Preview

American Dream Definition Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
763 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
American Dream Definition Essay
An American Dream has a multitude of definitions that vary from person to person. Once a person has their dream locked in their mind they must work to achieve it. The American Dream, having a perfect family with a house on a hill and a white picket fence, is still achievable through hard work and perseverance, patience, and opportunity.
Hard work and perseverance is something a number of people are taught at a young age. Suzanne Lucas, a woman who spent 10 years in corporate human resources, has this to say about working hard, “Some people pat themselves on the back when they do as little work as possible. While this provides temporary fun, it won’t help towards real success.” No matter what someone’s job is, if they put in their hardest work
…show more content…
If love is rushed then resentment can grow, being careful in this aspect of life can help later down the road. This partner in life will be trusted with the income, bills, and possible children. Singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye once said, “Marriage is miserable unless you find the right person that is your soul-mate and that takes a lot of looking.” If someone would not trust their partner with all of the responsibility that goes into a marriage then they will not be able to assist their partner’s work to their American Dream. James R. Rogers, department head of political science at Texas A&M University analyzed the Declaration of Independence and interpreted the ‘pursuit of happiness’, “The right to “the pursuit of happiness” affirmed in the Declaration of Independence is taken these days to affirm a right to chase after whatever makes one subjectively happy,’ happiness can be compared to The American Dream, as they both vary in definition between every person, what Rogers is saying is that every American holds the right to chase anything that makes them happy; whether that be a family in a large house or a significant other to travel around the world with. With happiness comes the chasing of it, and this in itself takes time and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    “The American Dream is a term that is often used but also often misunderstood. It isn't really about becoming rich or famous. It is about things much simpler and more fundamental than that.” - Unknown The American dream is the idea that every citizen of the United States of America should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.…

    • 553 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born or the class they were born into can attain their own version of success in a society where there is equal opportunities for everyone. The American dream is not achieved by being lazy or by chance but rather through sacrifice, risk-taking and hard work. Both native-born Americans and American immigrants who work hard can achieve the American dream.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Some view it as money, status, or fame while others view it as morals, family, and freedom. The American Dream is an amazing wish for many people of what they desire to happen. When Mrs. Carroll thinks of the American Dream, she thinks of a life with a happy family without financial struggle. Her American Dream is, “a Christ centered family that is content with the things that they have and are more concerned about building relationships with others than gaining acquiring worldly possessions.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    At its core, the American Dream is simply about possibility––it makes no guarantees. It’s an alluring but elusive ideal. Take an Impressionist painting, you can admire it from a distance, but as you get closer, it becomes incoherent. You lose sight of the big picture (literally). The same is true of the American Dream; you can admire it as a concept, but as you get closer, what was so clearly compelling begins to dissolve.…

    • 1112 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is an American social ideal that stresses egalitarianism and especially material prosperity (Webster). This dream for many consisted of several aspects. People hoped to be financially stable with a home, family, and job. Freedom, security, and most importantly happiness were qualities Americans strived for.…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (United States Declaration of Independence). In much the same way as the authors of the founding fathers, the American Dream can be defined simply as the pursuit and the achievement of happiness. Clarifications, like not needing to use underhanded means, are not necessary because it is readily apparent that these means do not provide happiness nor liberty. In other words, the American Dream is attainable through hard work, determination, and the fruits of honest labor, even though it is embodied negatively in literary contexts and positively in historical terms.…

    • 1571 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “The American Dream” phrase was coined in 1931, used to describe why people what to come to America or what they want to achieve in America. However, the American Dream is difficult, almost rarely achieved. Many have access to it but do not fulfill their entire goal they wished to accomplish. Some say it is forever happiness, other say it is money. Whatever their dream may be, it is all just a game of success of the fortunate.…

    • 1047 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Before you can determine if the American dream is attainable we first need to understand what the american dream is. The american dream is rooted in the declaration of independence where it says “all men are created equally with the right to life liberty…

    • 751 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American dream is different for every individual. This dream is an image of success that drives people to their own pursuit of happiness. It gives a chance for the underdogs to rise and let their dreams become a reality. The American dream has changed over the years. From having freedom of success to being better off than your parents were. People have a vest veracity of what their American dreams is. Whether it is love, a certain job title, or money the common end result is happiness.…

    • 622 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American dream is a term used in a lot of ways. Although research has shown that American dream can’t be attainable by most people, closer examination shows that it can be attainable by the following reasons. As Daniel J. Mitchell stated in New York Times im January 1st, 2015 “The United States is not a perfect country, but the American Dream is still a reality.” By that he meant that even with America’s Grow rate, poverty, unemployment rate in the past years and still going Americans can still chase their American dreams.…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream, by definition, is the traditional social ideals of the United States, such as equality, democracy, and material prosperity. To an individual, this means that they are born equal to everyone around them; that they have the same opportunity as the person next to them to work hard in order to achieve their goals. Basically, the American Dream leads people to pursue success in life. This success could be measured in any way the individual wants. However, what most people measure success in is economic prosperity and stability, as well as the ability to sustain their own needs in life.…

    • 1116 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    America is known for many things . The American dream is one of those many things and it’s something personal and different for each individual in America, which is why there are many definitions for The American dream . All those dreams have helped make the country what it is today. Both positive and negative historical events have contributed to the accessibility for certain people to achieve their dream. I believe that the American dream is for everybody.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    We hear the term American Dream referenced many times in our lives, but do we really know what the American Dream is? Is it having more money and more power than everyone else? Is it moving to Hollywood and becoming a famous movie star? What is the American Dream? According to James Truslow Adams, the author of the book The Epic of America, the American dream is, “That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to achieve the fullest stature of which they are capable of, and be recognized by others…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In order to discuss how attainable the American Dream is, we must first define it. The American Dream is the ability to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative. America’s social system can both hinder you, and help you in achieving the American Dream. Barriers such as far outweigh the opportunities as far as achieving the American Dream, nevertheless, it is still possible.…

    • 1122 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream to me seems like it’s overused. To me the American Dream is just a made up term for a “normal dream” because all it is is wanting success. The American Dream is just wanting to have a job, have an education, and have a family.…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays