Tobias Ellis

Dr. Adrienne Cassel

Eng 1201

21 November 2017

The American Dream

It is said that people have different goals in life based on the background they come from.

This could include rich, poor, white, black, american, foreign, etc. These goals of life are all

summed up and described in one term known as the American Dream. Although there are many

different opinions surrounding this terms validity, it continues to exist. The specific topic at

hand discusses the difference in the idea of the American Dream between people who are born

into money versus people who are not born into money or in poverty.

The scientific definition of the term American Dream describes it to be an idea that

conveys equality of freedom and opportunity between each and every american (Merriam-

Webster). Some significant discussions that have been brought up about this topic include:

materialism and its connection to the american dream, effects on children, and how the level of

struggle throughout life to rise in economic status can contribute to individual's idea of the

American Dream. Materialism refers to the realization that physical items are more highly

significant than anything else (Merriam-Webster). This is one of the most important things to

consider when tackling the target question.

Materialism seems to be a common theme when the idea of the American Dream comes

up. Whether people born into money or without money can determine if they are more or less

materialistic which in turn can affect their view of the American Dream. An article by Yoon

Sunyee explains that materialistic consumers who have achieved a higher economic status spend
less impulsively than consumers who have achieved a lower economic status who spend more

impulsively (KADA). This connects further to the American Dream because people not born into

money are always trying to find ways to look or feel like they have it whereas, people with

money dont need to, allowing for them to focus their money in more useful areas. This can also

be seen in the book, The Great Gatsby. The storyline follows a man not born of money whose

main goal is to learn all about the Great Gatsby, a man born or money. All of the people below

Gatsby constantly try to finds ways to be as much like him as possible by buying clothes,

attending his parties regularly, and plotting on others while Gatsby himself, is concerned with

things that do not concern money such as love.

Another commonly related issue with the American Dream has to do with children. The

Opportunity Nation says that certain numbers of youth are disconnected from the world because

of the fact that they are born into poverty (Opportunity Nation). Many adolescents are not able to

live a life that could possibly give them the same aspirations of children who are born into

money. In fact, they often hold goals that do not even meet their full potential. This is also

shown in the film, A Raisin in the Sun. There is a poor family with members of all different ages

from adolescent to elderly. The youngest son is one of the main focuses in the family seeing as

all of the adults would rather him have a better life than them but they cannot provide that

considering their situation. Therefore, the son takes part in actions that he believes will make him

seem like all of the other more economically well-off kids.

More research can be done on this topic in the case of these children with their economic

level at birth, in relation to their parents. Researchers at AARP in Washington, D.C. completed a

study on the different generations and their correlation with each other while discussing the

American Dream. Many different pieces of data were collected including the idea that as the
generations continue, children will be less inclined to achieve more out of life and rather just be

able to pay their monthly bills and get by(AARP).This research could go further to find out

what has changed that makes new generations have less ambitions and more small-mindedness.

It can be said that there are issues with the term, American Dream as discussed by many

different sources. From organizations like the Opportunity Nation to simple articles like the

Keeping the American Dream Alive it can be seen that there is a huge gap between the dreams of

children born into money and the ones born without. Also, from films like A Raisin in the Sun to

books like The Great Gatsby it can be seen that children in particular are affected heavily by the

difference of opportunity in America from birth. No matter what source speaks on the idea of the

American Dream, there are multiple common beliefs that there are differences in the perception

of the term depending on a persons early family economic status.

Works Cited

A Raisin in the Sun. Directed by Kenny Leon, American Broadcasting Company, 2008.
David, Patty, et al. "Generation X and Its Evolving Experience with the American

Dream." Generations, vol. 4, no. 3, 2017, pp. 77-83.

Sunyee, Yoon and Hyeongmin Christian Kim. "Keeping the American Dream Alive: The

Interactive Effect of Perceived Economic Mobility and Materialism on Impulsive

Spending." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR), vol. 53, no. 5, Oct. 2016, pp. 759-772.

EBSCOhost, doi:10.1509/jmr.15.0053.

The Problem: The American Dream Is at Risk. Opportunity Nation,

opportunitynation.org/the-problem/.

West, Clare, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. The Great Gatsby. Oxford University Press, 2013.