The American Dream Lives on
The American Dream Lives On
From the early parts of the 20th century to the present day, Americans strived to reach a goal that many people only dream of, hence it being given the nickname “The American Dream”. There remains much argument as to what this is specifically but its most popular interpretation is it is the point in which people want to reach where they are prospering economically but must get there through hard work and determination. An excellent example to back this idea is the tale of Jay Gatsby, an American man who devoted his time and resources to molding himself into the personified version of this American Dream. Politicians and philosophers argue that the American Dream is dead and is not coming back because of the ever-expanding government and just the sheer amount of national debt. But through much research, truly the American Dream is still alive because people still work hard to reach this point and the opportunity is available to anyone as long as effort is applied.
In order to properly argue that the American Dream is still an obtainable commodity in present-day society, any andvanced writer must travel to the other end of the spectrum in order to say why the American Dream is in fact dead. In another article determining the status of the American Dream, author Brandon King believes that this dream we Americans used to hold so close to us is no longer procurable and he backs that claim up with evidence of how our country is so far in a hole, debt-wise, that we’ll never be able to make it back out. The stock market is one part of why our country has lost so much money and King puts that in his article saying, “Statistics reveal alarming facts, including trillions of dollars lost in the stock market,” (King 572). People believe that an aspect of American Dream is procuring enough money to consider yourself successful but that would not be possible if so much of the country’s money is being lost in the stock market and other parts of society, which once again verifies the fact that the American Dream is dead and/or dying.
Proof that the American Dream is still alive is because contrary to popular belief, the opportunity is available to anyone who wishes to accomplish this goal, but only through much effort and determination. The Great Gatsby, a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 1920s, pertains to millionaire Jay Gatsby and it is often mentioned how Gatsby was able to get to the point that he was, and although many characters in the novel speculated and created false rumors, it is confirmed at the closing of the book that Gatsby made it to where he was through his hard work. It is written, “Gatsby believed in the green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that’s no matter- to-morrow we will run faster, stretch out our arms farther…” (Fitzgerald 180). Based on purely reading and analyzing this quote, the reader can see that Gatsby believed in taking the certain steps in order to properly reach the American Dream. This pretty much takes everything the reader would believe from the statements other characters made about how Gatsby came across his wealth, and validates that Gatsby was truly just a hard-working individual who made the right financial decisions.
To support the claim that the American Dream is still alive in today’s society, another