Preview

Analysis Of Harlon L. Dalton's Essay Horatio Alger

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
701 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis Of Harlon L. Dalton's Essay Horatio Alger
Harlon L. Dalton in his essay "Horatio Alger" criticizes a concept of the "American dream" - the idea that presents America as the country where the opportunity for a success is possible for all hard working, talented and determined people regardless of race, gender and their social status. Dalton implies that not only this idea is not true but is doing a harm to society because that equality is cover only wishful thinking and can not be true unless massive changes in society economic structure and relocation of resources will be done.

Dalton 's essay presents the point of view with that I can only partially agree. I must say that author is probably right that in this country the opportunities are not equal for all people. Why they should be? This world is not a paradise; we cannot just overcome overnight all either what is bad in us or in our society, it a complicated and I assume time-consuming process. I would like to give an example: I could tell the
…show more content…
This vast country gave opportunity for first settlers to success. Only strong and smart could survive in the harsh environment but their hard work was well paid, and they learned how to use this land to live well. As many newcomers came, the opportunity diminished making the dream more difficult to fulfill. It does not mean that American Dream died then; it is been well preserved in American constitution and richness of this country that is a good base to create that wonderland of equal opportunities for all people. Day after day this country is changing the more women achieve the most important positions in the enterprises, the more African-American stars appears on the big screen, our children have more friends of different races and we do not mind to go to the doctor whose color of skin is different than ours. That is a big achievement and that is "American

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    In reading this article, titled "The Death of Horatio Alger" written by Paul Krugman, I found the main focus was Krugman’s idea based off of the value of the article, “Waking Up From the American Dream.” The author communicates the suggestion of the American Dream dying. This would infer Americans would lose the capability for improvement economically different from how it used to be. Horatio Alger was a well proclaimed self-made man who received all the glory of an American dream through hard work. Krugman however, argues regardless of hard work, the hungriness for money is what has caused a stagnant shift in the economic society today, making the stretch for the American Dream…

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Krugman Summary

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the essay, “The Death of Horatio Alger,” by Paul Krugman, published in The McGraw-Hill Reader, Krugman examines the value of the American Dream. He conveys the idea that if the American Dream were to die, people throughout the nation would not be able to move up through the economic classes of the U.S as they once used too.…

    • 565 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the American life, the American Dream has been prevalent to motivate Americans to perform and work towards a goal. The American Dream has put an emphasis on hard work and achieving the best results. By way of illustration, many Americans may dream for material wealth, financial stability, world peace or racial equality. However, discrimination and prejudice has been responsible for thwarting American Dreams and has often discouraged people from continuing to pursue their goals. Because inequalities and discrimination often prevent people from achieving their dreams, the literary works The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, and The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus redefine the American Dream as a goal for the equality of all people despite their economic class, ethnicity or social status.…

    • 1140 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream is the ideal in which that through hard work one can achieve great success, it is why most immigrants come to the country so that they can change their lives for the better and pave the way for their families. To some, the idea of the American Dream does exist but for some, it was nothing but an illusion. The decline of the American Dream showed this. It showed that the American Dream was nothing but a nightmare and that dissatisfaction, corruption, greed, and moral imperfection were some of the causes that lead to the decline of the American…

    • 879 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Dreams come into different varieties, big, small, colorful, black and white, long, short, and other things that you can think of. But there is only one dream that every American wants to achieve, that is the American dream. The American dream started way back when America was founded. It started through the search of gold and of religious freedom by the Europeans settlers. Explorers during the 1600s looked for riches and sought religious freedom. They lived the life of the American Dream. A life that is full of riches and prosperity. But according to Bob Herbert, the American dream is fading away. In his article “Hiding from Reality,” he stated that “there is not much of it that’s left anymore.” Even…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dalton Summary

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In "Horatio Alger" Harlan L. Dalton challenges three profound messages that are found in the Alger myth stating that, "hard work, persistence, initiative, and daring invariable [manage] to transcend [people's] station in life"(Dalton 150). Dalton initially emphasizes how we are being judged on different scales and how there is a race based advantage for success in life. He contends that Blacks know what it feels like to be scrutinized based on race and how many times they can only be acknowledged as "the best Black" as opposed to the best student. He suggests that White people question what has come from their favored social status at the same time feeling partly responsible for America's race problem. Furthermore, Dalton alleges that while hard work and merit are crucially important they do not ensure success. Additionally, he suggests that we don't all have the same chance at reaching our full potential due to the lack of effort to create our own opportunities. Dalton acknowledges the fact that we are all trying to achieve success or our own true paradise, but he realizes that true accomplishment isn't as practical as portrayed in the Alger myth. Dalton advocates that all American's strive to achieve life success but at the same time he sees our struggle to find paradise the origin of our eventual demise. This based on the idea that we can only climb so high. All in all, Harlan L. Dalton implies that we no longer live in a world with infinite possibilities, but of one filled with less potential and harder…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The "American dream" is the dream of every citizen of the United States and has always been the pursuit has a long history., in the middle of the 18th century American independence from the British, began quietly budding "American dream”. Due to open early north American land and sparsely populated, so immigrants can share to large tracts of land, they gain wealth through their own farming.…

    • 903 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to the author, the American Dream is the ability to be able to live a life that you are capable of living; a life that allows you to reach your full potential regardless of who you are or where you come from. The author states this in paragraph one, when he says: “. . .in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”(214-215). He believes that everyone should have a chance to be who and what they want to be and that everyone has a certain right to achieve it.…

    • 504 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The idea of of American Dream is deeply embodied in American history. Its first traces are ob-served in the times of frontier life in XIX century when many settlers risked their life to find better living conditions for their families. Furthermore, the concept of better life is placed in Declaration of Independence, There can be read that “all men are created equal [...] they are endowed [...] with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and…

    • 365 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The “American Dream” has changed drastically from in the beginning. It started as possibility. The possibility of you dream coming true. Of being able to worship who you choose. Of being the entertainer that you wish to be. Of making a better life for your children. The “American Dream” was the possibility. Today it isn’t about the possibility any more, it is about demand. The demand of getting everything before ever having it. The demand of “being American means I should get everything “. They use to say “you can be anything you want” not “you can want everything without…

    • 452 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The American Dream is still alive in some ways but not all people believe that they are given the right of equality, freedom, and liberty. It is not attainable for all groups of people for many reasons. For example, according…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hiding from Reality

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The American Dream for many it means the ideals of freedom, equality and opportunity traditionally held by every American. A life of personal happiness in short terms. However this “American Dream “is different for everyone, and it is now being threaten by many factors such as the economy, which is a big part of it, employment and our education as well are being demolished.…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American Dream was once based on the same principles of The Declaration of Independence, like freedom and equality. That all men deserve “..life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..” (Revolution) Over time, the dream became more materialized and narcissistic. For some, it promised a journey of milestones and accomplishments. But for others, obstacles in the way were too much of a struggle. Azar Nafisi once said, “The negative side of The American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.”…

    • 531 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the essay “Horatio Alger” by Harlon L. Dalton, Dalton argues that the Horatio Alger myth regarding commercial success is false and is socially destructive. He first claims that a individuals success in life cannot be determined by that individual himself. He argues that racism and judgment have an influence on the success that person can achieve in his lifetime. He introduces Stephen Carters “best black syndrome” saying that blacks are being recognized for being the “best black”, as if they were competing against each other rather than against everyone (87). Secondly he disagrees with Alger’s argument saying that everyone can reach his/her own true potential. Dalton, however, states that due to some economic circumstances, many people are never able to reach their true potential. Also, according to Dalton it is always possible to argue that a person could have tried harder in a certain field that would’ve helped them gain success. Lastly, Alger’s myth says that people are chosen based on merit, which Dalton disagrees with. He states that people and decisions aren’t chosen solely on merit. In Dalton’s example he states that there are multiple things people look at before electing a judge other then merit (89). He includes merit in the mix but he also includes things such as common sense and brains to spare, which have to be considered. He concludes by saying reality becomes a lot harder when myths, such as Algers, tell people they can accomplish anything.…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As James Truslow Adams states in his book The Epic of America which was written in 1931: "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 a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position." For some people, it is the opportunity to achieve greater material prosperity than was possible in their countries of origin. For others it is the opportunity for their children to grow up and receive an education and its consequent career opportunities. It is the opportunity to make individual choices without the restrictions of class, caste, religion, race, or ethnic group. For others in this the dream of choice and flexibility, that is the ability to wake up in the morning and decide to drive, cycle or take public transportation to work.…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays