American Dream

To me, the American Dream is defined by our freedoms as Americans. We know

that as Americans, we can work hard at something and have the ability to achieve it. In

most other countries, they live without that possibility of success, they live with no

chance of succeeding, even from the start. In essence, it is this ability to gain what we

want that defines our nation- from the work ethic initiated by our Puritan ancestors, to

accomplishing our goals. The American Dream is our chance, as Americans, to succeed

in whatever we do.

Society sees the American Dream as accomplishing or even having the chance to

accomplish your goals. For example, when describing Moss Hart’s taxi ride, David Kamp

quotes, “It was possible in this wonderful city for that nameless little boy- for any of its

millions- to have a decent chance to scale the walls and achieve what they wished”

(Kamp). By this the author is saying that the American Dream is the chance for people to

achieve what they wanted. Later on in the reading, Kamp shows a different view of the

American Dream, describing it as, “A surge of shamefaced patriotism overwhelmed me”

(Kamp). By this quote, Kamp is saying how awesome it is to be an American, and how

experiencing patriotism can be a part of the American Dream. Later on, the American

Dream takes on a material sense, as shown when Kamp writes, “Home ownership was the

fundamental goal, but, depending on who was doing the dreaming, the package might

also include car ownership, television ownership (which multiplied from 6 million to 60

million sets in the U.S. between 1950 and 1960), and the intent to send one’s kids to

college” (Kamp). This quote shows how the American Dream transformed itself into a

material sense, where owning things was how you accomplished the Dream. Later on, the
American Dream changes yet again, as shown when Kamp writes, “The American Dream

was now almost by definition unattainable, a moving target that eluded people’s grasp;

nothing was ever enough. It compelled Americans to set unmeetable goals for themselves

and then consider themselves failures when these goals, inevitably, went unmet” (Kamp).

This description shows that the American Dream became harder to achieve because you

could never get enough stuff. The American Dream went through many changes, and

became harder to achieve through time.

Through the generations, the American Dream has changed as well. For instance,

I interviewed my sister, mom, and grandma, and discovered different views about the

American Dream. For example, my sister quoted, “I have always wanted to get a good

job to make a living” (Patrick, C.). This shows that one of her main objectives is to make

money, showing that the American Dream is currently very materialistic. In contrast, my

mom didn’t really care about making money, she cared more about raising a good family,

as shown when she says, “She was a stay at home mom whose primary responsibility was

taking care of the home and her kids… I thought she had the perfect life” (Patrick, D.).

This shows that in my mom’s generation, raising her family right was the most important

aspect of the American Dream, and that money didn’t matter as long as she raised her

kids right and was happy. Again different, my grandma saw her top ideals as her, “church

and faith, and being a service to mankind” (Patrick, S.). This shows that Christianity had

a big influence on my grandma’s generation, and that being morally good was her form

of the American Dream. Comparatively, when asked what kinds of achievements were

expected of her, my sister quoted, “get a good job, and raise a nice family” (Patrick, C.).

Once again Carina focused at least partially on material gains, but she did include the
overriding trait of raising a nice family that seems prevalent in all three generations.

However, when I asked my mom the same question, she responded that, “For me, there

was always an assumption that I would follow in my mother’s footsteps; go to college,

get married, and raise a family” (Patrick, D.). So in my mom’s generation, education was

far more highly valued than in previous generations, and yet the materialism wasn’t there.

However, hers and my sister’s generations are similar in their expectations to raise a good

family. My grandma similarly said that marriage and family life were a part of her plan

and her American Dream, so I think that that is a very strong component of the American

Dream. The American Dream changed throughout generations, but some overriding

themes, such as a strong family unit, remained intact across generations.

The American Dream strongly affects how I pursue activities, both in school and

extracurricular. No matter what I do, it works towards my American Dream. Whether that

dream will change from the present dreams of materialism, I’m not sure, but I know that I

hope to raise a good family, just as my relatives said. From the movie, Miracle, I learned

that if you work hard on something, your hard work could pay off. Because of this, I plan

to work hard, and keep my grades up so I can get into the college I want, and from there

keep all my Dreams alive. It won’t always be easy, but because I’m an American, I know

it will pay off if I work hard enough. Things like this are what make me proud to be an

American.
 Works Cited

Kamp, David. “Rethinking the American Dream.” Vanity Fair. April 2009.

Miracle. Dir. Gavin O’Connor. Walt Disney Pictures, 2004.

Patrick, Carina. E-mail interview. 3 Sept. 2010.

Patrick, Denise. E-mail interview. 3 Sept. 2010.

Patrick, Sue. Personal interview. 1 Sept. 2010.