American Dream Research Paper

Submitted By haleydaprile
Words: 779
Pages: 4
Open Document
The American Dream Growing up, the term “American Dream” seemed to be something that everyone fantasized over. The American Dream is a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and an upward in social mobility achieved through hard work. There are many situations that must go in a persons favor in order for them to be successful in achieving the American Dream. American citizenship, physical condition, and family background affect a person’s chance of achieving this dream. To begin with, the recent immigrants, both legal and illegal, are not as lucky as your typical American citizen. It is obvious that being a legal citizen in the United States of America gives you an overwhelming advantage of achieving any goal you may have in life. Whether it be finding a job, a place to live, or even a getting a drivers license. There are millions of people who have become unsuccessful on the journey over to the US. Illegally smuggling across the United States border certainly did not do you any good (Litotes). In John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice And Men, Lennie asked Crook why he thought that he was unwanted and he replied, “’Cause I’m black. They play cards in there, but I can’t play because I’m black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you, you all of you stink to me,” (Steinbeck, 64). In this case the initial problem here is not necessarily his legal status, but the color of his skin. This goes to show us that from a biased American citizen standpoint, being “different” can play a huge role in determining your success in life. Secondly, the living situation, working situation, and background one comes from can affect their success in achieving the American dream as well. People who were raised without any sort of self-perseverance or responsibility will face a much more difficult time in not only finding a steady, well paying job, but keeping it as well. In the article Afterward: Nickel and Dimed, it explains that “An astounding 29 percent of American families living in what could be more reasonably defined as poverty, meaning that they earned less than a bare-bones budget covering housing, child care, health care, food, transportation, and taxes-though not, it should be noted, any entertainment, meals out, cable TV, Internet service, vacations, or holiday gifts,” (Ehrenreich, 228). This quote is a key example and a wake up call to many that just under a third of our country struggles to afford basic needs on an everyday basis. A lot of times it is not always the persons’ fault for how poorly they were raised. Do you think it is possible for these people to overcome poverty completely and achieve the American Dream before they die? (Rhetorical question)
Finally and most importantly, a person’s physical condition is the key roll in success for our situation. Anywhere from back pain, asthma, and arthritis all the way to a car accident can all affect someone’s working skills in many different ways. Jobs vary in required
Show More

Related Documents: American Dream Research Paper

Argumentative Essay

Argumentative Essay An interracial family of cats lives behind your house. The family includes a blue cat, a red cat and a purple cat. A man wearing a black suit, a blue tie, and carrying a large suit case asks to use your cats in a commercial for IAMS cat food. Would you say yes? Advertisements featuring interracial families have generated vituperative comments online. Nevertheless, interracial families should unquestionably be allowed in commercials for they have influenced alliances between…

Words 530 - Pages 3

Argumentative Essay

English Composition II (ENC-102) Argumentative Essay Public workers go beyond the call of duty more than any other profession, but in many ways are treated worse than workers in the private sector. In the private sector most workers get perks that public workers will never get, such as bonuses and, holidays off. Unionized private sector workers have the legal right to…

Words 616 - Pages 3

Argumentative Essay

Argumentative Essay Cigarettes Should Not Be Banned Word Count: 1057 Tobacco products, cannabis and alcohol are amongst one of the most used recreational drugs in Australia. Australian’s smoke approximately 21 billion cigarettes a year. Advocates against the production, sale and use of cigarettes suggest so on the basis of the associated health risks and smoking as an environmental hazard. However, to consider the banishment of cigarettes does not consider basic human rights to its most simple…

Words 1195 - Pages 5

Toulmin's Argumentative Essay

Assessment of the Generated CHATGPT Argumentative Essay The essay on the pros and cons of artificial intelligence (AI) in the nursing profession is clear and well-constructed according to Toulmin's argumentative essay style. It harbors a strong line by analyzing the pros and cons related to the utilization of AI in nursing, offering a balanced outlook to the argument. The essay discusses numerous advantages of integrating AI into healthcare, including improvements in work efficiency, accuracy, and…

Words 472 - Pages 2

Argumentative Essay: The Odyssey

Yesenia Perez Period 4 12/04/17 The Odyssey Argumentative Essay The Odyssey is a novel by Homer. It is about a Greek king’s journey on his way home from a long war. His son, Telemakhos, is born right as the war starts so he has to leave him and his wife Penelope, until he can return to Ithaka, his home and kingdom. The war lasts 10 long years, but on his way home he finds some very hard obstacles that make it 20 years until he can finally return home to…

Words 573 - Pages 3

Antigone Argumentative Essay

Argumentative Essay Often times in society people are faced with decisions which society believes is right but can be objected by others, whether that be opinion based or due to limitations of some sort or regulations. Others views of limitational ideas should not have an effect on someones end factor. In order to prevent such a thing, is when you must take a stand against it. No matter what the matter may be you should always take a stand against something when one does not agree with it. Even…

Words 679 - Pages 3

Argumentative Essay Answering

Davies­Balogun 1 Alexis Davies­Balogun Freshman Year Seminar Dr. Sara Frear 5 November 2014 Write a 750 ­ 1000­word argumentative essay answering this question: How can the experience of disability contribute to the study of the liberal arts? The meaning of the liberal arts has changed over time due to the societal and cultural contexts that evolve with the world. Because of the continuous change, the world has defined the arts in many various ways, ranging from dance and music to public speaking…

Words 840 - Pages 4

Argumentative Essay

The Thing About “It” This past June of 2013 a young Chilean girl was forced to lose her childhood and innocence in more than one way. Belen had become pregnant with her stepfathers child, whom she had been repeatedly raped by, and because of South American laws will become a mother at the ripe age of eleven. Chile just so happens to be one of the 33 countries across the world where abortion is not an option due to the practice being illegal. Currently, there’s an ongoing debate about if the United…

Words 982 - Pages 4

argumentative essay

Briaunna Daniels Professor Angela Drummond- Mathews ENGL.1301 41215 24 March 2014 Losing Weight Losing weight by exercising is an effective way of a healthier lifestyle; it’s more flexible and reliable. Also, it’s a better chance of a permanent weight loss instead of a quick fix change like getting plastic surgery. You work harder at your goal and get the results that you want. It is a working progress and it has been proven that mostly women rely on the surgery more than men. I am against…

Words 809 - Pages 4

Argumentative Essay

Ideal Male Body Image Portrayed in the Media During a television show I was exposed to the worlds strongest child. This absolutely amazed me because he was only ten years old and had more defined muscles than I had seen before. I didn’t understand how society thought this was an appropriate program to put on television. Society makes this acceptable to portray an ideal body image at such a young age. Having an ideal body means having an attractive and “perfect” body. What is portrayed to be an ideal…

Words 1177 - Pages 5