The American Dream
Darragh 1
Caroline Darragh
Moen
English III Honors
October 3, 2010
Greed: Corrupting the Wants and Needs of American Minds Throughout one’s life, a person will strive to reach a certain level of success. Each individual determines what he wants in life, and to what extent he will go to reach it. However, as The United States of America has risen so have these standards, resulting in many people determined to obtain items they do not need in order to achieve the temporary bliss of being better off than others. In 1931, James Adams coined the term “American dream,” stating that it was "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” (Adams 404). Despite the fact that many of the citizens of America live truthfully to this dream, others would agree that with advances in technology and living standards, the so called “American dream” has changed. Another, more modernized version of the American dream has emerged stating that it “has become the pursuit of material prosperity - that people work more hours to get bigger cars, fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families - but have less time to enjoy their prosperity” (American Dream). Many Americans have become more interested in having enough money to buy worldly and unnecessary possessions rather than living in a society where each person has the potential to reach his own goals. Throughout American literature, authors have portrayed how greed has intertwined itself with the progressing American dream of having material prosperity, resulting in a corrupt society. Born in 1590 in the Yorkshire farming community of Austerfield, England, William Bradford was at a young age when his parents died. As a child he was shuffled around between relative but never managed to find a permanent home. At the age of twelve, Bradford attended a church service in the neighboring town of Scrooby and was
Caroline Darragh
Moen
English III Honors
October 3, 2010
Greed: Corrupting the Wants and Needs of American Minds Throughout one’s life, a person will strive to reach a certain level of success. Each individual determines what he wants in life, and to what extent he will go to reach it. However, as The United States of America has risen so have these standards, resulting in many people determined to obtain items they do not need in order to achieve the temporary bliss of being better off than others. In 1931, James Adams coined the term “American dream,” stating that it was "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” (Adams 404). Despite the fact that many of the citizens of America live truthfully to this dream, others would agree that with advances in technology and living standards, the so called “American dream” has changed. Another, more modernized version of the American dream has emerged stating that it “has become the pursuit of material prosperity - that people work more hours to get bigger cars, fancier homes, the fruits of prosperity for their families - but have less time to enjoy their prosperity” (American Dream). Many Americans have become more interested in having enough money to buy worldly and unnecessary possessions rather than living in a society where each person has the potential to reach his own goals. Throughout American literature, authors have portrayed how greed has intertwined itself with the progressing American dream of having material prosperity, resulting in a corrupt society. Born in 1590 in the Yorkshire farming community of Austerfield, England, William Bradford was at a young age when his parents died. As a child he was shuffled around between relative but never managed to find a permanent home. At the age of twelve, Bradford attended a church service in the neighboring town of Scrooby and was
Cited: Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1931 "Biography of Mark Twain." CMG Worldwide. Web. 19 Feb. 2011 Bradford 's History of Plymouth Plantation, 1606-1646 Charles Scribner 's Sons, 1908. Print. Bruccoli, Matthew J. "A Brief Life of Fitzgerald." University of South Carolina. 4 Dec. 2003. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. Chang, Yoonmee. Short Stores for Students. 3. Farmington Hills, MI: The Gale Group, 2000. Emerson, Everett. The Authentic Mark Twain: A Literary Biography of Samuel L. Clemens, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1984. Kelso, Dorothy H. "William Bradford." The Pilgrim Society. 18 May 2005. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. Library of Congress. What Is the American Dream?. n.d. Web. 4 Oct. 2010. Web. 16 Apr. 2011. Nebeker, Helen E. Studies in Short Fiction. VIII. New York, NY: Gale, 1997. Print. Twain, Mark. The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg. New York, NY: Harper & Brothers, 1899.