In a high school English class, we were asked to read great novels such as “The Great Gatsby,” “The Grapes of Wrath” and “A Raisin in the Sun.” We were then told to determine what the American Dream was and whether it existed or not based off of those stories.
I witnessed all of my fellow students arrive to similar conclusions. That the American Dream is a farce. That it does not exist, that it is subjective based on wealth or race, or that it is impossible to achieve.
I would be out of place to not include what I think to be the most widely accepted definition of the American Dream.
The American Dream, based on what I believe and what I think others believe, is the opportunity to, through one’s own hard work, achieve and lead a comfortable life without undue hardships or turmoil. Based on this definition, I do claim that I am living the American Dream.
I rent an apartment, eat enough food, have running water, heat, etc. That is not to say that I cannot want more, however. I still would like to have some of those perks of life such as a bigger place, a nicer car and a better job.
It is through my own hard work that I would like to achieve such luxuries. Through this, I argue that the American Dream is still present and is still achievable. I tell you this: the American Dream is about equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. If you work for it, it is certainly achievable.
Referring to those novels I named earlier, those are fictitious tales that were dreamed up by possibly biased authors in times where the American Dream was a bit harder to earn.
It is wrong to base whether one can earn the American Dream or whether it is fair or not off of these tales. They didn’t actually happen. There are several lesser known success stories where people earn the American Dream.
Such stories include “My Grandfather’s Son” by Clarence Thomas, the life story of Dr. Benjamin Carson, “Made in America” by Sam Walton and “This Is Herman Cain” by Herman Cain. There are other success stories out there as well.
One might realize that these examples given are all life stories. That is because these stories are real. They actually happened and demonstrate how the American Dream can still be earned.
