How To Achieve The American Dream

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Services, 2005

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Psychological Science, 2003

Recent research has demonstrated that aspiring to the American Dream of financial success has negative consequences for various aspects of psychological well-being. The present longitudinal study examining the relation between the goal for financial success, attainment of that goal, and satisfaction with various life domains found that the negative impact of the goal for financial success on overall life satisfaction diminished as household income increased. The negative consequences of the goal for financial success seemed to be limited to those specific life domains that either concerned relationships with other people or involved income-producing activities, such as one's job; satisfactions with two of those life domains, however, were among the strongest predictors of overall life satisfaction in this sample of well-educated respondents in their late 30s. The negative consequences were particularly severe for the domain of family life; the stronger the goal for financial suc...

LUBLIN STUDIES IN MODERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE, 2024

My article examines Imbolo Mbue's novel Behold the Dreamers (2016), as a literary representation of the American Dream myth from two opposite sides: the old-stock, white Americans and the recent African immigrants. Through the lens of the protagonist's legal status, social class, race, and gender, I explore the factors that obstruct the attainment of the American Dream, revealing its gaps and elisions. I argue that Mbue's novel is both a representation of and a critical response to the Dream's appeal premised upon the notion that it is as difficult to attain as to maintain the American Dream. By discussing those aspects that still support the Dream in the 21 st century's socioeconomic environment, and illuminating those that debunk its myth, I assess its vitality and aspirational power.

An Analysis of American Society in the Early Nineteenth Century through the eyes of De Tocqueville and others

Молодий вчений

The concept AMERICAN DREAM is a mental unit, a compound set of ideas marked by national and cultural specificity. The meaning of this concept for each individual changes depending on the interpretations of the ethical and moral values of the representative of the linguaculture, the context it is used in and historical period when it is mentioned. The concept AMERICAN DREAM can have both positive and negative aspects of understanding at the same time. Complex coloring and features of the subtext may vary completely in different contexts. AMERICAN DREAM is considered to be as something unattainable. This concept is interpreted the example of an ideal life in which all luxuries are present, such as a house, family, children and pets. The concept AMERICAN DREAM is quite popular at all times. So it is often used in all cultures. Features of exact interpretation of ideal type of life differ according to the overview of the culture. If we speak about Ukrainian young respondents, they imagi...

2013

The American Dream has been the inspiration of many political speeches, political writings, and works of literature throughout American history. Most recently, it has inspired political groups like the Center for the New American Dream and academic groups like the Xavier University Center for the Study of the American Dream. As of late, the notion of the American Dream has begun to crop up more often than not in main stream political discourse, especially surrounding the topic of immigration with the aptly named Dream Act. Why has the American Dream drawn this new attention and inquiry? Why and how is it important to American Political thought? What does it mean? Why does it endure? As a complex issue of American culture, this thesis will use disparate methods of analysis to form answers to these questions. The American Dream is often referred to as our national myth. It is comprised of the many ideals and narratives which undergird American politics and culture. Through examination of literary works of fiction and of political texts, this research will examine the meaning and the history of the American Dream. Then, using secondary survey data, this research will examine the implications and state of the American Dream. Finally, to answer the question of why the American Dream endures, this research will employ elements of psychoanalytic and Marxist theory to argue that the Dream works as a cycle of American political thought.

Bridgespan Group, 2006