The AMerican Dream

The American Dream In the past the American Dream was simply described as an “attitude of hope” originating from The Declaration of Independence which states that “All men are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights among which are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Even today if you ask an individual what their view on American Dream is they might repeat those very words, but in Herbert Selby's opinion it does not mean this at all. In Selby’s view the American Dream is seen as a negative force that is not only self-destructive mentally but that it ultimately destroys everything and everyone involved in it. Historian James Truslow Adams popularized the phrase “The American Dream” in his 1931 book Epic of America. He wrote “The American Dream, that has lured tons of millions of all nations to our shores in the past century has not been a dream of merely material party though that has doubtlessly counted heavily.” By understanding this quote I agree that Immigrants from other countries see America as a beacon of hope. Many countries in the past and still today are forced into poverty and are not able to get themselves out. In Haiti the poverty corruption and poor access to education is one of the countries serious disadvantages. Two-fifths of all Haitians depend on the agricultural business, mainly small scale substance farming and remain vulnerable

to damage from frequent natural disasters. I feel that any citizen of Haiti in this intense poverty would love to have the same opportunities we are entitled too. The aspirations of “The American Dream” in the sense of upward mobility has spread to other nations since the 1890’s. Over time the views on The American Dream have been translated through numerous authors such as Sinclair Lewis and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald wrote a novel that became famous again recently. The Great Gatsby ridiculed materialism, it was based in the 1920’s about a man