Preview

The American Dream Argumentative Essay

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1825 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The American Dream Argumentative Essay
The American Dream

The American Dream is a subject that has been heavily debated on for years by many different people; some say it exists, while others say that it is simply a myth. Regardless of those opinions, most Americans still feel that the Dream is alive, out there just waiting for them to reach. They are all willing to work equally as hard, they are all willing to just about whatever it takes and they are all as ambitious as the next. Every person is different, with different backgrounds and different opportunities readily available to them. Each has their own idea of what exactly the Dream is, but many agree that the main entity people are after is financial success and stability. If the American Dream equals financial success as the result of hard work, then anecdotal evidence suggests the American Dream exists and is achievable by all; however, statistical data suggests that if individuals don’t begin their quest for the Dream with the same, equal opportunities, the Dream may be
…show more content…
Therefore, the American Dream is only possible for those who are blessed with the right opportunities. If the idea that the Dream is only possible for a select few with good fortuities is not accepted, it can very well have dire consequences for everyone. The American Dream is unique in that it clearly and accurately portrays the American sprit by instilling hope and faith in the people that they can, in fact, achieve something better despite the poor hand they were given in life, that they are truly in control of the direction their lives are headed. While it is a nice notion to state and easy to believe, the fact is most people will Gonzalez

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    It’s been a long and very snowy day you sit by the fire looking out to the beautiful Mountain View your small but cozy cabin has. You look over at your sweet and very loving wife and think “I’ve deserved all of these achievements.” The American Dream is alive and in reach. Many people in America believe the American Dream is unachievable, due to the economic downfall we are currently experiencing but, a handful are still confident about its reality. The American Dream is still achievable with hard work because the ability to educate yourself properly is possible and with the right amount of determination and hard work any goal can be obtained, but obviously there will be countless complications along the infamous journey…

    • 653 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    of mice and men

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Many people believe that the American Dream is not available to everyone – that it is just a DREAM…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Conclusion, the idea behind achieving the American dream has been drastically miss constructed. Our goal as Americans should be to find a passion and pursue happiness through work and family. However, somewhere along the line the beauty of this idea has been corrupted due to the influence of money, adults have chosen to sacrifice happiness in hopes of the ability to purchase the American dream. Truthfully money cannot determine individual success or worth. If money…

    • 455 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Achieving the American Dream requires a person to rise above the social class of which one was born with hard work, dedication, and ambition. But still many argue that the American Dream no longer provides for “the poor, the tired, and the huddle masses” the American Dream was never necessarily intended for that It allows and provides opportunity and optimism to the "poor" "tired" and "huddled masses" and to everyone for that matter. That is the American Dream, equal opportunity. Are there flaws to due to basic human tendency? Yes but that's no one personal fault. Not only Is American considered the “Land of Opportunity” but America…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many different reasons why the American Dream still exists. Many households in the U.S. have wage earners “earning between $30,000 and $90,000 a year. They also own a home and at least two cars”(56). Those households have achieved jobs that provide financial stability for their families, having a job that provides financial stability is one of the reasons why the American Dream is still out there. If one works for it, one can achieve success. A woman named, Delores Kesler, founded a staffing company with $10,000 “20 years later, her company, Accustaff, had projected revenues of 2 billion”(They live the dream). Kesler worked towards achieving her…

    • 463 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Many people think the American Dream isn’t reachable because of how hard someone might have to work to reach it. Honestly I believe that anyone can reach it if they try hard enough to get to that dream.…

    • 374 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream, generally defined as the ideal that citizens can achieve success through hard work and determination. In other words, if citizens work hard enough, they will be able to take care of their family, ensure a good future for their children, pay the bills, and still have extra money to live comfortably, even after retirement. But today, is this dream still possible? The truth is that, although it is something attainable, for most it will always be just a dream. There are many factors that come in the way of reaching the American Dream for example the high cost of education, social differences and failure.…

    • 364 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I believe that The American Dream offers a great deal of opportunities, but only for a specific group of people. It claims to support the idea that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success. And that is true. Some are offered those opportunities and simply fail to take the most advantage of them. However others, never get that opportunity. And that group of “others” is made up of minorities. Truthfully, only few people achieve The American Dream while the rest of America is left to struggle in poverty.…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Some people might agree that the American dream still exists, while others don’t or they have different beliefs. The American dream is one of the most controversial themes in the United States. I totally agree that the American Dream is still on, though we need to work a little more to make it happen. I recently read a quote by Senator John Kerry that relates two articles that I have read in the past about the American dream: “We believe that what matters most is not narrow appeals masquerading as values, but the shared values that show the true face of America; not narrow values that divide us, but the shared values that unite us: family, faith, recognition, hard work, good government, opportunity, and responsibility for all, so that every…

    • 1735 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    This change can be seen through illustrations of the ideal futures of various decades. From 1915 to the 1980s, the idea that anyone could achieve the “ultimate dream” stayed the same, while the ultimate dream itself changed from the want to make one’s own way in the world, to having a perfect family, and finally to having the most possessions. However, in recent years young people have stopped believing that anyone could achieve anything through hard work - although these Americans still have a dream of having a nice house, a family, and a job, this is a dream that is no longer uniquely American. The concept of being able to achieve anything by working hard and persevering, and the fact that this was actually possible in America, is what made the American dream so important. Today, the American Dream is mostly considered unattainable, and is now considered more of a historical concept than it is a modern…

    • 1053 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are a large number of Americans who currently the American Dream is slowly but surely becoming just that, a dream. Of course many individuals disagree with that assertion. Those who may think the American Dream is dead have several viable reasons I’m sure, but let us not be discouraged. Our competitive job market, globally based economic system and changes in trends may seem to be intimating to some, I however don’t see these issues to be all negative.…

    • 1057 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Dream is the statement that anyone can do absolutely anything they want, need, or see fit to better their lives. If someone feels they are unhappy with something about their lives, they have the opportunity (Something that is rare in this world) to do as they please to make what they want better.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is the American dream? There is no exact answer as to what the American dream really is. The best way to really put is the main goals and ambitions American citizens have for their lives. The issue with it though is that, sometimes individuals can’t reach their dreams. As stated in the Atlantic “We have more social problems than other countries, and that’s a worse problem than inequality.” (O’Brien 1). Religious discrimination is still a major problem that plagues this country today.…

    • 603 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Everyone! Come to America! You will have a life of happiness and riches! This what people usually consider the American dream, having a good steady job, owning a house, and making enough money for their family and themselves. Just having a happy life for their family and themselves. Many people consider the American Dream to still be alive and still present in today’s society but many also believe that the American Dream is nonexistent. In this essay I will be shedding light on how the authors, Bob Herbert, Brandon King, and Cal Thomas see the American Dream. Bob Herbert considers the American dream to be completely dead. He thinks that no matter how you define the American dream, there is not much left at all (Herbert 564). Cal Thomas on the other hand still believes that the American dream is still alive but it had changed. He thinks it has become more idealistic. He thinks the dream has boiled down to acquiring more material wealth rather than being stable middle-class people (Brandon 573). Cal Thomas also thinks that the American dream is alive but he thinks that it has a lot of falling family value that used to come with the seemly American dream. In society today he thinks the dream is defined as achieving greater prosperity and consuming more material goods (Thomas 568). People today strive to accomplish their own interpretation of the American Dream, but the reality is that some people do not even believe the American dream still exist. It is up to you do determine if you really consider the American dream to still be alive.…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many great people who agree, the American Dream is deceiving and untruthful. And many people have failed in the name of it's lies. Many people are robbed of their chance to fulfill their ambitions, before they even try. Additionally, millions of people have no homes and are jobless, and the only way you’d be able to beat the American Dream is to overcome those other millions of americans. The key word in the definition of success is ‘accomplish,’ but there are only few who have truly had their wishes come true. If you believe in the American Dream, you will be led into false security, and that will be your…

    • 1134 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays