American Dream

Myths and heroes are generally linked to one another: myths are popular beliefs or stories that are usually embodied by heroes, and some heroes, real or fictitious, have become mythical characters.

I’ve chosen to talk about the American Dream.

I’ll try to answer the following question: is the American Dream a myth or a reality?

First, I’ll explain the origin of the American Dream and the values it is based on (freedom, hard work, self-reliance…). Then I’ll mention some people who’ve made the American Dream come true (earliest immigrants, celebrities…). Finally, I’ll focus on those whose hopes proved to be un realistic and I’ll question people’s loss of faith in the American Dream.

The American Dream is generally considered a founding myth of the United States that was shaped the American identity. It’s the idea that everybody, whatever their origin or their social background, has a right to freedom and happiness and can achieve success and prosperity through hard work and determination. It was the belief of the first European settlers who wanted to get away from the models of the Old World; these values passed on from one group of immigrants to the other on from one generation to the other…

Now, I’ll mention successful immigrants who started from scratch and fulfilled their dream. Levi Strauss, the inventor of blue jeans, is perhaps more representative of the American Dream than any other. He was born in 1829 in Buttenheim, Germany, in the state of Bavaria. He moved to New York with his family in 1847. In 1853 he came to San Francisco and founded one of the iconic American companies, Levi Strauss & Co. The company began manufacturing clothing in the 1870s, and its signature product, 501 blue jeans, has become synonymous with freedom, individuality, the American Dream.

Similarly, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian immigrant become actor and politician, is a living embodiment of the American Dream.

Many people climbed the social ladder and made their American Dream sending back the world the view of success and prosperity.

But the American Dream is in constant evolution. Indeed, it is more and more questioned today, at a time when starting from scratch in the USA has becomes harder than ever. For example, we have seen that a lot of Mexican immigrants cross the United States border, looking for a better life. Poverty-stricken, they run away from their country in hope to live free from want. But integration is difficult: torn between two cultures, Mexican immigrants find it hard to bridge the gap between the two cultures. They have difficulties to earn one’s living and as an illegal immigrant they have a low-paid job. Their living conditions are difficult: as an undocumented worker they don’t have a green card. Accordingly, they are unable to live in legal residences. For all these reasons the American Dream is closer to the dream than to the reality for these people.

In a nutshell, the American Dream has always been both a myth and a reality. Even today, many people leave everything behind to get to the US, hoping for a better life. That’s why I think the American Dream is still alive. However, in 2016, Donald Trump was elected President mostly on an anti-immigration program making the American Dream more and more difficult.

...