Since its original, though not explicitly, recognition by Virginia's Royal Governor John Murray in 1774, the American Dream has evolved into something more than just an idea of conceivable futuristic realization; it has become a justifiable goal and ambition of many citizens of the United States. The American Dream inspires people to be their best selves, to strive for aspirations great or small, no matter what inevitably difficult circumstances arise. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Although many people today still consider the American dream to be a legitimate idea, new age progressivism and increased class division have influenced people to conclude that it is an outdated and absurdly ridiculous concept. While I certainly recognize that there may be burdensome obstacles in the way of a person improving their social and economic standing and that people are not always surrounded by inspiring peers, The American Dream is a subjective term and can be achieved through hard work . and persistence, even in the most terribly problematic situations. In general, less economically privileged people will have more difficulty advancing their social position than those who have the means to do so. Of course, Western democracy stimulates monetary imbalances, which in turn can have a generational impact on families who have unsuccessful relatives. Data taken from 2002, from New York State, indicates that New York City received significantly less funding than Jericho and Manhasset. While Manhasset spent more than $20,000 per student in 2002, New York City public schools received less government funding and reported spending just over $10,400 per student. Instead of analyzing why these imbalances are present and why these variations in financing exist, it is equally critical to recognize that these realities, in fact, have a large impact on our society as a whole. In 2001, 46.5 percent of New York City students graduated from high school within four years, a rate that compares to the Manhasset school district's 2017 graduation rate of 98 percent. Obviously, school funding substantially influenced why more students graduated from Manhasset than from New York City school districts. Youth analysis aside, is it really possible for people already living in poverty to achieve an American dream? Anna Quindlen - historically - wrote about civil issues and class imbalance. In Homeless, a piece written in 1988, Quindlen describes a homeless woman who carried with her an image of a yellow residence. He says: “They weren't photos of family, or friends, or even of a dog or a cat, they were brown-red eyes in the light of the flashes. They were photos of a house. It was like a thousand houses in a hundred towns, not suburbs, not cities, but somewhere in between, with aluminum siding and a chain-link fence, a narrow driveway that led to a one-car garage and a patch of yard," (Quindlen) While I can't speak to what drove this woman to live on the streets, hypothetically, is the American Dream still a viable idealism for this particular individual? to advance his chances. of achieving the American Dream – or something similar. The American Dream is meant to symbolize hard work and be indicative of personal achievement, but ifa person becomes ardently dependent on government money, in reality no personal success has occurred. Ultimately, a homeless person, even though he may be in his situation for countless reasons, intentionally or unintentionally, has a minuscule chance of having a white picket fence - or rather a low chance of realizing the idea of ​​the white picket fence. respect: the American dream is almost absurd for this person to want, considering living on the streets. Another reason that makes it extremely difficult for an individual to advance in society is if the person's peers are unmotivated. For example, Chester High School, in Chester, Pennsylvania, has a graduation rate of 41%. The school is ranked as one of the worst in the United States (via usnews.com) and has a 78% rate of economically disadvantaged students. They have an English proficiency rate of 12% and a math proficiency rate of 4%. In other words, what is the academic and social experience like for the motivated student at Chester High School? Considering that Chester is known for gang violence, the few students who are driven enough to want to succeed face immense challenges in and out of the classroom. There are 42 teachers for just under 1,000 students at this high school, resulting in oversized classrooms lacking basic functionality. Compare this to Harriton High School, in Rosemont, Pennsylvania, which boasts a student-teacher ratio of 10:1, has an average graduation rate of 96% and has an average ACT score of 30 out of 36. As a student myself Harriton, I can speak to its highly academic atmosphere; while there may be students who want nothing more than to drop out, Harriton teachers and the community as a whole are too genuine and caring to easily support or let something like this happen. At Chester High School, I suppose, a student could drop out and the school wouldn't even remotely care; at Harriton, the teachers, guidance counselor, and principal would likely meet with the student to discuss the details and make sure the student understands that he or she is leaving an amazing community that cares for him or her. Quindlen might recount a simple encounter that made a strong impression on her, but she is mostly referring to injustices and the possibility that these imbalances cannot be reciprocated by anyone or any government organization. Taking all of this into account, one can legitimately argue that the American Dream simply does not apply to all individuals equally. One of the main problems with society's portrayal of the American Dream is that people identify it as a decidedly pithy term that implies economic wealth and incredible happiness. This is simply false. While the government may represent the American Dream in a certain way, there is no legislative squeeze based on legislation that arrogantly claims that there is a means to understand it, such as an idea. In many ways, the American Dream is one of our culture's most subjective values. Hypothetically, if a single mother believes that her American dream involves happiness but not wealth, what higher authority would argue that her moral values ​​are wrong? If a woman from rural Arkansas believes that living poorly but managing to drink excessive amounts of alcohol is the American dream, who can refute her internal goals? My essential point is that we, as a society, cannot continue to make this incorrect and informal statement that the American dream involves a specific lifestyle, but one must understand that people can significantly increase their economic position by being genuinelyresilient. Take Jay Gatsby. from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby, while maintaining his position as a fictional character in a short story, is an infallible case of someone who grew up in a social and economic position; his family is from the Midwest and he grew up poor. While money may not have made Gatsby happier, considering that materialistic values ​​supposedly do not underlie one's emotions, Fitzgerald makes it clear that Gatsby did not become rich by luck; he worked extremely hard doing legal and even illegal jobs to achieve his privileged status. Conversely, since Gatsby was something of a bootlegger, as Tom Buchanan consistently portrays him, does this make him an unrepresentative subject to demonstrate the validity of The American? Dream? Chapter 7 addresses the hostile and painfully awkward relationship between Jay and Tom, but also the controversy Tom notes over how Jay earned his wealth. Tom says, "Why are you, anyway?" You are one of that group that hangs around Meyer Wolfsheim – that much I seem to know – and I will take it farther tomorrow,” (Fitzgerald 133). Evidently, Buchanan feels threatened by Gatsby's acquired wealth, which is money. He feels he belongs to men who legally work hard. Putting emotions aside in this chapter, Gatsby has clearly arrived at a state of immense wealth but, contradictorily, the fact that he is unhappy supports my argument that The American Dream does not involve a big house in suburbs and substantial economic wealth. The American dream, in The Great Gatsby, is an idea that cannot be defined, but in the idea of ​​society, the character who is working the hardest for the American dream is George Wilson. another exemplary source of my essential topic, is The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros Esperanza, the protagonist, is represented as a little more intelligent than her peers: although this is very possible, no hard evidence can really support this commonality. interpretation of Esperanza. He lives in an economically struggling Latino neighborhood with low graduation rates and high unemployment. While I believe there are substantial barriers to success for members of your city, there are factors that I consider vital to understanding urban areas like this. In particular, I sincerely believe that all people can achieve their own interpretation of the American Dream, and with this belief, I believe it is unfair that we, as a society, continually blame the government for social or class inequalities. The most common questions someone analyzing this topic has to ask themselves would be: “why are there more gangs in low-income areas, why fewer people graduate from high school in poorer districts, and why more people become drug dealers in these places instead of the richest cities? Sure, not all schools are funded the same, but funding is based on test scores and attendance. If I agree with this it is not what I intend to advocate, but at some point, parents and mentors in poorer areas will have to support education as a means to get out of the ghetto, which is not to say that there aren't individual cases of parents and mentors who truly want young people to succeed. Since they generally lack adequate mentorship and support from adults, children consider school as a useless and outdated idea that will only make them a boring occupation. Parents in low-income areas need to instill perseverance and resilience in their children at a young age. Because children have no guidance in these areas, drug dealing and gangs become an integral part of their childhood. Take Bryn Mawr for example,Pennsylvania, a district in Pennsylvania that is fortunate to have fantastic schools. If parents in this high-income area began to overlook education as an important aspect of gaining social relevance, there would be lower graduation rates and a surplus of other activities pursued by adolescents. In Chester, Pennsylvania, if all parents began to instill good moral values ​​in their children and strongly advocate for education, more students would probably stay in the classroom; we need tougher role models. In The House on Mango Street, Esperanza faces challenges comparable to those of her peers. Although she may have a better family life, she is still in a poor financial situation and is surrounded by many people who simply don't care whether she will succeed or not. In chapter 22, Esperanza talks about how she got her first job. He observes: “In my work I had to wear white gloves. I would have to match the negatives with their prints, just look at the image and look for the same one with the negative strip, put it in the envelope and do the next one. That's all. I didn't know where these envelopes came from or where they were going. I simply did what I was told” (Cisneros 54). Surely, Esperanza is a unique girl who supports her family by finding a job; in another area, a girl her age was watching television at home or simply playing outside with other children. The point is, if Esperanza can persevere and try to improve her situation, a larger percentage of people in her area should be able to do so too. She's lucky to have parents who support her efforts, but a big problem in this particular Latino community, and in real life, is that parents don't support her. This needs to change, but children in these poorer areas cannot be blamed; parents need to do their job and instill acceptable and warm values ​​in their children. People can improve their social or economic position by working hard, but adolescents in poorer areas are tormented by adults without mature values. Aside from analyzing low-income areas, all people can improve their social standing and it is not always parental mistakes that cause a child to end up in a bad circumstance. Truth and Fiction in Tim O'Brien's If I Die in a Combat Zone and The Things They Carried, written by Marilyn Wesley, references how The American Dream was alive and well during the Vietnam War. What seems to me to be the best evidence to support the thesis that The American Dream never became obsolete or impossible is the way that people of color fought side by side with whites during the Vietnam War. For African American men, the American Dream, or some idea of ​​it, was certainly possible to realize during this overseas conflict. While in the United States there was racism and hostile tensions between peoples, African Americans could improve their conditions by fighting in Vietnam. Vietnam was the first war to have integrated units, which ultimately helped ease racial tensions in the United States. In general, all people could advance in class or status by going to Vietnam and certainly any militia conflict can elevate an individual. War offers otherwise unremarkable people the opportunity to fight for their country and be honored for any positive effort. Marilyn Wesley bases her argument on the premise that O'Brien's historically inaccurate account is indicative of real realities and demonstrative of what Vietnam was really like. His ideas intertwine here, when he says: "This portrait records the obvious admiration.