Cultural Influences On The American Dream

The American Dream is the chance for a person of any gender, race, sexual orientation, or or anyone of diversity to have an equal opportunity to change their and become happy and successful in their own eyes. Three books that explain the American Dream are The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver, Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer, and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou. Each book includes the main character trying to change his or her life by finding what makes them happy. They all leave their hometowns and have a chance to start over.

Men have a dream to improve their lives and better their social status but each

The American Dream has always been a driving force in the lives of Americans. It has become a foundation of ideals and hopes for any American or immigrant. Specifically, one of the ideals that always exist is the dream of America free of class distinction. Every American hopes for a society where every person has the opportunity to be whomever he or she desire. Another ideal in the American dream is the drive to improve the quality of life. As one’s idea of the American Dream gets closer and closer, often times political and social ideals of America cause their American Dream to take a turn for the worst.

For criminals, participating in crime is often caused by the absence of legal means to provide and support for themself and his or her family. For sociologists, one yearns to know what is the final reason, the final straw, to the criminal’s decision to participate in said crime? If this answer is possible to determined, sociologists can work to prevent this occurrence from happen in the first place. However, I believe, for individuals to turn to illegal means, it is not one, single event but instead it is the idea that one’s history, surroundings, and personality must all align together. More specifically, it is one’s background factors, situational dynamics, and foreground factors that causes an individual to succumb or to not succumb to

Throughout the history of America, times have changed to suit the people of that era. However, the fundamentals of the United States of America came when they were known simply as the colonies. The question that must be answered throughout the changing times of this country revolves around the thought of the “American Dream.” However, it is not the average dream, which is explained by Compton’s as, “During sleep the mind often seems to contain a stage on which unfolds a story or sequence of events. These episodes are what are most commonly called dreams. (dreams)” This type of dream is a goal of sorts for how Americans wish to see themselves as. In an interview conducted by Nancy Cook with The National Journal, a woman describes her thought

Looking at today’s state of the American Dream, it makes us question if it can still be achieved or not. For some, the American Dream may be having good health, education, or economic security. However with today 's obstacles, such as income inequality, the American Dream is harder to attain. The rising of income inequality has caused our middle and lower class to be inundated with rising incomes at the same time widening the income gap between rich and poor, which means finding solutions to help reduce inequality. But first, we need to ask ourselves the question why should we consider the rising of inequality. The best way to consider that is maybe looking at the

Think about your American Dream. What made you want this dream to become a reality? What has influenced this dream? Many American Dreams are based off of one of the three different influences; Cultural, Social, and/or Political. After looking at many circumstances, I have come to the conclusion that cultural influences have most impacted the American Dream. Ideas, like freedom, can change your personal American Dream. Dreams as in freedom of Speech, Religion, Enterprise, etc. The freedoms can turn into having Patriotism. Sometimes these dreams that can be pursued in America need Protection. Protection is another popular American Dream, waiting to be reality.

If you asked a group of people what their idea of the “American Dream” is you will find that the answers may vary. This may occur because not everyone shares the same values and culture. Since television has come into the homes of almost every American it has played a major factor in how people perceive the “perfect” life. Some view the American Dream as living in a house with the porch and the white picket fence and having the family that is always together and happy, while others may view it as just having an opportunity to better themselves. As time goes on television evolves pushing the limits of society’s norms. As shown in the video television once viewed women as the housewives that stayed home and cooked the meals while taking care

Everyone’s personal experiences and identities shape their image of America and their version of the American Dream. For example, people with European dissent and are Caucasian can see America as somewhere they can thrive and live comfortably while people-of-color may see America as a place where underlying racism flourishes. These thoughts about America also vary from social class to social class. The upper-class Americans see the country they live in as easy to live in and that they have achieved the “American Dream”. The middle-class work for what they want and can see their lifestyle as also the “American Dream.” Everywhere else in the world, people in different countries may see the “American Dream” as the cliché white picket fence,

A patriot is someone who will support and defend their country at all cost whatsoever  with full allegiance and commitment. Only a true patriot would lay his or her life down for their country without  any second thoughts. One may ask what the word patriotism truly means to a patriot and the answer is everything. Patriotism is the act of vigorously supporting one's country with full honor and commitment. There is no higher deed to a patriot than patriotism. Although war is often viewed as a harsh and cruel thing, to a patriot it is the most important thing in the world because it means defending a country that they love and honor. If an enemy enters into a country and had the audacity to try to destroy it or take it over a patriot will be one

The american dream what americans all over this country have aspired to be. But over the last decades the American dream has changed. The old American dream was to have a good paying job and a good family with a house and children. But now the American dream has changed to wanting to live the life of movies stars and billionaires no longer is ordinary exceptional. Americans thrive for something greater than their parents had and something greater than they had for their children. But the new american dream is one that can not be obtained by a high school diploma like it was 60 years ago. College is the only way to that goal. so I thought how could anyone who is struggling to make rent or put food on the table able to send their child to college and the truth is that they can't. I thought

The history of Americanization is long and complex, with beginnings in the late 19th century and the dawn of the 20th century. According to Galindo (2011), “Americanization was an umbrella term that encompassed different groups and programs as well as the different approaches adopted by these groups.” Massive amounts of immigrants were pouring into America via New York City, inspired by visions of freedom and the American Dream, as well as a desire by many to escape the oppressive regimes of their native country, and to flee famine or economic hardship. America truly was, and still is a land of opportunity. Americanization had its beginnings in late night adult classes that took place in factories and shops, as well as Americanization programs for children in public schools in cities like Chicago and Cleveland. The purpose of those classes was to teach English, American history, and the skills that would lead to the greatest thing about America: a democratic citizenship. After World War I and World War II, Americanization tended to focus more on creating civic nationalism and a patriotic plurality. From the 1950s and onwards, classrooms deviated away from directly “Americanizing” students and focused more on teaching them the basics of education such as reading, writing, math, and science. However, Americanization is still happening on many levels of education in America today. Many minorities and ethnicities have felt the full effects of

Google, eBay, PayPal, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, and Forever 21. All these major American companies have something in common: they are a part of the 40% of Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. that were founded by immigrants and refugees (Thiel). While all of these immigrants and refugees were very successful after arriving in a country with very little, a lot more people that come to the United States, never make it above the poverty line. This is not only seen in real life, but also in fictional texts as well. The characters in The Jungle immigrated from Lithuania, and despite the countless hours they worked in horrible conditions, they never had enough money to keep everyone sustained, and eventually fell off the deep end. Lennie in Of Mice and Men lost track of his goal to own a farm, and gave in to his selfish wants, losing track of his work ethic in the midst. There are also references in the texts Food Inc., “6 Immigrant Stories That Will Make You Believe In The American Dream Again”, A Dream Deferred, and A Raisin in the Sun that prove the belief that the American Dream is possible, if one has a goal or belief to work towards, a strong work ethic, and don’t stray from his or her path.

When one thinks about the, “American Dream”, the topic of currency will come in to play almost every time. This originates with the different social classes involved within the current societal system the United States mirrors. With that being said, those who classify as, “lower class,” will have a much harder time succeeding than those who were born in to money and belong to the, “upper class.” Now, it is important to realize that those who belong to this wealthy group of people are known as the, “power elite,” as explained in our text. This term is described in detail and eventually goes on to insinuate that those involved with this elite bunch control a large portion of governmental, as well as economical decisions any which country makes as a whole. With this factor in play, those who come from little to nothing have a minimal chance of reaching the sought after, “American Dream.” Being that this is the case, one must assume The U.S. follows the system of sponsored mobility, rather than contest. This is due to the fact that those who have connections will have a much easier time reaching financial success.

The social and historical context influences Lennie and George's hope of the American Dream. This is shown in the beginning of the novel “Guys like us...They got no family. They don't belong no place. They come to a ranch...They ain't got nothing to look ahead to”. The repetition depicts the listing of steinbeck saying that you can't build a nation on these men which represents the social and historical issues affecting individuals lives. For instance, the continuation of repetition in the dream shows they look after each other. Additionally, the use of italics “us” depicts lennie is excited to hear the American dream apart of the land be told by George again because they are depicted as different. Also, the italics reflects their excitement. Moreover, the social and historical context expresses the American Dream During The Great Depression.