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The Development of the American Dream

The American Dream can be reviewed in a multitude of contexts, whether it be a person’s definition of the Dream or the argument of whether it exists. White and Hanson explore the depths of the American Dream in their book “The American Dream in the 21 st Century” and discuss it through many different lens’. One that caught my eye was the chapter Whose Dream? Gender and the American Dream . This chapter divulges into the definition of the American Dream and what it means for different genders. In this chapter White ad Hanson used a series of surveys from 1998 to 2009 to see the difference in thoughts about the American Dream between men and women over time. The authors provide this statistical analysis to further develop their claims about the Dream and conclude that “the definition of the American Dream is multifaced” (78). They came to this conclusion by reviewing the statistical data over the course of the decade, which did change but had similar trends over time. Overall, “more...
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The Two Sides of the American Dream

            The American Dream is something so often referenced throughout America in all aspects of life. Television satirizes it, advertisements boast to have achieved it, and some people personify it. In its simplest form, the dream is this: work hard, achieve goals. This is something most Americans can agree on. When Walter R. Fisher in his speech “Reaffirmation and Subversion of the American Dream” defines the dream as two separate definitions, I’ll admit, I was a little thrown off at first.             Fisher separates the American Dream into two dreams, or myths: materialistic and moralistic. The materialistic side represents the rags to riches story of the American Dream, the idea that if you begin as a lower-class American you can work your way up to anything. The moralistic side represents the brotherhood of the American Dream, that everyone is equal and should be ...
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The Assumptions of Americans

            Gary Althen in his chapter “American Values and Assumptions” highlights American values and how they differ from those of other countries. I have lived in America my entire life, only travelling out of the country once, and I found that all the values Althen highlighted were apparent in American society, to a certain extent. No matter what, these American values established with the birth of this nation have persevered, despite wars, protests, and changes throughout the country.             One American value Althen touched upon, time, seemed to be speaking to me directly. As a freshman at San Diego State University I am majoring in Hospitality with an emphasis in Meetings and Events. With this degree I hope to plan events, particularly weddings. Many people ask how I stumbled upon this choice for degree, because it is so specific and uncommon. Honestly, my answe...
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The Union

            In Barack Obama’s speech “A More Perfect Union” he addresses the rumors that have dispersed about him during the 2008 presidential election. Obama was accused of various things throughout the election, unfortunately having to address them to reestablish himself as a candidate. In this speech, Obama responds to American concerns with strategies that allow him to relate to his audience and restore his trustworthiness as a political candidate.             Despite being accused of having a foreign country as origin, looking different, and being Muslim, Obama cordially addresses the American public, referring to himself and Americans as “we”. Grouping himself along with his accusers allowed Obama to convey the idea that he was no different than ordinary Americans. He proposes a solution for questioning Americans, stating that “we cannot solve the challenges of our tim...
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The Thonney Method

In Teresa Thonney’s article “Teaching the Conventions of Academic Discourse” she generalizes ways to approach academic writing, suggesting professors use these conventions to teach their classes. Conveniently, Thonney incorporated six suggestions early on in her article, making it easy to read. By structuring the article and separating it into sections with subheadings, it allowed her article to flow easily, something we can all appreciate. Although students are not the main audience, I found her suggestions to teachers helpful in my own writing.             Thonney’s first convention, “Academic Writers Respond to What Others Have Written about Their Topic”, is something I often did in my RWS 100 class. Throughout the semester we were asked to respond to other texts, evaluate their arguments, and provide evidence as to why it was weak or strong. I was constantly referring to other authors, addressing important topics, and elabora...
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The Dead Dream

            Is the dream dead? As a class, we read the introduction of The American Dream in the 21 st Century by Hanson and White which discusses the endurance of the American Dream and its ability to withstand anything. Now, we are reading a book that discusses the death of the American Dream and how it is no longer alive. This opposition of ideas exposes the differentiation of ideals in our society today. The question I have now: who is right?             In a way, all the authors are. Noam Chomsky in his Requiem for the American Dream argues that the class mobility that the American Dream once was made up of has collapsed. The idea that “You’re born poor, you work hard, you get rich” is now unattainable (Chomsky, xi). We live in a world where it is no longer possible for everyone to get a decent job, buy a home, get a car, or have their children go to school. To this extent, I agree. America...
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The Individual Dream

            The American Dream. Something we’ve all heard of, maybe even something we’ve all discussed in a class or two. It may even be something we’ve thought of for ourselves. We’ve all imagined the future, whether we were eight years old and all we wanted to do was be a high school athlete, we were fifteen ½, counting down the days until we could drive ourselves places and get away from our over-bearing parents, or maybe it’s this year, and we are looking forward to graduating from college and getting our first “grown up” job. No matter the age, circumstance, or background, we’ve all imagined the future. Some of us have planned more ahead than others, but nevertheless, we all have our own version of the American Dream.             Sandra Hanson and John White have theirs. In the introduction of their book The American Dream in the 21 st Century , Hanson and White made it clear that the American ...
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