WHAT IS THE

AMERICAN DREAM?
5/2/2017

The phrase of the American Dream was first introduced in 1931 by James Trustlow
Adams in his novel The Epic of America. In the novel Adams states that The American
Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for
everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement (Adams). Over
the years Adams definition of the Dream has taken on a different meaning to the
American people. Today, many consider the Dream to be somewhat of a wish list
containing material items and intangible assets that reflect financial success and a
happy lifestyle. Things such as a house in the suburbs, a well-paying job, a happy
family, the ability to retire at a reasonable age, and many more have taken on the role of
tangible evidence that one has achieved the Dream. Although, what many Americans
fail to understand is that the American Dream is something that is not achieved through
a collection of material possessions that reflect happiness and financial success.
Instead it is an attitude that is deeply rooted in the foundations of our country. It is the
idea that anything can be achieved through hard work, regardless of your current socio-
economic status. Most importantly though, the Dream is something that all Americans
can relate to and is an ideology that keeps us going and unites us when times get
tough. The notion that anything can be achieved through hard work regardless of your
socio-economic status is one that drives the American people and has pushed our
country to new limits. The Dream is something that has been and always will be alive as
long as the American people continue to strive for a better a way of life.
The life of the American Dream is something that has been questioned ever since
James Trustlow Adams coined the term in 1931. An article written by Matt Thompson
titled Why The American Dream Will Never Die talks about this notion as well as
the history of the Dream and how it continues to ring true today despite people
constantly claiming that it is dead. He spends most the article listing specific examples
of authors, politicians, and historians speculating the death of the American Dream. At
one point in the article, he talks about the belief that the Dream slowly died throughout
the 20th century as the American people became more and more materialistic. He
entertains this notion when he writes if the dream is diminished from an aspiration as
lofty as the possibility of self-fulfillment to one as small and tangible as a white picket
fence, then Americans arent really dreaming anymore, theyve merely been lulled into a
stupor (Thompson). He goes on to list several more examples of politicians and
historians declaring the death of the Dream but realizes that the simple fact that people
continue to talk about it today is an indication that it is not dead. Despite this realization
the question of why? remains. Why is it that, ever since its existence, some of our
nations leaders and trusted historians continue to doubt the Dream. The answer to that
question is that those who claim that it is dead struggle with its lack of tangible
evidence. But the Dream is not something we can see. It is an attitude that we instilled
in us at a very young age and subconsciously sticks with us until we die. It is the idea
that by nature, we are ambitious people who are constantly in search of a better life. It is
also the hope that we live in a country that allows us to reach our full potential
regardless of our backgrounds. After all, the three unalienable rights given to us in the
Declaration of Independence are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Although,
somewhere along the way our intentions can be skewed. We begin to deny specific
groups of people some of our most basic rights and it is at times like these when the
Dream is tested to its core. But at some point, that ambition and drive subconsciously
laying to rest in the back of everyones mind is awoken. That is what the American
Dream means to me. It is a mentality that rests subconsciously in the back of
everyones mind. It is the constant urge to pursue a better life.
Lawrence Samuel perfectly sums up the essence of the American Dream in his novel
The American Dream: A Cultural History. Samuel believes that the best way to fully
understand the American Dream is to explore the cultural history of America. He also
spends a lot of time searching for a definition of the Dream and what it meant to the
American people. After asking several people about what the Dream meant to them he
wrote The problem, of course, is that it does not exist. The American Dreams not being
real, however, ultimately turns out to be the most significant finding about it; the fact that
many of us have assumed it to be entirely real makes the story even more compelling.
The American Dream tells this story, in the process shedding light on virtually every
major dimension of American culture (Samuel). He too believes that the Dream is not
something that can physically be presented to the American people. He believes that it
is something that tells the story of our cultural history and pushes us to new limits.
Despite there being many trusted scholars who directly associate the American Dream
with wealth there are some who have a more sophisticated definition of the Dream and
they choose to question the universal belief of it. A perfect example of this is a peer
review of Heather Beth Johnsons book, The American Dream and the Power of Wealth,
written by Aaron M. Pallas. In her book, Johnson struggles with the idea that despite the
fact most Americans recognize that wealth matters when it comes to providing
advantages for their loved ones, we still embrace the notion that anyone can succeed
no matter what their social background is. Pallas briefly sums up her concept of the
Dream when he writes, For Johnson, as I read it, the American Dream requires both
these parts hold: merit must matter and class must not (Pallas). He also acknowledges
that the undeniable truth that is, as long as we continue to stick by our capitalistic
economic style, there will always be a correlation between class and merit. He believes
that, similar to the way high school teachers attach the Dream to the Great Gatsby,
Johnson was imposing a definition of the American Dream on her respondents, rather
than allowing them to give voice to what the term meant to them (Pallas). The points
that he makes in this review are valid points that deserve consideration. Each American,
before they even know it, is force fed their dreams and desires while scholars and
politicians use the Dream as a catalyst to trick them into these desires.
One of the main themes in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is the American
Dream. This novel is one of the most famous pieces of American literature and offers a
solid perspective on the cultural issues we have dealt with for such a long time. A
review written by Sarah Chruchwell thoroughly explores the role that the theme the
Dream plays in the novel. One of the first thing she notices about this novel was that it
was written in 1925 before the concept of The American Dream was introduced. This
is something that is interesting to consider and attests to the notion that the Dream is
something that has been around ever since our country was founded. Although, later in
the article she begins to doubt the Dream when she writes, The phrase the American
dream was first invented, in other words, to describe a failure, not a promise: or rather,
a broken promise, a dream that was continually faltering beneath the rampant monopoly
capitalism that set each struggling against all (Churchwell). She, along with many
others, believe that the Great Gatsby is a perfect example of the failure of the American
Dream. What her, and so many others who have analyzed the book, fail to do is realize
the true meaning of the Dream. There is no denying that the fatal flaw in many of the
characters is their constant desire for money and material pleasures. Although, for
some reason, the Dream has been unfairly tied into those desires. For years and years
high school teachers have grabbed the concept of the American Dream and attached it
to materialism. From the beginning of our adolescent years we are taught that the
American Dream and the accumulation of wealth go hand and hand which could not be
further from the truth. This is also one of the major reasons why Americans struggle with
the definition of the Dream. Automatically, through the manipulation of our developing
adolescent minds, we believe that the Dream is about wealth and social status. The
association the Dream has with the novel is one of the biggest reasons why we have
such a diluted definition of it today.
A study conducted by the Pew Research center asked citizens in the United States,
Britain, Spain, France, and Germany, if they felt that success in life is determined by
forces outside our control. The results showed that those living in the United States
disagreed the most with the idea that success in life is determined by forces outside our
control. This shows, relative to citizens in other countries, that Americans believe that
we control our own destiny when it comes to success. It is also an example of how
Americans continue to believe that you can succeed in our country regardless of your
socio-economic status.
One of the most powerful abilities that the ideology of the American Dream has it to
unite the American people. The Dream is something that is instilled in us. It is the notion
that as Americans, we are constantly striving to pursue what makes us happy. This type
of attitude is what unites us when times are tough. A short article written by Gary
Shapiro titled, What Unites Us? Briefly touches on the sense of unity that the American
Dream gives. He writes, What unites Americans is our self-confidence; a desire to live
life better. What unites us is the dream of every American: give our children a better life
than we had (Shapiro). What he is saying is that Americans rally around the idea that
we are all striving for a better life. Not only we striving for better lives of ourselves but

we are also trying to create a

better life for our children. This ambition and drive to create a better life for ourselves
and our loved ones is something that we all can relate to. In a country full of people with
such a wide variety of backgrounds and differentiating opinions, the American Dream is
something we can all hang our hats on. It is also what keeps us moving forward. The
sacrifices made by those who have come before us are the reason we live in such a
great country today. The reason our country is where it is at today is because the
American Dream was the driving force behind every major accomplishment in our
nations history.
The American Dream is a concept that has been around and will always be around as
long as the American people continue to strive for a better way of life. Many consider
the Dream to be a collection of material possessions that reflect happiness and financial
success. This could not be further from the truth. The Dream is an attitude that is deeply
rooted in the foundations of country. It is a voice that is subconsciously waiting to be
awoken from the back of our minds. It is a voice that is unsatisfied and one that tells us
that there is room for improvement. This voice doesn't doesn't care about your financial
status, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. All it cares about is the pursuit of
happiness. It is this pursuit that unites us and pushed us to higher limits. It is something
that, despite all our differences, something that we can hang our hats on. It is also
something that will never die because as Americans we are naturally ambitious and
constantly striving for a better way our life for ourselves and our loved ones. So despite
everything you've been taught by your teachers and trusted politicians, the American
Dream is here to stay.