The American Dream: In Life and Literature

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date The American Dream: In Life and Literature Introduction The American Dream has not only provided hope to the American people but also people from around the world. It is based on the premise that regardless of where one comes from, success is achievable as long as individuals put in the effort and hard work (Newman 2). The number of illegal immigrants is evidence that many people are willing to do whatever it takes, even risk their lives, just to get a share of the American Dream. However, the American Dream has been criticized by some individuals, citing that it is unattainable and unrealistic. The American Dream offers hopes for economic empowerment for all people in America and failure to achieve economic success is viewed as a sign of personal failure. This paper aims at exploring whether the American Dream exists for all and whether it provides those who are willing to work with equal chances at real success. The paper posits that while the American dream exists, it is not available and accessible to every individual in America. Does the American Dream Exist for all People in America? Over the years, there have been many questions on whether the American Dream is available to all individuals in America, citizens or otherwise. These questions, mostly stem from the current state of discrimination against certain groups of people within the country. The question should not be on whether the American Dream exists, but whether it is accessible to everyone in America. To better explore and understand the issue of accessibility, it is important to focus on certain groups of people in the U.S. who have experienced the American Dream differently. Immigrants Many people have moved to the U.S., both legally and illegally, in pursuit of the American Dream (Neuman 93). These immigrants have faced challenges in this country that gave them hope and a promise of success. The differences in socio-economic status among immigrants are an indication that the American Dream does not exist for all people in America. Some can reach the dream while others spend their life struggling. According to Ruist (2), the ancestry of immigrants has affected their access to the American Dream, even among higher-generation immigrants. Given that higher generation immigrants have been born and raised by parents who were also born and raised in America, access to the American Dream should not be such a challenge. Lopez, Gonzalez-Barrera, and Krogstad indicate that only 66% of the higher generation immigrants believe that they are doing better than their parents, as compared to 80% of foreign-born immigrants. However, this provides evidence that access to the Dream is not available to all Americans and more so, among immigrants. Lopez, Gonzalez-Barrera and Krogstad, in a Pew Research Center study revealed that a majority of Latino immigrants believe in the American Dream more than the average American, yet they find it hard to reach than the average American. The fact that they believe in the American Dream implies that they are willing to work hard to achieve success, yet, in reality, they are unable to achieve the dream. This could be attributed to the level of ethnic consciousness, but ultimately, it is an indication of poor accessibility to the American Dream due to varying backgrounds among those living in America. Citizens American citizens, whether by birth or otherwise, have not been able to achieve the American dream as would be expected. Research by Geiger at Pew Research Center revealed that only 36% of the total Americans had achieved the American Dream, indicating that a high number of Americans are struggling to achieve the American dream. This data indicates that while the American Dream exists, it is not easily accessible to everyone. 17% of Americans state that the American dream is out of reach for them (Geiger). This could be attributed to some reasons such as gender and income inequality among Americans. Take for instance the wage gap between men and women in America. For every dollar earned by men, women make approximately 75 cents (Newman 10), which is not a reflection of their hard work or determination. In reality, women who put the same effort as men in performing similar tasks end up earning less than their male counterpart, a revelation that the American Dream is less accessible to women. Newman (10) posit that this aspect of corporate America creates high levels of dissatisfaction with the American Dream among women . Instead of creating hopes for women, it demotivates them and even when they work twice as hard as men for recognition; the benefits do not reflect the ethos of the American Dream. This is to say that while the American dream exists, it is not available to every citizen living in the U.S. Also, the accessibility to the American Dream is also influenced by socio-economic status. This can explain why women feel that they are lagging in achieving the American Dream. According to Newman (17), women’s belief in the American Dream is largely impacted by economic outcomes that can be termed as tangible and group-level based. This is to imply that a lot of American women believe that the American Dream is not equally accessible to all groups because the resources available to women are limited when compared to those available to men. The status of an individual varies not only due to the level of income but also due to the level of education. As revealed by Geiger, 24 % of Americans with high school education claim that it is hard to achieve the American dream while only 9% of Americans with a college education claim the same. This proves that the American Dream is not accessible to all because the level of education does not always reflect a person’s determination and hard work. In an article published in The Economist , it was revealed that the American dream is not available in many neighborhoods because children raised in those neighborhoods have limited access to resources. As such, these children never get opportunities to attain a college education, not because they lacked determination but because they lacked resources. In the end, they are u...