American dream casting

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Running head: THE AMERICAN DREAM

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THE AMERICAN DREAM

The American dream

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The topic ‘’ American Dream ‘’ has various meaning, but is an important idea suggesting that anyone in the United States has the potential to succeed through hard work and lead a happy and successful life. The myth of the ‘’American dream’’ has several meanings and definitions, which I translate to being objective in life and striving towards achieving the individual set goals. It means to follow what it is that you want and work hard for it, no matter the intentions of others. It provides people the freedom to say, object and do that which is vital for survival and success. Comment by 单双: Explain more Comment by 单双: Explain

The song “American dream” by Casting Crown is a better representation of the important aspects of the life to most people. The lyrics depict the American Dream as being the finest thing to experience, even if it means giving certain things. The song because it indicates that the main character wants the nicer things in life, but is willing to deprive himself of family time to help achieve the dream: Comment by 单双: Achievs? Comment by 单双: Giving up?

“He's chasing the American dream

And he's gonna give his family the finer things

Not this time son I've no time to waste

Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play

And then he slips into his new BMW

And drives farther and farther and farther away” (American dream lyrics).

Although the American dream might be different for every person, becoming rich is in most cases the primary factor to them all. Personally, I believe that the promise of getting wealth for everyone that is pursuing the American Dream is the aspect that makes it unrealistic. As much as being wealthy may seem to make things more simple, it is not attainable in most cases. Being positive in achieving individual goals may not always be the success in today’s economic status. It seems like acquiring an education is vital, yet graduates seeking for well- paying opportunities seem to be undergoing the most difficult moments and experience in their life today unlike in the past.

In fact, to me, the American Dream is a myth and does not affect the way in which the media portrays it to the public domain. To some extent, the dream seems to be a joke of many, because it is almost unattainable whenever presented in social media or visual media like movies. Watching the actors in movies with big houses, great families, white picket fence and successful profession makes any other audience believe that only outcomes like that happen in the movie world. It is still possible to attain some of this American Dream if not all. Some people might even have a feeling of migrating to America with the notion that the idea can be achieved wholly, which is unrealistic.

The reality behind the song is that people do not like what is essential for life but instead consider the luxuries like ‘’Benz’’ and get surrounded with palm trees. People are never satisfied with what they need, but want more than their ability to consume; they don’t want kids, spouses or even just a job but are just materialistic. The rich people also fall because they do not have the sight of reality and only focus on the material things. The entire song emphasizes on how people miss the truth and just want to be in a known place, or be famous. People also prefer nice things, but are not ready to work for them. They want a life free of complications and challenges. The American Dream is not all about the personal needs, but it is more of having a lot of money, which can make a person stable without being happy.

Discuss your poem's meaning and tell how the poem intersects with the additional readings and with some or all of the class novels. How does the poem you have chosen help you conclude the main ideas we have been grappling with?

This is our requirements. You did not related to additional readings that we already read in our previous class. Comment by 单双: I listed what we read in our class, you can choose one to relate to this paper.

Week 1:

1. Please read and annotate American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance.

2. Carefully read David Kamp's "Rethinking the American Dream.

http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2009/04/american-dream200904 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

W2:

1. Read Alger’s Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot Blacks.

This is an easy read and it will provide you with a look at street life during the Gilded Age in the the late nineteen hundreds. It will also show us what values Horatio Alger and others of the time period had that made this a go-go economic period that saw the rise of the millionaires Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and JP Morgan. What was this time period's American Dream? Who could achieve it? What would it take to get there? I love this book -- I hope you will too!

There were terrible conditions for the poor, and there were generations of children literally homeless due to death, alcoholism, and poverty. Riis's photos and writings appalled folks in NYC who eventually, slowly, created social services for the poor in the city.

W3:

1. Read Willa Cather’s O Pioneers! (1913)

In this work we will examine the American Dream with an eye to gender. Do women dare to dream too, and what are those dreams? How do they compare with those of men? In this country, women have achieved a measure of equality not common in many parts of the world. How unusual was Alexandra for her place and time? How did the actions of women like her pave the way for the "equality" for women that we see materializing?

W4:

1. Read Richard Wright’s powerful Black Boy: Part one.

This book was published in 1945 and became an instant best-seller.

I have never read a more powerful book about race in America than this one. It is an incredible piece of writing and once you have read it, you will never forget it.

Wright became a permanent ex-patriot eventually and left this country for good.

W5:

1. In the interest of time, we won't be finishing Black Boy, part 2.

The second half of the book highlights Richard's rejection of America and its treatment of Black Americans. He seeks to find connection with the Communist Party in America, because they seem to offer him a chance to be accepted as a man and a thinker, not merely as a man defined by the color of his skin. That this is yet another dreadful disappointment is heartbreaking. When they can't control him, they reject him as a writer.

As a history refresher, you might look into the concept of communism, which abolishes private property and in which the government and thus the people own the means of production of goods and all services. In Russia, which was taken over by Communists after the downfall of Tsar Nicholas in 1917 during World War I, Lenin and party leaders became totalitarian leaders under the principle of Democratic Centralism. They who knew best would lead everyone else with an iron hand. This did not allow for what we would consider "democratic" principles, nor any sort of equality, and the suffering of the Russian people under Soviet rule was horrifying. The Communist Party rule resulted in the deaths of, literally, tens of millions at the hands of their own government.

So, maybe no discussion of the American dream is complete without considering our system of capitalism. In addition, let's take a look at how the materialism of the American Dream has changed the initial message of hope for Americans.

2. "Downsizing the American Dream", by Marianne Cooper, The Atlantic, 2015

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/american-dreams/408535/

In this reading, we are told that perhaps Americans need to downsize their dreams, and proofs are offered from statistical links that show we may be doing just that. I have always been told that America is number 1. We are all familiar with the idea that when America speaks, others listen. We see ourselves as the keepers of freedom around the world. We provide a beacon of hope when disaster happens by providing materials and leadership in reclamation efforts. What is the implication, then, of Cooper's short article? If she is right and Americans are just going to be content, indeed grateful, to tread water and just hold on to eking out a living, how will that affect our future? What have you seen that intersects with Cooper's way of thinking?

3. Please read "The American Nightmare", from Psychology Today. Mar/Apr, 2011 by Lauren Sandler 8 pp.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/201103/the-american-nightmare

W6:

1. Read F Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It would be pretty hard to get through school in the USA without being required to read this acclaimed novel. F. Scott Fitzgerald was the writer who named the 1920s "The Jazz Age." In this book, Fitzgerald creates the shadowy Jay Gatsby, who is fabulously wealthy; but as we will see, money doesn't always get you what you want or what you need. It's an American Tragedy...

You can access the soundtrack to the recent film of The Great Gatsby online. This is the title track by JayZ -- $100 bill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsfwHcHvWtY (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Reference

American dream lyrics - casting crowns. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/American-Dream-lyrics-Casting-Crowns/877BFE0F218D443048256E9C000DB702.

The myth of the american dream. (2017, December 12). Retrieved from http://arnikamaria.hubpages.com/hub/The-Myth-of-the-American-Dream.

What is the "american dream"?. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-american-dream.htm.

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