Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Varun Anand
LNG 405
K. Field
6 May 2010
cornerstones of society and have been embodied by the glorified concept known as the American
Dream. As one reflects upon the fabled history of the American Dream, its metamorphosis from
the pure ideals of hard work and happiness to the marred deformity of wealth is evident.
However, fortunately for America, hope remained to capture the “city on a hill” envisioned by
our forebears and to uniquely present the American Dream for every aspiring dreamer. The
honorable beginnings of the American Dream began from people across the globe, not solely
America.
The people of America are “individuals of all nations [who] are melted into a new race
freedom and elusive success. They sought to earn “the rewards of industry...[through rigorous]
labor”(Crevecoeur). Americans, forged products of global cultures, were unified by the adversity
that accompanied the birth of a nation. Through their quest to form a great melting pot accessible
to all, their “bold and enterprising”(Crevecoeur) qualities emerged without a selfish counterpart.
As more immigrants poured in, the religious and lingual bonds that unified the American peoples
were strengthened. Once America rebelled against the imperial power of Great Britain, the ideals
of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”(Jefferson) were further ingrained in American
society. Through the unanimous Declaration of Independence, Americans expressed their fury
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over the trampling of their intrinsic rights. Great Britain often deprived the colonists of
equality and universal opportunities (Jefferson). By breaking away from its mother nation,
America itself served as the example of the American Dream to future generations. Americans,
as a unified body, epitomize the ideals of the American Dream: investing risk, hard-work,
perseverance, and courage to hopefully reap from the invaluable benefits and happiness of their
endeavors. The American Dream is only possible through hard-work and persistence. Across the
nation, the principle that “a man is relieved [only] when he has put [all of] his heart into his work
and done his best”(Emerson) spread rampantly and established itself as a pillar of the American
Dream. The concept that harmony and cooperation, along with traditions is the key to preserving
the ideals of America is stressed (Emerson). However, as time passed, seeds of self-interest
in order to realize their ambitious dreams. Black-Americans sacrificed their lives and well-being
in order to capture the "equality...in the air [they] breathe" (Hughes). They were victims in the
swirling world of corruption enveloping them. They were "tangled in [the] ancient endless chain
of profit, power, [and] gain" (Hughes). They shattered the selectively permeable barriers of
racism with their combined strength and hope in order "to build a 'homeland of the
music and gained true happiness through the Jazz Age. However, their White counterparts were
not all as successful in their free quest for happiness. Even though "Richard Cory...had
everything a man could want: power, grace, and style"(Simon and Garfunkel), he could not
achieve his and his forefather's ultimate goal: happiness. He sacrificed his life in order to achieve
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the American Dream, and he failed. While Cory died as a lasting remembrance of the attempt to
achieve the Dream, the narrator exemplifies the qualities of the new and corrupted Dream. He
strives and wishes to possess great wealth and power, all the while oblivious to the ringing need
of joy and fulfillment. His failure to understand the resonating reason behind Cory's suicide
furthers the assertion that the corrupted dream blinds the "dreamer" of the true necessities in life:
happiness and family (Simon and Garfunkel). The transition from the pure American Dream to
its corrupted counterpart is embodied in Mama’s unfortunate realization. Freedom, the crux of
the American Dream, has been supplanted by the idea that “money is life”(Hansberry).
Great Gatsby, Gatsby foolishly invests his energy and life into a quest for love driven by
corrupted means. His ultimate goal is to attain Daisy’s love and to enjoy pure happiness.
However, in his search for the American Dream, Gatsby forfeits his hard-earned money and time
in the blind pursuit of a superficial and deceiving opportunist. He abandons any true ideal of love
when his immature affection overwhelmes him. Unfortunately for Gatsby, his fervent displays of
compassion, such as the extravagant parties, were all for naught as Daisy proves that she was not
worth any sacrifice. Gatsby pays for his crucial error with his life (Fitzgerald). As more
immigrants inundated America with the hope of their dreams, the barriers to the American
Dream were reinforced and America “threatened to deny hope and opportunity to
[many]”(Jillson).
From the dawn of time to the 20th century, women have been portrayed as the inferior
sex. However, those predetermined opinions certainly did not inhibit women to overcome their
limitations and gain equality. Abigail Adams, the wife of revolutionary John Adams, spearheaded
the attempt for equality in the new nation. Their American Dream for equality was crushed by
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the men behind the fortified glass barriers. However, women persisted and maintained the same
level of perseverance envisioned by the original dreamers. They fought to abolish the ingrained
beliefs of domestic women and sought to establish a new opinion of the women race: the equal
American history, if they were not enslaved, they were exiled to the “Black bathroom,” to the
“Black water fountain,” and to the “darker...kitchen”(Hughes). They were incessantly taught that
they were an inferior race and that “God didn’t seem fit to give the Black man nothing but
strong”(Hughes) and responded with vigor, “but He did give us children to make them dreams
Dream---equality. Their growing resentment of the White race translated into passion for their
cause. They used their emerging vindictiveness as an impetus to continue their quest “against the
America”(Hughes); therefore, Black-Americans are also vital cogs in the democratic machine of
America, and their battle for fair footing reflects America’s similar situation in the War of 1812.
During the war, America was the victim of disrespect and insults regarding their capability as a
validate their existence as an equal world power. Just as America fought to integrate itself among
the world powers, the Younger family overcame adversity and dispelled their status as an
interloper while they attempted to assimilate themselves in the all-white Clybourne Park. The
Younger family is the epitome of the American Dream because they work extremely hard, as
shown by their collective work in kitchens and in limousines, and by the end of the play, they all
realize that happiness is the true American Dream. Our forefathers, the original American
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Dreamers, intended for the pure American Dream to be open for everyone, regardless of race or
sex. The thousands of immigrants who flooded the nation also shared the ideal that the Land of
Opportunity was not restricted to anyone, but rather free for all. Our forebears hoped that the
ideals of hard work, perseverance, and unity among all would persist amid the various changes
The feeling of belonging to America is still present in this modern age. To those people
who search for a country like America, “the path to citizenship is important”(Cooper) because it
represents the final barrier for true assimilation in America. The ideals of patriotism exemplified
“while singing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’”(Cooper) portray the unification envisioned by our
forebears. Regardless of any physical changes this nation may have endured, America “remains a
country defined by the diversity of its people”(Cooper). America can revert back to its humble
beginnings “by being ever truer to our initial values and aspirations---to make ‘life, liberty, and
Americans can instill the invaluable truth that happiness paves the way to any success, America
can reconstruct its golden doors and shine to the world as the “city on a hill”(Jillson). Even
though technology has carved the Dream to be more competitive, the ideals of pure happiness
remain intact. The “American Dream is about fulfillment”(Trunk), not monetary income. If
Americans can live their life based on how content they are, rather than how much money they
The ideals of the American Dream established in the 18th century have remained proud
amid the corruption and unique personal experiences of the American Dream. The American
Dream escaped from its blackened existence and proved to the world that through hard work,
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persistence, and the quest for fulfillment, the American Dream maintained the aspirations