The American Dream In The Epic Of America

The point of the American Dream was to achieve a fulfilling life, yet in 2011, 50 million Americans, mostly made up of the poor, children, and the elderly, had to use food stamps in order to survive (Corning 1). In other words, it is not a satisfying lifestyle. To begin with, most people would say the original definition of the American Dream would come from the novel, The Epic of America, by James Truslow Adams, “a better, richer, happier life for all of our citizens of every rank” (Corning 1). Throughout history, the American Dream has been a chance to obtain a happy and comfortable life, but today, the American Dream has been reduced to a mere fantasy.
Unfortunately, the American Dream has slowly faded due to many factors. According to the Pew Research Center, in 1971, 61% of Americans were considered to be a part of the middle class. Today, the percentage has dropped rapidly to 51%, and within that, 35% are living off of $35,000 or less (Hartmann). With this in mind, the middle class is slowly shrinking while the gap between social classes widen. Because the middle class makes up the majority of the population, it is obviously not good news when a lot of Americans are slowly slipping closer to the poverty line. if the majority of the population is not doing well, the country itself as a whole is not going to be stable either. In other words, it is not the American Dream. In addition to the middle class shrinkage, pessimism in America has risen, and the hope for the American Dream has fallen. In the late 1990s and the early 2000s, Americans were optimistic about the dream because
It seems like the perfect world, and in a way, it is, but the reality is that the American Dream is no longer obtainable. Because of that, Americans cannot be known as the place to go for a better life, when there is not a guarantee a person could get a chance for success. Sadly, the American Dream is dying faster than people can