Myth and heroes American Dream

A myth can be defined as a traditional or fictitious story, which tries to guide the society towards certain values, or some ideal. Usually it is composed of unreal facts and actions, often led by a hero. A hero is a courageous person who is ready to accomplish extraordinary deeds. Some heroes are famous for standing up against devil, we call them superheroes. Whereas, some heroes are real-life people who fight against a given order, they refuse it and challenge it such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King or some others. These persons are admired and considered as a role model or an icon. We can wonder in what extent theses documents are relevant illustrations of the notion. And more generally, we will try to explain how Myths and Heroes have influenced the society?

First we will talk about a young heroine of our time, Malala; then we will present you some American heroes who changed the vision of the black community and then we will focus on a myth, the American Dream.

The American Dream :

The American dream is older than the USA itself – it dates back to the XVIIth century, when people began to have hopes for what was a new and largely unexplored continent to European immigrants. People dreamt of owning land and establishing a prosperous business and hoped that this would make them happier.

In the XIX and XXth century, the myth could be defined as the belief that everyone in the US had the chance to be successful and happy if they worked hard. It means that people, trough their determination could become rich and, thus this myth is a symbol of success.

Today’s definition of the American dream is much different. Most people nowadays hope that they will get married, have two children and live in a big traditional home.;rather than looking for great wealth or success which nevertheless are important.

We can relate the American Dream to a song of 2012, “the American land” which speaks about immigration and the desire to know a better life. A man wants to go to America because he heard wonderful things about the country. Indeed, at the beginning of the song he defines the States as a paradise where there are diamonds, jobs and that candies grow up on the trees. The USA are seen as the promise land where everything is possible. Thus, the description is idealised

However, at the end the singer repeats, “ they died” 3 times. Here, he is criticizing the American Dream because the migrants think that they can become wealth only working in America, in fact some can succeed but most of them don’t. The hero of the song, he, didn’t make success.

That’s why the American Dream is a myth.

Some politicians such as Barack Obama or celebrities like Ophrah Winfrey and Bill Gates can embody the American Dream and are even considered as heroes.

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