is just a nigger talkin’, an’ a busted-back nigger. So it doesn’t mean anything, see?’” Crooks wishes for friends who treat him equally. Crook is oppressed because of his color; he is seen to be inferior to whites. Crooks is plainly resentful of the fact that, merely because he is black, he does not have the same fundamental human rights as the other white guys on the farm. Crooks was born at a disadvantage in reaching the American Dream due to racism towards persons of color.

Overall, this demonstrates that obtaining the American ideal is unattainable. Everyone believes in the American ideal, which seems simple in movies but is far from actuality. As a result of a range of challenges in their people's lives, people have no option but to accept less. One of the reasons being that Racism is still alive and well today, and it has a big impact on achieving the American dream. Altogether, this illustrates that fulfilling the American ideal is unachievable.

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