The American dream is a complex notion that embodies traditions, social and personal values of people. This concept is closely connected with historical and economic development of America, its liberation movement and economic changes. Explaining the American dream it is possible to single out social, personal and economic dimensions that determine this concept. The paper is based on the (b) argument, a simplified definition of the American dream: the American dream can be defined as “the achievement of economic and social advancement through hard work and determination”. Thesis Historical and literary examples demonstrate that American dream is not a myth because there were some people who achieved social position and prosperity through hard work and self-determination, but only few people realized their ‘dreams’.
American dream is often considered a myth because only few people can achieve high social position and prosperity. For many people American dream is unachievable because they cannot fulfill their life expectations and aspirations. The example of Ben Franklin demonstrates that a man can escape from oppressive circumstances through hard work and self-determination. In his Autobiography he writes: ,,I worked hard at my business and spent but little upon myself, except in seeing plays and in books. … I had improved my knowledge, however, though I had by no means improved my fortune; but I had made some very ingenious acquaintance, whose conversation was of great advantage to me, and I had read considerably” (Franklin, p. 53).
Taking into account economic perspectives, American dream is not a myth: it means opportunities for everyone to become rich and prosperous in spite of his background and origin. Arthur Miller and Lorraine Hansberry vividly portray that cultural changes had a great impact on the workaholic cult and customer wants. This process which took place in the first half of the 29th century resulted in the development of the creative sector as an integral part of the American dream. Educational establishments were places where human creativity was cultivated and could flourish. Millions of Americans rather quickly acquired a steady job, a car, and a big house, and debts. Most of them had tried to achieve social mobility but failed limited by gender and racial prejudices, lack of education and financial support. In the Death of a Salesman Happy says: it’s what I always wanted. My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women” (Miller, p. 56). Using the characters of Happy and Biff, Miller vividly portrays that it is impossible to achieve high social position and prosperity without hard work. “The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates a personal interest, is the man who gets ahead” (Miller, p. 59). It is possible to connect this remark with life and political activity of Ben Franklin, who realized all dreams and hopes of the Lomans. Economic development led to increased possibilities of education and the opening up of a greater variety of life chances, but these chances were minor in contrast to high class opportunities.
Free-market capitalism supported (supports) a financial burden of struggling propositions. Also, rapid population growth of poor classes increased burden on the financial resources and social provisions reducing buying potential of a particular individual from poor regions. Lorraine Hansberry demonstrates that the American dream exists but it takes time to fulfill it. The family relies on an insurance check for $10,000 as the only source of money. It is possible to say that the ideas of prosperity enslaved the Youngers who tried to test the American dream and achieve higher social status. Also, these ideas are heated by inequalities between the rich minority and the poor majority. Stressing the need to meet basic needs as the primary driving force towards development, sometimes imaginatively termed the basic needs approach, emphasizes that health and education are motors for productivity and that the basic needs of all sectors must be met. Today, the differences between middle class families and poor are inevitable supported by social and economic constraints and self consciousness of people. In A Raisin in the Sun, Mama comments: ,, So now it’s life. Money is life. Once upon a time freedom used to be life—now it’s money. I guess the world really do change. … You ain’t satisfied or proud of nothing we done. I mean that you had a home; that we kept you out of trouble till you was grown; that you don’t have to ride to work on the back of nobody’s streetcar—You my children—but how different we done become” (Hansberry, p. 5).
If anything explains the goals people pursue it is the social conditioning they receive, high social classes are proud and seek power. The ordinary man is timid and seeks security. The American dream creates “manic” caused by racism and feminism and organized within the state.
Similar to Lorraine Hansberry, Miller cites the example of a working man, Willy Loman who is enslaved and has no time for his family. Willy Loman is a victim of societal influences unable to find his place in the society. In the novel, Miller brings up questions concerning class conflict and accumulation of wealth, power and money, economic relations and exploitation. The wave of new industrial relations forms a new economic relations and world perception. Miller creates in Willy a typical member of the middle class with middle-class ambitions, while at the same time he is a psychological study: self-deluding, a man unable to come to terms with reality. Willy exclaims: “They don’t need me in New York. I’m the New England man. I’m vital in New England” His wife, Linda, replies: “But you’re sixty years old. They can’t expect you to keep traveling every week” (Miller, p. 22). Social and economic uncertainty creates new tensions while reinforcing existing ones. The basic principle of this process is that in social process systems, prosperity are interrelated with the human or social aspects. The basic social and economic processes such as competition, conflict, accommodation and assimilation lead to debts and financial pressure. However a consistent pattern is the great gulf that separates the rich from the poor, and the central role of the state in articulating the relationship between them. It is possible to say that false social values and ideals ruin the notion and idea of American dream and its value.
American dream is not a myth but a reality for many successful leaders. The problem is that many people consider that an American without a car and big house is an outsider, who is unable to settle his life. For this reason, millions of Americans take loans in order to meet the established criteria of prosperity. The main problem of Americans is that they spend more than they earn. Hansberry and Miller underline that financial burden is a direct result of advertising and fashion popularizing luxurious life style and prosperity. Willy fits very closely in with ideas of the American dream: he is a man trapped by a conventional notion of what is ‘right’: the successful man, the man of personality, is defined by his wealth and must, by some process in the ‘great country’, be popular and known. Yet the city rejects this idea, for it is an image of the older form of America, before the city took over. Willy is a product of certain social and economic pressures outside himself, which he misjudges, and by which he is destroyed. In contrast, the example of Ben Franklin shows that a man can fulfill all dreams and becomes the man of personality: ,,I became his zealous partisan, and contributed all I could to raise a party in his favor and combated for him awhile with some hopes of success. There was much scribbling pro and con upon the occasion, and finding that though an elegant preacher he was but a poor writer” (Franklin, p. 96).
In his life, Franklin did not fit into the definition of a ‘successful’ man that society imposed, but he had an ability to battle against these pressures.
In sum, many people do not believe in the American dream limited by social values and prejudices. The American literature demonstrates that the American dream is a reality for many people who have clear personal goals and values. The Lomans and the Youngers achieve much in their life, but become victims of societal influences which impose certain standards and rules for ‘successful’ family. These ideals are created by the society and imposed on its members as undeniable norms and values. The other problem is that people’s occupation or market positions have absolutely no bearing on their self-understanding or interpretation of their social world and neither has any relation to their individual or collective actions, which are quite unpredictable on the basis of either. The Lomans and the Youngers accept social rules and classiness influenced by prejudices and social constraints; they cannot create their personal identity and values. The example of Ben Franklin shows that a person can fulfill his dream if he has the great faith in personal courage that help to realize dreams. For Franklin hard word represents certain criteria of self identity. He sees the American dream as continuity over time and differentiation from others.
Works Cited
- Franklin, B. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (with Introduction and Notes). Macmillan, 1914.
- Hansberry, L. A raisin in the Sun. Vintage, 1994.
- Miller, A. Death of a Salesman: 50th Anniversary Edition, Penguin Books; 50th Annni edition, 1999.