Reflective Essay Sample: The Nightmare of the American Dream

The American dream is a proposition that America can provide the opportunity for any one person, regardless of their background, the feasibility to have a happy and healthy life. We can see this definition is uttered by Mahatma Gandhi, “It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver.” (4) Still, one’s view on the American dream can only be perceived by that person, and those who yearn for happiness and take advantage of the chance can achieve it. When pursuing the American dream, many focus on different aspects; namely wealth and happiness. While wealth is a contributor to the ability to achieve one’s dreams, it is not the only factor. However, those who are blinded by greed and want for wealth may not be able to access the American dream and achieve the true meaning of having a happy and healthy life. For my father, his goal was to come to America and be the best version of himself while finding happiness and raising a successful family. Made apparent through my father, showing grit and effort rewards those who desire to pursue happiness and their version of the American dream.

As a child of immigrants, my life has been marked by the presence of the American dream. My father, an immigrant from Turkey, has always pushed me to achieve the best version of myself and to work hard in the pursuit of happiness towards achieving the American dream. My father’s aspirations are perfectly summed up by the words of Robert Reich, an American professor, and author, “The faith that anyone could move from rags to riches – with enough guts and gumption, hard work and nose to the grindstone – was once at the core of the American dream” (3). He uses the phrase “faith that anyone,” to show that the American dream is accessible to all, and uses diction paired phrases such as “with enough guts and gumption,” and “ hard and nose to the grindstone,” to illustrate that if you show enough effort and time to work towards it, you will be rewarded with true happiness. 

The American dream is only accessible to those who yearn for happiness without the pursuit of wealth. By only focusing on their happiness, the American dream is possible. As said by Kamala Harris, who was the former California Attorney General, “The American dream belongs to all of us”(1). This demonstrates the fact that we can all covet happiness given the wide range of opportunities that are given in life, and it’s not limited to anyone. Both the cartoon was given to us, of the black father, speaking to his kids (2), as well as a journalist by the name of Cristina Saralegui also portrays the idea that “to realize the American dream, the most important thing to understand is that it belongs to everybody. It’s a human dream. If you understand this and work very hard, it is possible”(1). The actuality that it can be achieved for any one person conveys the idea that you need not be a person of high status or extreme wealth to achieve this goal of the American dream. ​​It’s the actuality that it’s available to everyone that creates this humanizing way of thought, but it’s this different thought from every other person that truly defines what the American dream is.

Wealth does confer advantages unto the wealthy, wherein wealth perpetuates itself due to societal advantages, but it doesn’t guarantee that one will achieve the American dream. A very powerful quote that helps prepare you to succeed in life at any level of wealth, comes from Mr. Smith, who states, “Success comes when preparation meets opportunity.” We can extract the idea that to seize the opportunity, you have to be prepared, and that the requirement of wealth isn’t needed. Then, and only then will you grasp the opportunity to achieve the American dream.

In the book, The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald discusses his perspective on the American dream by exploring the nuances in how people work extremely hard for their money. Fitzgerald explores themes such as unhappiness and man's certain struggle of trying to keep happy, as well as the reality that there is no guarantee that being rich will make you happy. This characterization takes place with Gatsby; he represents the constant pursuit to grasp something that a person claims will finally satisfy their happiness. In his case, he is trying to entertain Daisy and convince her to stay with him. Daisy, being his long love that was supposed to be patiently waiting for him to return, and live happily ever after. However, we don’t see that happen, instead, we see an unsettling figure with an enormous amount of wealth, who promptly dies with all this money and desirable objects, but also leaves without any love nor happiness. We see Fitzgerald clearly describing the way of life about having money, but also proves that money doesn’t define happiness. Fitzgerald effectively demonstrates that the American dream goes beyond wealth into matters of being able to live a wealthy lifestyle and that its inherent connotation as something regarding wealth often leaves many people unsatisfied in the end. Furthermore, this false belief blinds people and causes people to lose track of what matters in life, which is to be happy. In the book The Great Gatsby, we are given the quote “However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at present a penniless young man without a past, and at any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might flip from his shoulders. So he made the most of his time. He took what he could get, ravenously and unscrupulously…” (Chp 8, pg 149). We are able to attract certain words such as “glorious future” as Jay Gatsby, which goes to show that he can aspire to work hard to become rich and have a future with Daisy. We also see words such as “ravenously” and “unscrupulously” to show his selfish want for wealth is praised inside of him. He uses this high praise and selfishness to help overcome any obstacles, but also shows his uncontested motivation and want for his dream. 

Given some time, and Gatsby’s massively acquired wealth, he turns to spend millions of money and these items that can make him happy, however, this happiness is only temporary. Gatsby buys this new house, he loves it and he’s happy for a year. He buys these new cars and furniture, which he enjoys for a few weeks, but later it sits there, not being used. Gatsby also hosts these massive parties, in which he spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on drinks and alcohol that make him drunkenly happy for a few hours. This then goes to show that Gatsby’s constant use of spending money to buy happiness is only a temporary solution, and will only last so long. However, Gatsby keeps trying to use this method to find a permanent solution to his constant unhappiness. Using this, Fitzgerald then develops the actions and thoughts of Gatsby as an example of how people’s want for happiness and one’s ability to constantly have new things, is only a temporary way to find happiness. This is what can cause ripples in the definition of American.

My father didn’t let his poor start and a new beginning in a new country stop him from working hard to provide for his family. Instead, it pushed him to work harder and follow the goals of his American dream, being happy as he could be providing for his family. To me, my father is constant proof that the American dream is still feasible. It’s also a constant reminder to me that we search for something while using significant amounts of money, that only then it is supposed to make us happy. Instead, happiness must be searched for in opportunities and the people around. It’s when taking advantage of those opportunities and finally realizing where the happiness actually lies, those who lust for it, will it be achievable.