American Dream Essay

Vanessa Victorio

Ms.Brannon

AP Language and Composition

11 March 2017

The Reality of the American Dream

The American Dream is a unique aspiration that is offered to everyone that resides in the U.S. First coined by James Truslow Adams in The Epic of America, he defined the dream as a life that “should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” In other words, because everyone is an individual and different, they should achieve a life where they are wealthier and fuller according to their standards. For majority of people today, it is a dream where people are able to achieve prosperity and success through hard work and effort. Some may say that the American Dream is available to whomever wants to pursue it, however, due to racial, income, and gender inequality, the American Dream is only an illusion for many people.

While Adams defined the American Dream during the 1930s, today there are many who believe that it is still alive and attainable. In Tim Roemer’s America Remains the World’s Beacon of Success, Roemer explains and provides evidence of why America is wonderful and is ideal for people that want to succeed. He mentions that the U.S remains to be the “beacon of success” when it comes to higher education, for its universities are ranked as one of the best schools of the world (Roemer 619). In addition, when he visited India, students who lived there told Roemer that they wanted to study in America to achieve the American Dream. The U.S is highly praised for its academic achievements and while this may be the case, Roemer fails to realize that not everyone is able to obtain those opportunities. The Pew Research Team, a non-biased fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes, and trends shaping America and the world, wrote an excerpt called King’s Dream Remains an Elusive Goal; Many American See Racial Disparities, that concluded from its analysis that the economic gulf between blacks and whites that was “present half a century ago largely remains.” In addition, there were charts on Median Household Income and Wealth that displayed how the gaps have widened, with whites increasing and blacks decreasing. It is implied from this evidence that blacks face more difficulties obtaining the American Dream as opposed to whites, making it harder for blacks to achieve the American Dream. Thus, the American Dream is an illusion since blacks have to work harder because of their color, for a dream that is said to be attainable for “everyone."

Another reason to why the American Dream is unattainable is because the income inequality between the bottom 90% and the top 0.1% is widening as the years continue. The gap between the rich and everyone else, has been growing significantly, which implies that the American Dream is becoming harder to accomplish for majority of the nation. Data researchers Marc Priester and Aaron Mendelson provide graphs on the amount of money those in the bottom and the top receive. For instance, for the U.S Average Income as of 2014, the bottom 90% receive 184 times less income than the top 0.1%. In addition, in a bar graph that displays the U.S Real Weekly Wages from 1979-2014, the bottom 10% have seen little to no growth in their real weekly wages, as opposed to the top 10% which has increased by about $476. Money can make a significant difference between obtaining a house and barely being able to rent an apartment, so for majority of the nation to not have a well income, it prevents them from achieving the American Dream. Everyone is supposed to be given the same chance and opportunity to achieve the dream, except they are not.

The final reason to why the American Dream is unachievable is because women are also not able to accomplish or reach it. For generations, women have been fighting for equal rights, especially when it comes to equal pay. In an article written by CNN, studies show that typically, women are paid 79% of what men are paid. Not only that, but factors such as where you live, your age, ethnicity, race, and education level can also affect your pay. For instance, while women in general get paid 79% of what men are paid, hispanic women specifically are paid 54% of what white men are paid - which is almost half percent. CNN explains that if it continues at this rate, women won't be able to earn equal pay until 2059, according to the Institute for Women's Policy Research. A nation cannot progress if people are being hindered from what they want to achieve because if women are not able to obtain a rightful pay, this only prevents them from achieving the American Dream at an even greater cost. The American Dream is said to be for all, but it is false if so many factors in today's society are preventing that.

Everyone wants to achieve the American Dream and while it sounds ideal, people who wish to achieve it, fail to view the realities behind it. Certain people are being hindered from it simply because of who they are and the situation they are in. It is unfair if the dream is only applied to one specific group of people. If it is aimed towards one group, why is it called the American Dream? Shouldn’t it include the people who make up America?

Works Cited:

• Adams, James Truslow. "Epilogue." The Epic of America: Illustr. by M.J. Gallagher. New York: Blue Ribbon, 1941. N. pag. Print.
• Roemer, Tim. "America Remains the World's Beacon of Success." The Washington Post. WP Company, 19 Jan. 2012. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.
• Caumont, Andrea. "King’s Dream Remains Elusive Goal." Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project. N.p., 22 Aug. 2013. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

• Priester, Marc, and Aaron Mendelson. "Income Inequality." Inequality.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

• Ford, Dana. "When, Where and Why Women Earn Less than Men." CNN. Cable News Network, 12 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.