“Hold fast to dreams‚ for if dreams die‚ life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” Langston Hughes‚ a prominent literary figure in the early twentieth century‚ once wrote this in his poem “Dreams.” Being a young black man in Great-Depression-era America‚ he knew well what it meant to have a dream broken by social and economic issues. To his advantage‚ he was fortunate to possess a strong voice to express his and his people’s opinions. In his poetry‚ Langston Hughes wrote of twentieth-century
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The American Dream as told through Illustrations of the Future The concept of the American Dream has been something that has drawn people to the United States for the past two hundred years. But is the American Dream the same as it was at its inception? The American Dream has traditionally been defined as the concept that no matter where someone starts out in life‚ he or she can work his or her way upward and achieve an “ultimate dream” through dedication and hard work. However‚ this “ultimate dream”
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The origin of The American Dream began with the poor immigrants looking for opportunities. The Declaration of independence states “all man are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights among which are life‚ liberty and persuit of happines.”(The Declaration of Independence). The American Dream is different for every individual you come across. To some people it means financial success‚ to other people it means freedom of expression‚ while other people want to practice
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The phrase‚ the American Dream is a national ethos of the United States and the idea that clutched many immigrants who came to the US at a deep emotional level. Having left their own countries means they left not only their friends and family‚ but everything that identifies who they are. However‚ whether or not they left their countries because of war‚ poverty or civil or religious persecution‚ they believed that in America‚ they could achieve a better quality of life if they work hard enough. It
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believe that almost everyone should look themselves like that. I grew up in a very american way‚ in fact the idea of being an American was almost forced on me. Yet both of my parents are not full blood Americans. My father was not even born in this country! However it was crucial to my parents that I would be raised like everybody else around me that my lifestyle would embody the characteristics of what exactly the American way of life was about. I was raised on the idea that hard work is the number one
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the 1950s. During this time‚ many Americans were stepping back for a bit of self-analysis‚ both as a county‚ and as individuals. This is present in Death of a Salesman‚ as well as another well-known work‚ an essay by John Steinbeck‚ “Paradox and Dream.” In this Steinbeck analyzes the state of America and what exactly it is they’re striving for(Thomas). In Death of a Salesman‚ Arthur Miller takes on a similar task‚ providing commentary on what the American Dream is through Willy Loman and his family
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The Great Tragedy of the American Dream Traditionally‚ America and other countries throughout the world have heard the phrase American Dream‚ which paints ideas of success‚ wealth and power in one’s head. However‚ over time‚ the dream becomes undecipherable as to whether there really is such a thing as the great American Dream or whether it is only another piece of fiction. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald portrays the American Dream through many different characters and settings‚ and he “alludes not
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American Dream Synthesis Essay My Father comes from a true blue collar family. He comes from a family who barely recognize high school diplomas‚ let alone college degrees. As a teenager‚ his dad left the house. This was a vital time for him too‚ since he hoped to pursue a college degree. However‚ now he had a dream which looked impossible to pursue. So‚ naturally‚ he did not do fantastic in high school which might as well have been a failure because that meant little to no scholarships. He settled
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The definition of the American Dream is supposed to say it all. This depends on which definition one chooses to believe. The American Dream can be defined as the ideals of freedom‚ equality‚ and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. An alternative definition is a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by individuals in the U.S. Because of the difference of definitions‚ the achievability of the American Dream can become based on an opinion
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Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby Dictionary.com states that the definition of The American Dream is the ideals of freedom‚ equality‚ and opportunity traditionally held to be available to every American. The idea is that every American can reach this “American Dream” with hard work. After World War 1‚ the stock market boomed‚ so ordinary people suddenly became rich. This created a barrier between “old money” and “new money.” The Great Gatsby‚ by F. Scott Fitzgerald‚ is
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