American Dream or American Damned - 1835 Words

Living the American Dream is becoming something farther and farther out of reach for our society, and many don’t even realize it. The current teenage population is projected to be less successful than their parents are. Poverty circumstances that many citizens are born into are increasingly harder to overcome. How can young adults escape the poverty levels in order to become competitive in the professional world when the opportunities are slimmer than ever? American society is becoming harder for those to get ahead and live the American Dream; living above the status quo takes dedication, perseverance, and tenacity. Poverty has many different meanings throughout the world, to some, poverty is a third-world country; however, in America†¦show more content†¦All throughout the world poverty exists, but it is recognized in many different ways. In third world countries it can be someone who literally has nothing, however in the United States it could be someone going throu gh bankruptcy due to lack of medical insurance or losing their job. A small town in Findlay, Ohio has always had programs in place for those affected by poverty. However, the programs were spread throughout the town making it difficult for those in need to reach them all. In order to fix this problem, they combined all their outreach programs into one building in order to make it much easier for people to reach it. The largest obstacle that those in need of these programs face is being able to have the humility to go and ask for help; some people view this as embarrassing. The programs include medical care with pricing based on income, dental work, career assistance, and also food and clothing donations. Programs like this are beginning to have more and more publicity which opens doors for others to give to them. Although programs like this have their limits, they still help those in need at least get a start towards a better life - and also give them something to hope for. Schools have worked towards reforming their student requirements in order toShow MoreRelatedâ€Å"The American Dream has become a death sentence of drudgery, consumerism, and fatalism: a garage800 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The American Dream has become a death sentence of drudgery, consumerism, and fatalism: a garage sale where the best of the human spirit is bartered away for comfort, obedience and trinkets. Its unequivocally absurd.† –Zoltan Istvan. In both This Side of Paradise and This Beautiful and Damned, F. Scott Fitzgerald comments on the corruption of the American Dream. Throughout the beautiful text and prose of his first and second novels, respectively, Fitzgerald mocks the ghastly nightmare the AmericanRead More Setting and Its Effect on Understanding Young Goodman Brown Essay824 Words   |  4 Pagesin the godless wild. The devil has earned a reputation of being the worst of all tricksters. On the worst night of the year, along the scariest path outside of t he birthplace of American witches, Young Goodman Brown met the devil and the devil played a terrible trick on him, or did he? Whether this apparition was a dream or a reality, the devil cursed Young Goodman Brown with a life long distrust of all those around him for his troubles. The setting of Young Goodman Brown is essential in achievingRead MoreAmerican Dream Failure Essay1092 Words   |  5 PagesFailure of the American Dream The American Dream; a reality chased by Americans for centuries, based on the ideas of liberty, happiness and equal right to success for all. But, for F. Scott Fitzgerald the American Dream was a materialistic world of permanent riches and fortune. This distorted perception of the American Dream, shared by many others, resulted in the failure of the real American Dream, a reality where one can live comfortably and safely. Instead, the American Dream became this unattainableRead MoreAmerican Idealism in F. Scoot Fitzgerald ´s The Great Gatsby847 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Gatsby is in modern times the central artistic expression of the American experience.† According to Ross MacDonald, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, was about â€Å"American idealism destroyed by American greed†. (Thompson p.152) This theme of a misinterpreted American Dream was portrayed throughout what is said to be one of Fitzgerald’s most influential works, The Great G atsby. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born in the great capital of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Born into an upper middleRead MoreResponse to Hunter S. Thompsons Ferar and Loathing in Las Vegas1180 Words   |  5 PagesLas Vegas is a travelogue of sorts, due to the blurred lines between fiction and non-fiction, which deeply explores the status of the American Dream during the early 70’s, specifically 1971. Thompson states this purpose within the first three chapters of the book in the line, â€Å"Because I want you to know that we’re on our way to Las Vegas to find the American Dream.† (Famp;L pg 6) Although Thompson states in the beginning of the book that, â€Å"Our trip was different. It was a classic affirmation ofRead MoreAnne Rice: A Brief Biography750 Words   |  3 Pageswritten other books. Rice’s books have sold on the verge of 100 million copies, which placed her amongst the most appreciated authors in American history. Her mate was Stan Rice who breathed his last breath from brain cancer in 2002 at age 60. Anne Rice had two progenies: Michelle Rice, which months before Rice’s daughter became ailing, Rice had a divinatory dream that declared that there was â€Å"something wrong with her blood.† Michelle breathed her last breath from acute granulocytic leukemia onRead MoreFear, Loathing, By Hunter S. Thompson s Novel, Fear And Loathing1390 Words   |  6 PagesThe American Dream is the phrase and trademark of American society today that many hope to achieve in some point in their lives. In Hunter S. Thompson’s novel, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, readers follow Thompson depicted as Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo in hoping to find the American Dream. It uses Gonzo Journalism, a style that is an adaption of Picaresque narrative to document his drug-induced experiences traveling through 1970’s Las Vegas. The Picaresque novels are composed of first-personRead Mo rePuritanism And Its Impact On Society1508 Words   |  7 PagesEngland in the late 16th century. Nobody could suppose that its followers would define the destiny of the United States of America. Puritanism should be recognized by people as a phenomenon that provided the ethical basis of this country because the American society in a way everyone can see it nowadays takes roots in the times of British colonization. Puritans Migration The teaching of Puritanism arose in the British Isles around 1560, â€Å"when dissident members of the Church of England, still the motherRead More Death Of A Salesman - Minor Characters Essay565 Words   |  3 Pagesrepresent two aspects of Willys ideals. Howard, Willys boss, functions in order to heighten the destruction of Willys dream. The characters Ben, Charley and Howard are influential in the plays outcome and help develop the main character, Willy. Ben is a figment of Willys imagination who represents his idealistic view of prosperity. Ben is symbolic of the success of the American Dream. quot;when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was richquot;(48)Read MoreThe Great Gatsby Modernism1513 Words   |  7 PagesOne strong theme of modernism in literature is the attack and or decline of The American Dream. The American Dream is the idea that everyone, men, and women, have an equal opportunity to achieve wealth, success and or happiness through determination, and hard work, in other words, the pursuit of happiness. Two writers that illustrate this theme of modernism are F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, and Ernest Hemingway, author of The Sun Also Rises. From the outside, one may think The