Final Exam: The American Dream

Mr. Smith
AP Language

Final Exam The American dream James Truslow Adams's first described the phrase “American Dream” as "That dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement.".[Adams, The Epic Of America(1)] According to his definition the “American Dream” is exactly that a dream, or A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind, meaning that it is an actual plausible concept and not merely a myth. It is my belief that everyone has their own American Dream that is unique to the individual while maintaining some common archetypes, the most prevalent of which being the concept or thought that
anyone from any class can be successful and happy if the work hard for it, an idea of trans-socioeconomic eqaulity . Walter Mosley described this archetype very well he wrote “one can easily believe that freedom is defined by the self, that is, by the limitations and potentials offered up by our individuality.[Walter Mosley,Black Genius: African-American...(2)] Here, of course I am making the assumption that the “freedom” Mosley spoke of and the “success” I spoke of are the same. From this basic concept of individual potentials governing our success many different branches, or alterations to this basis arise. An example of this is Danielle Umar's, a man I interviewed for our project, idea of what the American Dream is, to him it is “A chance of success for all”[Interviews(3)], this is different from Bradford Milly's idea which was “Freedom to do as you wish”[Interview(3)] and even more different from Angeline Green's, but what they all have in common is the idea of government supported equality, that here more than anywhere else in the world the government the opportunity to be successful is the greatest. If this is true than why aren't there more successes in America, and why do so many go through there entire lives without reaching “success”?
The answer to this question isn't simple, the truth is that there are many variables that will affect whether or not a person reaches their dreams, there is bias and prejudices people have, there are personal interests that come into play,there is even a bit of luck that affects where we end up in the pyramid of life. In conclusion there are many obstacles that can bring a person down and not as many solutions. As time goes on instead of us finding better ways to reach the “American Dream” we are forcing youth to join into the competitive world at younger ages. Anna Quindlen worded it best “You all will live longer than any generation in history, yet you were kicked into high gear earlier as well.”[Anna Quindlen, An Apology To The Graduates(4)] Quindlen goes on to describe life as a “relentless treadmill since you enter preschool at he age of 2”. So in this exhausting society that is ever evolving to increase the work load of it's youth, forcing them to have resumes that rival that of college graduates out of high school how can the “American Dream” be anything more than a myth? The answer is simple, America was founded by workers and has ever since been a nation of workers, Benjamin Franklin described America as “a land of labor” and warned “those interested in a life of leisure need not apply”.[Textbook page 192(5)]
America is a land of labor, although the labor as largely shifted from manual to mental labor, the principles of hard work and dedication have not changed and it is only through hard work and dedication that you will reach the American Dream. The American Dream is not a myth, in this country you have the best opportunity to for success in the entire world and that is not something that is likely to change. Here in America a country made up of the children of the rest of the world blended into a weird mix of ideas and culture the American Dream lives on.