a thesis for the american dream

American Dream Essay: Guidelines for an A+ Paper

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The American Dream is a recurring controversial topic in modern society. Individuals have developed different arguments to deconstruct what an American Dream essay is in a particular context of day-to-day life. In an academic setting, learners who engage in this discourse hold a particular weight of a proper expression of their arguments. Further on, a structured essay and its format are analyzed with a focus on an introduction, main body, and conclusion of a five-paragraph template. Moreover, a unique process of topic selection, outline development, and structured writing is exemplified using an essay titled “The Promise of the American Dream.” Other recommendations on narrow-scoped topics in order to explore a concept are provided as a starting point that students can use when writing their papers.

General Aspects

In contemporary discourse, there is much controversy over a simple meaning of the American Dream. Basically, people hold different positions on multiple aspects of such a concept in their essays and research papers. During schooling years, it is important to acquire writing skills and benefit significantly from reflecting on a particular influence of students’ recently acquired knowledge on their position regarding controversial topics. Upon completing a reflection essay process, a particular expression of one’s newly defined position is a next step in order to obtain writing skills. As such, a common format of an American Dream essay is presented to introduce readers to basic principles behind a concept. Moreover, a typical structure of a five-paragraph essay is explored with a valid support of an outline and a template. Finally, students may include different ideas in their compositions and need to avoid common mistakes.

What Is an American Dream Essay and Its Purpose

According to its definition, an American Dream essay explores unique ideals and aspirations that define a particular concept of the American Dream, which is rooted in a belief that anyone, regardless of background, can achieve success and recognition through hard work, determination, and initiative. The main purpose of writing an American Dream Essay is to critically examine a unique concept of the American Dream from various perspectives, considering its meaning, historical origins, evolution, and current relevance (Rogers, 2024). Such a composition involves analyzing social, economic, and political factors, and they shape people’s ability to achieve their goals and possible opportunities and barriers that some of them may face. In writing, an American Dream essay aims to offer a deeper understanding of what the American Dream means to different individuals and communities and encourages readers to learn about its impact on their lives and society in general (Cogni, 2019). In terms of pages and words, the length of an American Dream essay depends on academic levels and specific writing requirements, while general guidelines are:

High School

• Length: 2-4 pages
• Word Count: 500-1,000 words

College (Undergraduate)

• Length: 4-6 pages
• Word Count: 1,000-1,500 words

University (Advanced Undergraduate)

• Length: 6-10 pages
• Word Count: 1,500-2,500 words

Master’s

• Length: 14-24 pages
• Word Count: 3,500-6,000 words
• Length: 24-52 pages (as part of a dissertation or another research paper)
• Word Count: 6,000-13,000 words

Note: Some sections of an American Dream essay can be added, deleted, or combined with each other, while a particular number of body paragraphs depends on writing instructions. In turn, to start an American Dream essay, authors begin with a compelling introduction that defines a particular concept of the American Dream, presents its significance, and introduces their thesis statements, setting up a stage for a thoughtful exploration of a given topic.

Steps on How to Write an American Dream Essay

To write an American Dream essay, people thoroughly research a particular topic, develop a clear thesis, support their arguments with historical context, valid examples, and credible evidence, address various perspectives, and conclude by summarizing key points and reflecting on an actual relevance of success today.

• Choose a Particular Focus: Decide on a specific aspect of a quest for success to write about, such as its definition, historical evolution, or relevance today.
• Conduct Research: Gather information from credible sources, like books, academic articles, and reputable websites to support your essay and its writing.
• Develop a Thesis Statement: Provide a clear, well-structured, and concise thesis statement and cover your main argument or perspective on a pursuit of opportunity.
• Create a Brief Outline: Organize your main points and supporting evidence into a structured outline to guide your writing.
• Write an Introduction: Introduce a particular concept of the American Dream, provide some background information, and present your thesis statement.
• Compose Body Paragraphs: Write detailed paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of a vision of success, supported by evidence and analysis.
• Include Personal Examples: If applicable, incorporate personal examples or experiences to illustrate your points and make your essay more personal.
• Address Counterarguments: Consider and address opposing viewpoints to strengthen your argument and provide a balanced perspective.
• Write a Conclusion: Summarize key points discussed, restate a thesis in light of the evidence presented, and offer final reflections.
• Edit and Revise: Review your American Dream essay for clarity, coherence, and grammatical accuracy, making necessary writing revisions to improve an overall quality.

Characteristics

The American Dream is a widely known concept, but there are some characteristics that can be identified as correct, comprehensive, and precise. For example, the American Dream is a complex national ethos that represents a unique belief that anyone, regardless of their roots or circumstances, can achieve success and recognition through hard work, determination, and initiative, reflecting ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity (Strain, 2020). Basically, freedom and opportunity are the most critical aspects of an essay on the American Dream to write about. In this case, freedom is essential to achieving goals because it provides an individual with a unique space to live freely without any oppression from their peers or the government (Wolak & Peterson, 2020). Moreover, equal access to opportunity allows each individual to pursue happiness and prosperity regardless of social class, gender, race, and other social or cultural factors that stratify society. Therefore, this concept may be defined as a set of beliefs, and they explain specific experiences of lives many people are expected to have in an ideal situation where their freedoms are protected, while no opportunity barriers exist (Mortimer et al., 2019). In turn, some examples of sentence starters for beginning a good American Dream essay include:

• The American Dream, often considered a symbol of hope and opportunity, represents a specific belief that anyone, regardless of background, can achieve success through hard work.
• From its historical roots in the early days of a nation to its modern interpretations, a quest for success supports positive aspirations and ideals of a diverse and dynamic population.
• In a country built on essential principles of freedom and equality, a unique pursuit of opportunity has served as a powerful motivator for countless individuals seeking a better life for themselves and their families.
• For many immigrants, a pursuit of happiness is a light that draws them to the United States (US), promising a chance to build a prosperous future through dedication and initiative.
• At its essence, a success quest embodies a unique idea that, with hard work and ambition, anyone can find a successful path above their circumstances and achieve their fullest potential.
• While a unique vision of opportunity has been a guiding force for many individuals, its interpretation varies widely, reflecting diverse experiences and aspirations of people across a nation.
• A whole evolution of a dream of prosperity over time mirrors social, economic, and political changes that have shaped the United States, revealing both progress and persistent challenges.
• In today’s world, a real relevance of a national aspiration and an ability to achieve such a goal are subjects of intense debate, prompting a reevaluation of its meaning and implications.
• Exploring historical origins of the American Dream provides more insight into how this powerful concept has influenced a nation’s identity and inspired many generations of US citizens.
• Despite facing numerous obstacles and setbacks, an ongoing attraction to a pursuit of happiness continues to inspire individuals to strive for success and contribute to a broader narrative of people’s experiences.

Unique Experiences

People are born into families that provide them with a unique starting point for their pursuit of desired goals. For example, a particular financial capability, level of education, and cultural beliefs of an individual’s parents define a foundation on which a person begins to achieve desired goals (Hoyt et al., 2021). As a result, all people may be pursuing the same ideas when writing essays. In turn, it is not a level playing field because some individuals may find themselves in better circumstances than others. Furthermore, it is differentiated at a personal level because individuals with relatively similar starting points may have distinct outcomes (Mortimer et al., 2019). Based on this perspective, it is highly unlikely that any two individuals can attest to going through identical experiences when writing an essay. In turn, an example of a good hook for an American Dream essay might be: “Imagine a place where limitless opportunities await anyone willing to dream big and work hard — this is a real essence of the American Dream.”

Belief Systems

Besides particular circumstances of starting points, an individual’s belief system plays a significant role in their strategy of achieving desired goals. For instance, happiness and prosperity are broad terms that have contrasting meanings for individuals because there is no standardized scale for measuring happiness or prosperity (Strain, 2020). Moreover, one person may consider owning a car and house to be a sign of prosperity to write about. In contrast, another person may believe that providing his or her children with a college education is prosperity. Hence, these beliefs are imposed on desires and goals, which results in variations in a concept’s meaning for each individual to be covered in an essay. In turn, desires and goals are affected to a large extent by an individual’s beliefs regarding the things that make them happy or prosperous (Wolak & Peterson, 2020). Finally, an example of a good thesis statement for an American Dream essay might be: “The American Dream, while historically rooted in ideals of freedom and opportunity, reflects contemporary aspirations and challenges, making it a complex concept that continues to shape a nation’s identity.”

Topic Selection

Challenges of Topic Selection

The American Dream is a concept that people can examine from a variety of perspectives, which makes a particular selection of an essay topic for an American Dream paper quite challenging. During a possible selection of an essay topic, it is essential to remember that no point of view is superior or more correct than another (Cogni, 2019). In this case, a particular weight of a single claim proposed in an American Dream argumentative essay is dependent on a writer’s ability to explain a position logically and convincingly. Moreover, in a presentation of a specific argument in any essay, it is important to adequately consider competing counterarguments that may arise in audience’s minds when writing essays (Rogers, 2024). In turn, a common failure to evaluate counterarguments critically may undercut an authority of an author, especially when writing for an academic audience.

Equally important, writers should select a topic that has a link with their personal experiences. For instance, an argument concerning an essay about the American Dream gains a sense of authenticity when writers discuss an issue that resonates with their beliefs (Cogni, 2019). It is essential because some passion is embedded in an essay. Furthermore, as a starting point for identifying an essay’s topic, writers may identify a “main concept” under review, such as equal opportunity. They can also think through their life experiences and single out events they consider invaluable in a particular position taken concerning a main concept (see an example of a simple brainstorming template). Finally, people should settle on writing a unique topic that is specific and can be argued out entirely within potential constraints of essay’s requirements.

Simple Brainstorming Template

• State a main concept.
• How has it affected you?
• How has it affected other people in your life?
• Do you think the events mentioned above are in line with the American Dream?
• Specify an issue.
• Describe an ideal situation while writing.
• Can this situation be improved?

3-Part Outline

Part 1: Introduction (Approximately 10% of the Word Count)

• It is a first statement in an introductory paragraph.
• A statement should capture an attention of a reader, like, a unique fact about an assigned topic.

Overview of a Topic

• It comprises of two or more sentences.
• Some statements should contain adequate detail for a reader to understand a thesis statement.

Thesis Statement

• It is a single statement that appears at the end of an introductory paragraph.
• This statement provides an answer to an essay prompt in a form of writing a single argument, which summarises a provided evidence or rationale presented in a main body.

Part 2: Main Body (Approximately 80% of the Word Count)

A typical creation of paragraphs in this section is based on a separation of ideas to ensure each paragraph presents one original idea. In turn, writing each paragraph in this section must follow a sandwich rule, which dictates a specific organization of paragraph elements:

• Topic sentence – States a main idea in a single paragraph.
• Evidence – Provides specific information that is crucial to a paragraph’s idea.
• Evaluation of evidence – Explains an actual relevance of the evidence and offers an interpretation of a cited information.
• Transition statement – Summarises a single paragraph and links it to a thesis statement or a next paragraph.

Part 3: Conclusion (Approximately 10% of the Word Count)

Restating a Main Argument

• A first statement in a concluding paragraph should repeat a main argument presented in a thesis statement.
• It should not contain the same words as a thesis statement, but keywords can be reused.
• Provide a detailed overview of essay’s main points logically.
• Demonstrate an actual value of main points in answering an essay’s prompt.

5-Paragraph Template

Introduction

Paragraph 1

• Hook: Besides common differences in American populations, they are similar because they pursue the same dream.
• Overview of a topic: Outline some of the differences in American populations.
• Thesis statement: Creating equal opportunities allows individuals to achieve upward mobility.

Paragraph 2

• Topic sentence: Breaking down social mobility and its quantification.
• Evidence: Definition and measures of social mobility.
• Evaluation of evidence: Write about how upward social mobility is achieved while referring to potentail measures.
• Transition statement: Introduces a real need for self-improvement and social mobility to occur.

Paragraph 3

• Topic sentence: Opportunity is a requirement for social mobility.
• Evidence: The role of education in equipping an individual to utilize opportunities.
• Evaluation of evidence: Write about a direct link between education, access to jobs, and an ability to improve an individual’s quality of life.
• Transition statement: Recognize that there are socially constructed limitations on an accessibility of opportunities.

Paragraph 4

• Topic sentence: Discriminative practices affect an individual’s access to opportunities for social mobility.
• Evidence: Identify some forms of discrimination and explain a particular occurrence of discriminative practices.
• Evaluation of evidence: Write about an actual value of government and organization’s role in managing discriminative practices using policies that uphold equality.
• Transition statement: Stress a centrality of equality in an argument for opportunity access and upward mobility.

Paragraph 5

• Restating a main argument: Emphasize a real importance of equality in securing opportunities for upward mobility and an attainment of a quest for success.
• Summary: Allude to possible measures of social mobility, an interaction between discriminative practices and opportunities, and a particular relief provided by policies on equality.

American Dream Essay Example

Topic: The Promise of the American Dream

Although we are different, we share a single dream. In this case, the American population is composed of people of different genders, races, education levels, religions, and disability statuses. Nonetheless, each American is entitled to a unique opportunity to make themselves better regardless of their underlying differences. Thus, an American Dream thesis statement is that it is founded on a particular promise of equal opportunity for upward social mobility.

Social Mobility

Social mobility is a multidimensional concept. It can be assessed using a variety of measures that attempt to quantify a particular change occurring in an individual’s life. For example, an ability of an individual to move along a specific social hierarchy may be described as social mobility. In turn, there are different measures of social mobility. However, each one is focused on a specific aspect of an average American’s livelihood:

• Health Status – A susceptibility of an individual to diseases.
• Education – An individual’s highest level of education.
• Homeownership – A capability of an individual to acquire permanent housing.

Upward social mobility implies people can improve their position in a social hierarchy by improving their performance on any of the measures of social mobility. Therefore, upward social mobility is a desired outcome of a successful pursuit of desired goals because it suggests some form of self-improvement.

Opportunity

A real opportunity for upward mobility is vital in pursuing desired goals. Basically, access to opportunity is facilitated by some factors, such as access to quality education. In this case, an individual who has attended school and acquired necessary skills has a higher likelihood of securing a well-paid job. If people acquire jobs, it becomes easier to secure health insurance, buy homes, and improve an overall quality of life for their families. Moreover, they can only attain what they want if they are provided access to basic education, which prepares them to maximize any opportunities. However, it is difficult for an average individual to pursue opportunities without the government’s efforts to increase an ease of access to basic needs.

Equality Policies

Many barriers affect an average American’s ability to access positive opportunities, and they manifest in a particular form of discriminative practices in society. In this case, discrimination in society may occur based on a variety of issues, like gender, disability, religion, and race. Basically, personal biases create ideological differences regarding superiority in a social hierarchy. It pushes individuals to deny others access to opportunities and necessary skills to exploit those opportunities. Moreover, state and organizational policies against discrimination are created and enforced to maintain equality among Americans. These laws serve to eliminate potential barriers that exist between hard-working people and the American Dream. Consequently, equality among individuals ensures all individuals can take advantage of opportunities regardless of their gender, disability status, religion, race, and other social differences that tend to create boundaries between social groups.

Equality is crucial in a typical pursuit of the American Dream because it provides each individual with a unique opportunity to move up a social hierarchy. In this case, people can access upward social mobility by using various measures, which quantify an individual’s quality of life. Moreover, opportunities may exist, but individuals need to be assisted in developing themselves to a level where they can utilize the available opportunities. Hence, equality policies are useful in curtailing an actual power of discriminative practices in reinforcing social mobility barriers.

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What to Include

Common Mistakes

• Lack of Clear Thesis: Failing to present a clear and concise thesis statement, which must guide an essay’s argument.
• Insufficient Evidence: Not providing enough supporting evidence or examples to back up main points.
• Ignoring Historical Context: Overlooking historical origins and evolution of a path to prosperity, which are crucial in case of understanding its current meaning.
• One-Sided Perspective: Presenting a biased view by not considering multiple interpretations or counterarguments when writing about a quest for success.
• Vague Definitions: Offering an unclear or overly broad definition of the American Dream, leading to a lack of focus in an essay.
• Neglecting Structure: Failing to organize an essay into clear sections, such as introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion, which can confuse readers.
• Overgeneralization: Making sweeping statements about a promise of prosperity without acknowledging different experiences and perspectives to write about.
• Ignoring Current Relevance: Not discussing how a national aspiration applies to contemporary society or its relevance to today’s issues.
• Poor Use of Sources: Relying on unreliable sources or not properly citing references, which undermines an essay’s credibility.
• Grammar and Spelling Errors: Allowing grammatical mistakes and spelling errors to distract from an essay’s content and weaken its overall writing quality.

A typical capacity of a person to participate in a discourse on a controversial essay topic is nurtured through a continuous practice of structured essay writing. Basically, a particular concept of the American Dream may be approached from a different perspective, depending on the individual’s beliefs and personal experiences. Nonetheless, a written presentation of these points of view is achieved through a correct use of structured essays. In turn, a five-paragraph American Dream essay example examined in this article is a useful tool for a valid expression of any argument on such a topic.

Cogni, M. (2019). From sentences to essays: A guide to reflective writing through reflective thinking . Vernon Press.

Hoyt, C. L., Burnette, J. L., Forsyth, R. B., Parry, M., & DeShields, B. H. (2021). Believing in the American Dream sustains negative attitudes toward those in poverty. Social Psychology Quarterly , 84 (3), 203–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/01902725211022319

Mortimer, J. T., Mont’Alvao, A., & Aronson, P. (2019). Decline of “The American Dream”? Outlook toward the future across three generations of Midwest families. Social Forces , 98 (4), 1403–1435. https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soz130

Rogers, D. (2024). Writing better essays: A rhetorical guide to writing and revision . Equinox Publishing Ltd.

Strain, M. R. (2020). The American Dream is not dead: (But populism could kill it) . Templeton Press.

Wolak, J., & Peterson, D. A. (2020). The dynamic American dream. American Journal of Political Science , 64 (4), 968–981. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12522

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American Dream

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American Dream , ideal that the United States is a land of opportunity that allows the possibility of upward mobility , freedom , and equality for people of all classes who work hard and have the will to succeed.

The roots of the American Dream lie in the goals and aspirations of the first European settlers and colonizers . Most of these people came to the North American continent to escape tyranny , religious and political persecution, or poverty . In 1776 their reasons for coming were captured by the Founders in the Declaration of Independence : “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” These lines have often been cited by groups seeking equal standing in American society.

While the idea of the American Dream may have originated well before 1776, the phrase itself was coined by American businessman and historian James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book The Epic of America . That work defines the past and future of the American Dream, which, according to Adams, is:

“not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

To Adams, the American Dream is about aspiring to be one’s best self and to rise above the station one was born into. It is not about simply acquiring wealth and material possessions.

Despite Adams’s optimism about the United States as a land of opportunity, his book warns of flaws in the American way of life. It calls out the dangers of unbridled capitalism and mass consumption . The worker, he wrote, gets “into a treadmill in which he earns, not that he may enjoy, but that he may spend, in order that the owners of the factories may grow richer.” Adams’s book also cites dangers to “the intellectual worker” who must adjust his or her work “to the needs of business or mass consumption.” The result of this accommodation, according to Adams, “is to lower the quality of…thought,” as represented in newspapers and journals, “to that of the least common denominator of the minds of the millions of consumers.” In addition, Adams’s book calls out the devotion to accumulation of wealth without regard for the good of society:

“A system that steadily increases the gulf between the ordinary man and the super-rich, that permits the resources of society to be gathered into personal fortunes that afford their owners millions of income a year, with only the chance that here and there a few may be moved to confer some of their surplus upon the public in ways chosen wholly by themselves, is assuredly a wasteful and unjust system. It is, perhaps, as inimical as anything could be to the American dream.”

What Adams foresaw appears to have become a reality in 21st-century America: consumerism and materialism abound, threatening the environment and the political structure. Intellectualism has become tribalized. The gulf between rich and poor continues to increase. In addition, it is becoming more and more difficult to attain the American Dream for many people, including religious and ethnic minorities , women, and the poor. Hard work alone is often not enough for families or their children to get ahead, especially if they are low-wage earners. Black and Hispanic women are least likely to move upward. In fact, roughly one in six Black Americans do not believe in the American Dream at all. Certain areas of the country, in particular the Southeast and the Midwestern Rust Belt , have trended much lower in economic mobility than other areas. According to one study, 92 percent of children born in 1940 earned more money than their parents. However, only 50 percent of children born in the 1980s have done so. Sentiment among Millennials , Generation Z , and Generation X , as captured in a 2020 opinion poll , reflected these trends, indicating that 46 percent, 52 percent, and 53 percent of each group, respectively, felt that the American Dream is attainable. On the basis of these trends, policy groups are working to improve the probability of upward mobility in the United States.

While the American Dream may be increasingly difficult to attain in the United States, the idea has arguably been exported successfully. Around the world, people are fulfilling their own version of the American Dream. Many countries are working toward more-just economic, educational, and legal systems to support equality and upward mobility .

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Best Analysis: The American Dream in The Great Gatsby

Book Guides

The Great Gatsby is a tragic love story on the surface, but it's most commonly understood as a pessimistic critique of the American Dream. In the novel, Jay Gatsby overcomes his poor past to gain an incredible amount of money and a limited amount of social cache in 1920s NYC, only to be rejected by the "old money" crowd. He then gets killed after being tangled up with them.

Through Gatsby's life, as well as that of the Wilsons', Fitzgerald critiques the idea that America is a meritocracy where anyone can rise to the top with enough hard work. We will explore how this theme plays out in the plot, briefly analyze some key quotes about it, as well as do some character analysis and broader analysis of topics surrounding the American Dream in The Great Gatsby .

What is the American Dream? The American Dream in the Great Gatsby plot Key American Dream quotes Analyzing characters via the American Dream Common discussion and essay topics

Quick Note on Our Citations

Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book.

To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text.

What Exactly Is "The American Dream"?

The American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America (read: rich) if they just work hard enough. The American Dream thus presents a pretty rosy view of American society that ignores problems like systemic racism and misogyny, xenophobia, tax evasion or state tax avoidance, and income inequality. It also presumes a myth of class equality, when the reality is America has a pretty well-developed class hierarchy.

The 1920s in particular was a pretty tumultuous time due to increased immigration (and the accompanying xenophobia), changing women's roles (spurred by the right to vote, which was won in 1919), and extraordinary income inequality.

The country was also in the midst of an economic boom, which fueled the belief that anyone could "strike it rich" on Wall Street. However, this rapid economic growth was built on a bubble which popped in 1929. The Great Gatsby was published in 1925, well before the crash, but through its wry descriptions of the ultra-wealthy, it seems to somehow predict that the fantastic wealth on display in 1920s New York was just as ephemeral as one of Gatsby's parties.

In any case, the novel, just by being set in the 1920s, is unlikely to present an optimistic view of the American Dream, or at least a version of the dream that's inclusive to all genders, ethnicities, and incomes. With that background in mind, let's jump into the plot!

The American Dream in The Great Gatsby

Chapter 1 places us in a particular year—1922—and gives us some background about WWI.  This is relevant, since the 1920s is presented as a time of hollow decadence among the wealthy, as evidenced especially by the parties in Chapters 2 and 3. And as we mentioned above, the 1920s were a particularly tense time in America.

We also meet George and Myrtle Wilson in Chapter 2 , both working class people who are working to improve their lot in life, George through his work, and Myrtle through her affair with Tom Buchanan.

We learn about Gatsby's goal in Chapter 4 : to win Daisy back. Despite everything he owns, including fantastic amounts of money and an over-the-top mansion, for Gatsby, Daisy is the ultimate status symbol. So in Chapter 5 , when Daisy and Gatsby reunite and begin an affair, it seems like Gatsby could, in fact, achieve his goal.

In Chapter 6 , we learn about Gatsby's less-than-wealthy past, which not only makes him look like the star of a rags-to-riches story, it makes Gatsby himself seem like someone in pursuit of the American Dream, and for him the personification of that dream is Daisy.

However, in Chapters 7 and 8 , everything comes crashing down: Daisy refuses to leave Tom, Myrtle is killed, and George breaks down and kills Gatsby and then himself, leaving all of the "strivers" dead and the old money crowd safe. Furthermore, we learn in those last chapters that Gatsby didn't even achieve all his wealth through hard work, like the American Dream would stipulate—instead, he earned his money through crime. (He did work hard and honestly under Dan Cody, but lost Dan Cody's inheritance to his ex-wife.)

In short, things do not turn out well for our dreamers in the novel! Thus, the novel ends with Nick's sad meditation on the lost promise of the American Dream. You can read a detailed analysis of these last lines in our summary of the novel's ending .

Key American Dream Quotes

In this section we analyze some of the most important quotes that relate to the American Dream in the book.

But I didn't call to him for he gave a sudden intimation that he was content to be alone--he stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way, and far as I was from him I could have sworn he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward--and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock. (1.152)

In our first glimpse of Jay Gatsby, we see him reaching towards something far off, something in sight but definitely out of reach. This famous image of the green light is often understood as part of The Great Gatsby 's meditation on The American Dream—the idea that people are always reaching towards something greater than themselves that is just out of reach . You can read more about this in our post all about the green light .

The fact that this yearning image is our introduction to Gatsby foreshadows his unhappy end and also marks him as a dreamer, rather than people like Tom or Daisy who were born with money and don't need to strive for anything so far off.

Over the great bridge, with the sunlight through the girders making a constant flicker upon the moving cars, with the city rising up across the river in white heaps and sugar lumps all built with a wish out of non-olfactory money. The city seen from the Queensboro Bridge is always the city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world.

A dead man passed us in a hearse heaped with blooms, followed by two carriages with drawn blinds and by more cheerful carriages for friends. The friends looked out at us with the tragic eyes and short upper lips of south-eastern Europe, and I was glad that the sight of Gatsby's splendid car was included in their somber holiday. As we crossed Blackwell's Island a limousine passed us, driven by a white chauffeur, in which sat three modish Negroes, two bucks and a girl. I laughed aloud as the yolks of their eyeballs rolled toward us in haughty rivalry.

"Anything can happen now that we've slid over this bridge," I thought; "anything at all. . . ."

Even Gatsby could happen, without any particular wonder. (4.55-8)

Early in the novel, we get this mostly optimistic illustration of the American Dream—we see people of different races and nationalities racing towards NYC, a city of unfathomable possibility. This moment has all the classic elements of the American Dream—economic possibility, racial and religious diversity, a carefree attitude. At this moment, it does feel like "anything can happen," even a happy ending.

However, this rosy view eventually gets undermined by the tragic events later in the novel. And even at this point, Nick's condescension towards the people in the other cars reinforces America's racial hierarchy that disrupts the idea of the American Dream. There is even a little competition at play, a "haughty rivalry" at play between Gatsby's car and the one bearing the "modish Negroes."

Nick "laughs aloud" at this moment, suggesting he thinks it's amusing that the passengers in this other car see them as equals, or even rivals to be bested. In other words, he seems to firmly believe in the racial hierarchy Tom defends in Chapter 1, even if it doesn't admit it honestly.

His heart beat faster and faster as Daisy's white face came up to his own. He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God. So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning fork that had been struck upon a star. Then he kissed her. At his lips' touch she blossomed for him like a flower and the incarnation was complete. (6.134)

This moment explicitly ties Daisy to all of Gatsby's larger dreams for a better life —to his American Dream. This sets the stage for the novel's tragic ending, since Daisy cannot hold up under the weight of the dream Gatsby projects onto her. Instead, she stays with Tom Buchanan, despite her feelings for Gatsby. Thus when Gatsby fails to win over Daisy, he also fails to achieve his version of the American Dream. This is why so many people read the novel as a somber or pessimistic take on the American Dream, rather than an optimistic one.  

...as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes--a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dreams; for a transitory enchanted moment man must have held his breath in the presence of this continent, compelled into an aesthetic contemplation he neither understood nor desired, face to face for the last time in history with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.

And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby's wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy's dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night." (9.151-152)

The closing pages of the novel reflect at length on the American Dream, in an attitude that seems simultaneously mournful, appreciative, and pessimistic. It also ties back to our first glimpse of Gatsby, reaching out over the water towards the Buchanan's green light. Nick notes that Gatsby's dream was "already behind him" then (or in other words, it was impossible to attain). But still, he finds something to admire in how Gatsby still hoped for a better life, and constantly reached out toward that brighter future.

For a full consideration of these last lines and what they could mean, see our analysis of the novel's ending .

Analyzing Characters Through the American Dream

An analysis of the characters in terms of the American Dream usually leads to a pretty cynical take on the American Dream.

Most character analysis centered on the American Dream will necessarily focus on Gatsby, George, or Myrtle (the true strivers in the novel), though as we'll discuss below, the Buchanans can also provide some interesting layers of discussion. For character analysis that incorporates the American Dream, carefully consider your chosen character's motivations and desires, and how the novel does (or doesn't!) provide glimpses of the dream's fulfillment for them.

Gatsby himself is obviously the best candidate for writing about the American Dream—he comes from humble roots (he's the son of poor farmers from North Dakota) and rises to be notoriously wealthy, only for everything to slip away from him in the end. Many people also incorporate Daisy into their analyses as the physical representation of Gatsby's dream.

However, definitely consider the fact that in the traditional American Dream, people achieve their goals through honest hard work, but in Gatsby's case, he very quickly acquires a large amount of money through crime . Gatsby does attempt the hard work approach, through his years of service to Dan Cody, but that doesn't work out since Cody's ex-wife ends up with the entire inheritance. So instead he turns to crime, and only then does he manage to achieve his desired wealth.

So while Gatsby's story arc resembles a traditional rags-to-riches tale, the fact that he gained his money immorally complicates the idea that he is a perfect avatar for the American Dream . Furthermore, his success obviously doesn't last—he still pines for Daisy and loses everything in his attempt to get her back. In other words, Gatsby's huge dreams, all precariously wedded to Daisy  ("He knew that when he kissed this girl, and forever wed his unutterable visions to her perishable breath, his mind would never romp again like the mind of God" (6.134)) are as flimsy and flight as Daisy herself.

George and Myrtle Wilson

This couple also represents people aiming at the dream— George owns his own shop and is doing his best to get business, though is increasingly worn down by the harsh demands of his life, while Myrtle chases after wealth and status through an affair with Tom.

Both are disempowered due to the lack of money at their own disposal —Myrtle certainly has access to some of the "finer things" through Tom but has to deal with his abuse, while George is unable to leave his current life and move West since he doesn't have the funds available. He even has to make himself servile to Tom in an attempt to get Tom to sell his car, a fact that could even cause him to overlook the evidence of his wife's affair. So neither character is on the upward trajectory that the American Dream promises, at least during the novel.

In the end, everything goes horribly wrong for both George and Myrtle, suggesting that in this world, it's dangerous to strive for more than you're given.

George and Myrtle's deadly fates, along with Gatsby's, help illustrate the novel's pessimistic attitude toward the American Dream. After all, how unfair is it that the couple working to improve their position in society (George and Myrtle) both end up dead, while Tom, who dragged Myrtle into an increasingly dangerous situation, and Daisy, who killed her, don't face any consequences? And on top of that they are fabulously wealthy? The American Dream certainly is not alive and well for the poor Wilsons.

Tom and Daisy as Antagonists to the American Dream

We've talked quite a bit already about Gatsby, George, and Myrtle—the three characters who come from humble roots and try to climb the ranks in 1920s New York. But what about the other major characters, especially the ones born with money? What is their relationship to the American Dream?

Specifically, Tom and Daisy have old money, and thus they don't need the American Dream, since they were born with America already at their feet.

Perhaps because of this, they seem to directly antagonize the dream—Daisy by refusing Gatsby, and Tom by helping to drag the Wilsons into tragedy .

This is especially interesting because unlike Gatsby, Myrtle, and George, who actively hope and dream of a better life, Daisy and Tom are described as bored and "careless," and end up instigating a large amount of tragedy through their own recklessness.

In other words, income inequality and the vastly different starts in life the characters have strongly affected their outcomes. The way they choose to live their lives, their morality (or lack thereof), and how much they dream doesn't seem to matter. This, of course, is tragic and antithetical to the idea of the American Dream, which claims that class should be irrelevant and anyone can rise to the top.

Daisy as a Personification of the American Dream

As we discuss in our post on money and materialism in The Great Gatsby , Daisy's voice is explicitly tied to money by Gatsby:

"Her voice is full of money," he said suddenly.

That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money--that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbals' song of it. . . . High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl. . . . (7.105-6)

If Daisy's voice promises money, and the American Dream is explicitly linked to wealth, it's not hard to argue that Daisy herself—along with the green light at the end of her dock —stands in for the American Dream. In fact, as Nick goes on to describe Daisy as "High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl," he also seems to literally describe Daisy as a prize, much like the princess at the end of a fairy tale (or even Princess Peach at the end of a Mario game!).

But Daisy, of course, is only human—flawed, flighty, and ultimately unable to embody the huge fantasy Gatsby projects onto her. So this, in turn, means that the American Dream itself is just a fantasy, a concept too flimsy to actually hold weight, especially in the fast-paced, dog-eat-dog world of 1920s America.

Furthermore, you should definitely consider the tension between the fact that Daisy represents Gatsby's ultimate goal, but at the same time (as we discussed above), her actual life is the opposite of the American Dream : she is born with money and privilege, likely dies with it all intact, and there are no consequences to how she chooses to live her life in between.

Can Female Characters Achieve the American Dream?

Finally, it's interesting to compare and contrast some of the female characters using the lens of the American Dream.

Let's start with Daisy, who is unhappy in her marriage and, despite a brief attempt to leave it, remains with Tom, unwilling to give up the status and security their marriage provides. At first, it may seem like Daisy doesn't dream at all, so of course she ends up unhappy. But consider the fact that Daisy was already born into the highest level of American society. The expectation placed on her, as a wealthy woman, was never to pursue something greater, but simply to maintain her status. She did that by marrying Tom, and it's understandable why she wouldn't risk the uncertainty and loss of status that would come through divorce and marriage to a bootlegger. Again, Daisy seems to typify the "anti-American" dream, in that she was born into a kind of aristocracy and simply has to maintain her position, not fight for something better.

In contrast, Myrtle, aside from Gatsby, seems to be the most ambitiously in pursuit of getting more than she was given in life. She parlays her affair with Tom into an apartment, nice clothes, and parties, and seems to revel in her newfound status. But of course, she is knocked down the hardest, killed for her involvement with the Buchanans, and specifically for wrongfully assuming she had value to them. Considering that Gatsby did have a chance to leave New York and distance himself from the unfolding tragedy, but Myrtle was the first to be killed, you could argue the novel presents an even bleaker view of the American Dream where women are concerned.

Even Jordan Baker , who seems to be living out a kind of dream by playing golf and being relatively independent, is tied to her family's money and insulated from consequences by it , making her a pretty poor representation of the dream. And of course, since her end game also seems to be marriage, she doesn't push the boundaries of women's roles as far as she might wish.

So while the women all push the boundaries of society's expectations of them in certain ways, they either fall in line or are killed, which definitely undermines the rosy of idea that anyone, regardless of gender, can make it in America. The American Dream as shown in Gatsby becomes even more pessimistic through the lens of the female characters.  

Common Essay Questions/Discussion Topics

Now let's work through some of the more frequently brought up subjects for discussion.

#1: Was Gatsby's dream worth it? Was all the work, time, and patience worth it for him?

Like me, you might immediately think "of course it wasn't worth it! Gatsby lost everything, not to mention the Wilsons got caught up in the tragedy and ended up dead!" So if you want to make the more obvious "the dream wasn't worth it" argument, you could point to the unraveling that happens at the end of the novel (including the deaths of Myrtle, Gatsby and George) and how all Gatsby's achievements are for nothing, as evidenced by the sparse attendance of his funeral.

However, you could definitely take the less obvious route and argue that Gatsby's dream was worth it, despite the tragic end . First of all, consider Jay's unique characterization in the story: "He was a son of God--a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that--and he must be about His Father's Business, the service of a vast, vulgar and meretricious beauty" (6.7). In other words, Gatsby has a larger-than-life persona and he never would have been content to remain in North Dakota to be poor farmers like his parents.

Even if he ends up living a shorter life, he certainly lived a full one full of adventure. His dreams of wealth and status took him all over the world on Dan Cody's yacht, to Louisville where he met and fell in love with Daisy, to the battlefields of WWI, to the halls of Oxford University, and then to the fast-paced world of Manhattan in the early 1920s, when he earned a fortune as a bootlegger. In fact, it seems Jay lived several lives in the space of just half a normal lifespan. In short, to argue that Gatsby's dream was worth it, you should point to his larger-than-life conception of himself and the fact that he could have only sought happiness through striving for something greater than himself, even if that ended up being deadly in the end.

#2: In the Langston Hughes poem "A Dream Deferred," Hughes asks questions about what happens to postponed dreams. How does Fitzgerald examine this issue of deferred dreams? What do you think are the effects of postponing our dreams? How can you apply this lesson to your own life?

If you're thinking about "deferred dreams" in The Great Gatsby , the big one is obviously Gatsby's deferred dream for Daisy—nearly five years pass between his initial infatuation and his attempt in the novel to win her back, an attempt that obviously backfires. You can examine various aspects of Gatsby's dream—the flashbacks to his first memories of Daisy in Chapter 8 , the moment when they reunite in Chapter 5 , or the disastrous consequences of the confrontation of Chapter 7 —to illustrate Gatsby's deferred dream.

You could also look at George Wilson's postponed dream of going West, or Myrtle's dream of marrying a wealthy man of "breeding"—George never gets the funds to go West, and is instead mired in the Valley of Ashes, while Myrtle's attempt to achieve her dream after 12 years of marriage through an affair ends in tragedy. Apparently, dreams deferred are dreams doomed to fail.

As Nick Carraway says, "you can't repeat the past"—the novel seems to imply there is a small window for certain dreams, and when the window closes, they can no longer be attained. This is pretty pessimistic, and for the prompt's personal reflection aspect, I wouldn't say you should necessarily "apply this lesson to your own life" straightforwardly. But it is worth noting that certain opportunities are fleeting, and perhaps it's wiser to seek out newer and/or more attainable ones, rather than pining over a lost chance.

Any prompt like this one which has a section of more personal reflection gives you freedom to tie in your own experiences and point of view, so be thoughtful and think of good examples from your own life!

#3: Explain how the novel does or does not demonstrate the death of the American Dream. Is the main theme of Gatsby indeed "the withering American Dream"? What does the novel offer about American identity?

In this prompt, another one that zeroes in on the dead or dying American Dream, you could discuss how the destruction of three lives (Gatsby, George, Myrtle) and the cynical portrayal of the old money crowd illustrates a dead, or dying American Dream . After all, if the characters who dream end up dead, and the ones who were born into life with money and privilege get to keep it without consequence, is there any room at all for the idea that less-privileged people can work their way up?

In terms of what the novel says about American identity, there are a few threads you could pick up—one is Nick's comment in Chapter 9 about the novel really being a story about (mid)westerners trying (and failing) to go East : "I see now that this has been a story of the West, after all--Tom and Gatsby, Daisy and Jordan and I, were all Westerners, and perhaps we possessed some deficiency in common which made us subtly unadaptable to Eastern life" (9.125). This observation suggests an American identity that is determined by birthplace, and that within the American identity there are smaller, inescapable points of identification.

Furthermore, for those in the novel not born into money, the American identity seems to be about striving to end up with more wealth and status. But in terms of the portrayal of the old money set, particularly Daisy, Tom, and Jordan, the novel presents a segment of American society that is essentially aristocratic—you have to be born into it. In that regard, too, the novel presents a fractured American identity, with different lives possible based on how much money you are born with.

In short, I think the novel disrupts the idea of a unified American identity or American dream, by instead presenting a tragic, fractured, and rigid American society, one that is divided based on both geographic location and social class.

#4: Most would consider dreams to be positive motivators to achieve success, but the characters in the novel often take their dreams of ideal lives too far. Explain how characters' American Dreams cause them to have pain when they could have been content with more modest ambitions.

Gatsby is an obvious choice here—his pursuit of money and status, particularly through Daisy, leads him to ruin. There were many points when perhaps Gatsby ;could have been happy with what he achieved (especially after his apparently successful endeavors in the war, if he had remained at Oxford, or even after amassing a great amount of wealth as a bootlegger) but instead he kept striving upward, which ultimately lead to his downfall. You can flesh this argument out with the quotations in Chapters 6 and 8 about Gatsby's past, along with his tragic death.

Myrtle would be another good choice for this type of prompt. In a sense, she seems to be living her ideal life in her affair with Tom—she has a fancy NYC apartment, hosts parties, and gets to act sophisticated—but these pleasures end up gravely hurting George, and of course her association with Tom Buchanan gets her killed.

Nick, too, if he had been happy with his family's respectable fortune and his girlfriend out west, might have avoided the pain of knowing Gatsby and the general sense of despair he was left with.

You might be wondering about George—after all, isn't he someone also dreaming of a better life? However, there aren't many instances of George taking his dreams of an ideal life "too far." In fact, he struggles just to make one car sale so that he can finally move out West with Myrtle. Also, given that his current situation in the Valley of Ashes is quite bleak, it's hard to say that striving upward gave him pain.

#5: The Great Gatsby is, among other things, a sobering and even ominous commentary on the dark side of the American dream. Discuss this theme, incorporating the conflicts of East Egg vs. West Egg and old money vs. new money. What does the American dream mean to Gatsby? What did the American Dream mean to Fitzgerald? How does morality fit into achieving the American dream?

This prompt allows you to consider pretty broadly the novel's attitude toward the American Dream, with emphasis on "sobering and even ominous" commentary. Note that Fitzgerald seems to be specifically mocking the stereotypical rags to riches story here—;especially since he draws the Dan Cody narrative almost note for note from the work of someone like Horatio Alger, whose books were almost universally about rich men schooling young, entrepreneurial boys in the ways of the world. In other words, you should discuss how the Great Gatsby seems to turn the idea of the American Dream as described in the quote on its head: Gatsby does achieve a rags-to-riches rise, but it doesn't last.

All of Gatsby's hard work for Dan Cody, after all, didn't pay off since he lost the inheritance. So instead, Gatsby turned to crime after the war to quickly gain a ton of money. Especially since Gatsby finally achieves his great wealth through dubious means, the novel further undermines the classic image of someone working hard and honestly to go from rags to riches.

If you're addressing this prompt or a similar one, make sure to focus on the darker aspects of the American Dream, including the dark conclusion to the novel and Daisy and Tom's protection from any real consequences . (This would also allow you to considering morality, and how morally bankrupt the characters are.)

#6: What is the current state of the American Dream?

This is a more outward-looking prompt, that allows you to consider current events today to either be generally optimistic (the American dream is alive and well) or pessimistic (it's as dead as it is in The Great Gatsby).

You have dozens of potential current events to use as evidence for either argument, but consider especially immigration and immigration reform, mass incarceration, income inequality, education, and health care in America as good potential examples to use as you argue about the current state of the American Dream. Your writing will be especially powerful if you can point to some specific current events to support your argument.

What's Next?

In this post, we discussed how important money is to the novel's version of the American Dream. You can read even more about money and materialism in The Great Gatsby right here .

Want to indulge in a little materialism of your own? Take a look through these 15 must-have items for any Great Gatsby fan .

Get complete guides to Jay Gatsby , George Wilson and Myrtle Wilson to get even more background on the "dreamers" in the novel.

Like we discussed above, the green light is often seen as a stand-in for the idea of the American Dream. Read more about this crucial symbol here .

Need help getting to grips with other literary works? Take a spin through our analyses of The Crucible , The Cask of Amontillado , and " Do not go gentle into this good night " to see analysis in action. You might also find our explanations of point of view , rhetorical devices , imagery , and literary elements and devices helpful.

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Writing a Powerful American Dream Essay: Examples, Tips, and Topics

By: Tasha Kolesnikova

Living in the United States is inseparable from the idea of the American dream. The term first appeared in a 1931 bestseller by James Truslow Adams called "The Epic of America". The book was issued during a dark time in American history known as the Great Depression and discusses the questions of democracy. Using an expressive term, the author of the book mentions " the American Dream of a better , richer, and happier life for all our citizens of every rank". Later on, this phrase developed into an ideology of the entire country.

American Dream Argumentative Essay Sample

Introduction, american dream essay topics.

No wonder that an American Dream paper is a common assignment at high schools, universities, and colleges. If you are clueless about how to get started with such a task, you've come to the right place. At Studybay, we have prepared samples and tips to help you write an essay to describe the iconic concept of the American dream. Read on for all the information!

The story of the Great Gatsby is often used in connection with the American Dream as a topic for research papers and essays. Suppose you received the following prompt:

Argue whether F. Scott Fitzgerald presents the idea of the American dream as revolving around money and status or equal opportunities for all in his novel "The Great Gatsby".

Below, you will see an essay example written by Mia, a high school student from Texas, followed up by effective tips on improving it.

At first glance, F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" may seem to be a beautiful love story and nothing more. However, the author does not focus only on the romantic side of the plot. Fitzgerald's masterpiece talks about the pursuit of happiness, beauty, human flaws and even tackles the concept of the American Dream.

In my opinion, the American Dream means achieving as much wealth as possible in the story about Jay Gatsby. Fitzgerald manages to showcase the difference in perception of the American dream depending on the person's social status. Gatsby himself has been growing in a poor environment yet built up his affluence and spent the rest of his life as a rich person in West Egg. He chose to spend his money extravagantly to reconnect with his long-lost love.

The people living in the industrial Valley of Ashes like George and Myrtle wished to reach a better life. While Geroge believed it could be done through hard work, Myrtle was trying to achieve it through making connections with people from a higher social class, such as Tom.

The Buchanans, on the other hand, were living in East Egg, a part of New York where people born into wealth stayed. They are a bright example of spending selfishly as much as they wanted on whatever they desired as an integral part of the American dream.

However, regardless of the area where they lived and their goals, "The Great Gatsby" characters' American Dream was connected with wealth.

How to Make This American Dream Essay an A+ Written Work?

You have just read a good example of an American dream essay. However, it is not likely to receive an excellent grade. Before we focus on the downsides of Mia's text, let's take a look at the positive features of this essay:

• Interesting analysis of the topic
• A clear opinion with substantial arguments
• An evident knowledge of the novel's plot and characters
• A logical flow

These positive aspects create a basis for a great essay. However, some parts of Mia's written work still need improvement.

The main downside of the introduction of Mia's essay is that it is not quite clear where it ends. The structure is extremely important when it comes to essay writing. Therefore, it is crucial that the introductory paragraph hooks the reader, gives short general information on the topic, and provides a straightforward thesis statement. Here is how it could be done in Mia's essay:

F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby" allows the reader to dive into the bustling atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties. Apart from a beautiful representation of the Jazz Age and a touching love story, Fitzgerald's masterpiece tackles topics, such as beauty, human flaws, and the pursuit of happiness. However, what we know as the American dream does not appear as the concept of equality and a better life for everyone in the novel but rather as a race for wealth and extravagant spendings.

This introduction is engaging for the readers, gradually taking them from the novel's setting to the essay's thesis.

The main body of an argumentative essay must consist of points supporting the thesis statement. Mia's essay is successfully featuring such paragraphs. However, her arguments are lacking facts to prove the opinion expressed. For instance, a more persuasive essay part could look like this:

Even though Myrtle and George both lived in the Valley of Ashes, each of them had a different version of the American dream in mind. While George was focusing on hard work to earn his way to wealth, Myrtle says the following about her husband: "I thought he knew something about breeding, but he wasn't fit to lick my shoe." To her, social status is of utmost importance, and her idea of the American dream lies in having influential connections and spending money on luxurious items.

This argument is more weighty than the one in Mia's example because it contains a quote from the novel and its brief analysis.

It is vital to ensure that the essay's conclusion proves the point mentioned in the thesis statement. The final paragraph of Mia's statement doesn't contain a powerful message and seems to cut off the text without wrapping it up logically. Here is an example of a better conclusion:

Therefore, regardless of the character's social status, their American dream was far from Martin Luther King's idea of a land where all ethnicities are treated equally. It also has nothing to do with Arthur Miller's ideology of equal chances of succeeding in life. The American dream in the post-World War setting of "The Great Gatsby" is all about a quest for money and acquiring wealth for oneself.

This version of a conclusion demonstrates comparison with renowned ideas and confirms the thesis from the beginning of the essay, leaving the reader space for thought.

Using the mentioned tips and examples, you will be able to produce excellent written work. Read on for a selection of the most interesting topics for your American dream essay.

If you don't have a clear prompt and have the freedom of choosing the topic of your American dream essay yourself, this list is perfect for your inspiration:

• Martin Luther King's Idea of the American Dream
• The Modern Concept of the American Dream
• Arthur Miller's American Dream Ideology
• What Made the "American Dream" a National Ethos
• The Most Influential Ideas on the American Dream Concept
• The American Dream as Described By James Truslow Adams

Select the topic that makes you the most excited to do research or come up with an essay theme of your own! However, if diving into such a fundamental subject seems too overwhelming, you can always rely on essay help . Our expert writers are happy to help with brainstorming, proofreading, editing, and writing your essay .

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I studied sociology and marketing at Europa-Universität Viadrina (Germany) and Universidade da Beira Interior (Portugal). When I was a sophomore, back in 2018, I decided to put what I've learned into practice, so I got my first job in digital marketing. I currently work in the content marketing department at Studybay, building strong, effective, and respectful communication between the platform and our clients.

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It's so interesting to observe how the definition of american dream changes throughout history. From the free land where everyone has equal opportunity to the land where everyone just cares about making money and their social status. Thanks guys here!

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James Truslow Adams: Dreaming up the American Dream

Background on James Truslow Adams, who coined the phrase The American Dream.

With the 2016 Presidential election approaching, we can all be sure we’ll be hearing about the American Dream a lot in the coming months. Where did the concept come from?

There was, in fact, a founding father of the American Dream. He was James Truslow Adams and he coined the phrase in his 1931 bestseller The Epic of America . Adams, who was no relation to the Presidential Adamses, had actually wanted to name the book after his central thesis, but his publisher thought that a book called The American Dream wouldn’t sell well during the Great Depression.

Adams’s definition: “a dream of a social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.”

He put it more succinctly elsewhere in the book: a “dream of a better, richer and happier life for all our citizens of every rank.” This contemporary review of Epic notes that Adams alluded to the idea in fifty or more passages in the book. The unnamed reviewer thought Adams believed the dream to be “our greatest contribution to the thought of the world.”

Adams himself was born fortuitously into a wealthy Brooklyn family and became a successful investment banker before transforming himself into a best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian. This  short essay on Chief Justice John Marshall  published in  The American Scholar  shows he didn’t talk down to a popular audience. The piece is dense and closely-argued, and goes to the heart of the question about just what kind of democracy we have, and might have in the future—his notion that the nation-state was on the way out may have been premature.

Calling something a dream is a tricky proposition, since matching “a better, richer and happier life for all” to today’s economic disparities, limited social mobility, and the overweening power of money in politics makes it sound like a far-fetched fantasy indeed.

Adams himself was clear-eyed: he wrote the American Dream “has been realized more fully in actual life here than anywhere else, though very imperfectly even among ourselves.”

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The American Dream

Edward albee.

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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Edward Albee's The American Dream . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

The American Dream: Introduction

The american dream: plot summary, the american dream: detailed summary & analysis, the american dream: themes, the american dream: quotes, the american dream: characters, the american dream: symbols, the american dream: theme wheel, brief biography of edward albee.

Historical Context of The American Dream

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• Full Title: The American Dream
• When Written: Early 1960s
• Where Written: New York, NY
• Literary Period: Postwar/Theatre of the Absurd
• Genre: Drama
• Setting: America
• Climax: Grandma tells Mrs. Barker a horrifying story which reveals that Mommy and Daddy mutilated their adopted child until it died.
• Protagonist/Antagonist: Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma are the play’s main characters, and also one another’s foils and antagonists.

Extra Credit for The American Dream

Mommy Dearest. The key to understanding the dreamlike and convoluted play The American Dream may lie in Albee’s own personal history. Albee is rumored to have based the character of Mommy on his own adoptive mother, the “tall and imposing” Frances Cotter Abee, from whom he was estranged for most of his life.

Repetition. Edward Albee’s 1959 play The Sandbox also features four characters named Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, and The Young Man. The setting is different—the characters rotate around a large pit of sand while directly addressing the audience about the rifts in their family—but the characters’ relationships to one another are much the same, and the play’s absurdist setting and themes were further teased out in The American Dream .

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Student Opinion

Do You Think the American Dream Is Real?

By Jeremy Engle

• Feb. 12, 2019

What does the American dream mean to you? A house with a white picket fence? Lavish wealth? A life better than your parents’?

Do you think you will be able to achieve the American dream?

In “ The American Dream Is Alive and Well ,” Samuel J. Abrams writes:

I am pleased to report that the American dream is alive and well for an overwhelming majority of Americans. This claim might sound far-fetched given the cultural climate in the United States today. Especially since President Trump took office, hardly a day goes by without a fresh tale of economic anxiety, political disunity or social struggle. Opportunities to achieve material success and social mobility through hard, honest work — which many people, including me, have assumed to be the core idea of the American dream — appear to be diminishing. But Americans, it turns out, have something else in mind when they talk about the American dream. And they believe that they are living it. Last year the American Enterprise Institute and I joined forces with the research center NORC at the University of Chicago and surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,411 Americans about their attitudes toward community and society. The center is renowned for offering “deep” samples of Americans, not just random ones, so that researchers can be confident that they are reaching Americans in all walks of life: rural, urban, exurban and so on. Our findings were released on Tuesday as an American Enterprise Institute report.

What our survey found about the American dream came as a surprise to me. When Americans were asked what makes the American dream a reality, they did not select as essential factors becoming wealthy, owning a home or having a successful career. Instead, 85 percent indicated that “to have freedom of choice in how to live” was essential to achieving the American dream. In addition, 83 percent indicated that “a good family life” was essential. The “traditional” factors (at least as I had understood them) were seen as less important. Only 16 percent said that to achieve the American dream, they believed it was essential to “become wealthy,” only 45 percent said it was essential “to have a better quality of life than your parents,” and just 49 percent said that “having a successful career” was key.

The Opinion piece continues:

The data also show that most Americans believe themselves to be achieving this version of the American dream, with 41 percent reporting that their families are already living the American dream and another 41 percent reporting that they are well on the way to doing so. Only 18 percent took the position that the American dream was out of reach for them

Collectively, 82 percent of Americans said they were optimistic about their future, and there was a fairly uniform positive outlook across the nation. Factors such as region, urbanity, partisanship and housing type (such as a single‐family detached home versus an apartment) barely affected these patterns, with all groups hovering around 80 percent. Even race and ethnicity, which are regularly cited as key factors in thwarting upward mobility, corresponded to no real differences in outlook: Eighty-one percent of non‐Hispanic whites; 80 percent of blacks, Hispanics and those of mixed race; and 85 percent of those with Asian heritage said that they had achieved or were on their way to achieving the American dream.

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Pros and Cons of the American Dream Essay

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• Introduction: Pros and Cons of the American Dream

Negative Effects of the American Dream

Advantages of the american dream, conclusion: why is the american dream bad, introduction: positives and negatives of the american dream.

The American dream is one of the most revered ideals of the nation and it has become a part of the American national identity. This national philosophy states that the United States of America is a land of opportunity and every person has equal opportunity, regardless of their socio-economic background, for prosperity and success if they use their talents and work hard. Inevitably, the American Dream has influenced generations of citizens who seek to obtain richer and better lives in accordance with the dream.

However, the US has experienced significant inequality and poverty even as more people pursue this dream. These issues have led to questions as to whether the American Dream is a good or a bad thing for the dreamer and the society. This paper will argue that the American Dream is bad because it ignores the growing inequalities, promotes individualism and encourages materialism by the American people.

The American Dream creates an illusion of equality while the reality is that power and wealth influence the socio-economic outcomes of an individual in the United States. The perception that the US offers equal opportunities for was first articulated in the Declaration of Independence.

In this document, Thomas Jefferson affirmed the ideal of equal rights and opportunities for all by declaring, “All men are created equal” (376). This ideal is echoed by Lincoln in the “Gettysburg Address” where he stresses on the importance of liberty and equality in the formation of the United States (1). As such, the American Dream proposes that each person has equal opportunity in the US in spite of his or her backgrounds. As such, even a child born and brought up in poverty has an opportunity to achieve great wealth in the country.

However, this is not the case and a person’s socioeconomic roots greatly determine their future prosperity. This statement is reinforced by the fact that the nation’s wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few wealthy individuals and the gap between the rich and the poor is ever widening in the country. The Dream is therefore a bad thing since it downplays the reality that the US is a land where power and wealth influence a lot.

The American Dream encourages individualism and a lack of concern for the poorer members of the society. The ideals promote the ethos of personal achievement through hard work. Because the dream asserts that everyone has equal opportunity and can prosper if they work hard, the “nation’s losers” are blamed for their problems.

The proponents of this dream propose that any person can succeed if they transform themselves and use their talent in this land of opportunity. From the assumption that everyone has equal opportunities to prosper, all individuals are expected to achieve success if they work hard.

Such an outlook ignores the lack of opportunities that individuals from poor backgrounds often face. Since failing to be successful is blamed on the individual and not the system in place, the government and other community members are not inclined to do anything to remedy the situation. People are only concerned with their wellbeing therefore creating a society that does not care for its less fortunate.

The ideals of the American Dream wrongly equate economic prosperity with happiness. The American Dream is based on the ideals of creating a more successful life by working hard and earning more money. It suggests that once one achieves success, economic expansion, and social mobility, he/she will experience happiness and contentment.

The dream exhorts materialism above everything else and this may be harmful for the society. The American Dream has become a nightmare in reality since compassion for human beings has all but disappeared as more people become preoccupied with making more money.

In Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams”, the young confident and hardworking Dexter Green is dedicated to gaining wealth and status, well in line with the American Dream. He is convinced that achieving this will give him joy and satisfaction. However, once Dexter achieves his goals of wealth and power, he realizes that his dreams are illusory and he will never get the happiness he seeks through achieving wealth and status (Fitzgerald 23).

The American Dream has been used as a justification for questionable conduct by individuals who are trying to achieve some goals or ambitions that are in line with the ideals of the dream. The Dream is not a well-defined concept and it has been stretched and adapted to fit all kinds of people and historical circumstances.

The dream has accommodated immigrants, drug dealers, as well as ambitious youths yearning to make a better life for themselves. The prominent Civil Rights Activist figure Martin Luther King used the American Dream to justify the civil disobedience that he was advocating (608). From these examples, it is clear that the American Dream can be used to justify both noble and questionable causes.

On the positive side, the American Dream has been used as a tool for progress and the promotion of unity. The idea of the American Dream was very instrumental in the establishment of the United States as a country independent from Britain. The American Dream was an underlying theme in the Declaration of Independence that is linked to freedom of the American people (Jefferson 377). The dream also served as a tool to overcome slavery in the 18th century.

Because the dream stated that equality and freedom were prerequisites for all American’s, the abolitionists used the American Dream to champion the emancipation of the slaves. President Lincoln referenced the American Dream in his attempt to unify the warring citizens and remind them that they all fought for the ideals it represented.

The American Dream has also served as inspiration for people to fight for their rights and promote equality in the society. This is best exemplified by Martin Luther King who fought for the dream of equality. King believed that all people in the US should have the same rights and opportunities as it is granted in the Declaration of Independence (622).

With such a deep conviction, he was able to mobilize people and eventually achieve the civil rights for the African-American population in the US. The American dream therefore inspired people to fight for their rights in the country.

The American Dream has promoted the capitalistic economic system, which is the most favorable system for economic growth and development. The dream promotes the ideals of Capitalism where each person is rewarded based on their efforts.

People are therefore encouraged to work hard and their efforts are rewarded through better pay and/or career advancement. The American Dream therefore contributes to the growth of the country’s economy since when individuals pursue and achieve their dreams; the economic outcomes of the country are improved.

Despite being the richest country in the world, there is significant poverty and socio-economic inequality in the US. This situation can partly be blamed on the American Dream. The American Dream is not one dream but a set of ideals that have been developed over time. While the dream constitutes a wide range of ideas, they are all based on achieving prospering, success, and living a good life.

This Dream is not realizable since individuals will always want more than what they have and therefore end up in a state of discontent. In addition to this, the dream diminishes social cohesion since it encourages individualism and an overemphasis on material possessions. The capitalistic system promoted by the American Dream favors the minority capital contributors at the expense of the working class. Capitalism also encourages exploitation of others in order to make more money.

This paper set out to argue that the American Dream is bad for the individual and the society as a whole. To this end, it set out to highlight the negative outcomes of the dream. The American dream creates a false sense of equality and promotes individualism. This paper has demonstrated that the American Dream has gone astray and is today out of reach for most Americans.

The United States is a land of opportunity and liberty, but these opportunities are not available equally. Instead of promoting the universal prosperity and equality, it assumes to uphold, the American dream has encouraged immense inequality within this great nation.

Fitzgerald, Scott. “Winter Dreams”. The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas . Ed. Kirszner, Laurie and Mandell, Stephen. Vancouver, Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.

Jefferson Thomas “The declaration of Independence.” The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas . Ed. Kirszner, Laurie and Mandell, Stephen. Vancouver, Prentice Hall, 2010. 375-378. Print.

King, Luther. “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas . Ed. Kirszner, Laurie and Mandell, Stephen. Vancouver, Prentice Hall, 2010. 608-622. Print.

Lincoln, Abraham. The Gettysburg address . 1863. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, December 11). Pros and Cons of the American Dream. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-american-dream-3/

"Pros and Cons of the American Dream." IvyPanda , 11 Dec. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/the-american-dream-3/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Pros and Cons of the American Dream'. 11 December.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Pros and Cons of the American Dream." December 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-american-dream-3/.

1. IvyPanda . "Pros and Cons of the American Dream." December 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-american-dream-3/.

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IvyPanda . "Pros and Cons of the American Dream." December 11, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-american-dream-3/.

Essays About The American Dream: 7 Interesting Topics to Discuss

American Dream has main themes: hard work and equal opportunity create a better life over time. Discover essays about the American dream topics in this article.

The concept of the American dream includes many ideas, including those outlined in the Declaration of Independence: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Professional writers, high school students, and many people have worked to outline the meaning of the American dream in essays and research papers.

Many United States citizens operate under the assumption that working hard can elevate their financial and social status. Many people in American society grapple with whether the idea of the American dream is an attainable reality for those born into less-fortunate circumstances. While some argue that social mobility—meaning changes in social class based on effort and hard work—are at the core of the American dream, others argue that those who are born into a preferable situation may have an easier time achieving the dream, disputing the notion of an equal playing field.

Here, we’ll discuss 7 interesting essay topics on the American Dream that you can use in your next essay.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers

1. Is The American Dream Still Alive?

2. the american dream is still alive: these people are proof, 3. the american dream defined, 4. the american dream in literature, 5. what does the american dream look like for immigrants, 6. how has the american dream changed over time, the final word on essays about the american dream, what literary works discuss the american dream, what should be considered when writing an essay on the american dream’s existence.

A topic of much debate, it can be tough to figure out whether the American Dream continues to exist as it did half a century ago. Many people question whether the American Dream is a reality for that outside of the American family depicted in 1950s television and print ads—largely white, upper-middle-class families.

Suppose you decide to write about whether the American Dream still exists. In that case, you’ll want to consider the inflation of the cost of a college education that has made it impossible for many students to work and pay their way through college, resulting in debt that feels impossible upon graduation. Rather than a fresh start in life, many graduates face low-paying jobs that make it difficult to handle daily living costs while also paying back high-interest student loans.

As you write about why the American Dream is currently a struggle for many, include success stories that show how the American Dream is still being achieved by many. You may want to touch on how the traditional idea of the American dream is changing with time. You can do this by highlighting studies that explain how successful Americans today feel regarding the American Dream and how the tenants of a successful life are changing for many people. 

Want to show your audience that the American Dream is still alive and well? Highlighting the stories of people who have achieved success in their lives can be a great way to convey proof of the existence of the American Dream to others. 

As you write your essay, it’s important to share how the definition of the American dream has changed over time. Today, many people feel that the American dream has more to do with a sense of belonging and community than making a certain amount of money or living in a certain type of home. Research shows that across the United States of America, people generally shared a positive feeling about the possibility of achieving the American dream. Most felt that they either had achieved the dream or were on their way to achieving it.

As you write your essay on proof of the existence of the American Dream, be sure to highlight people from different backgrounds, sharing the different challenges they’ve faced throughout their lives. You’ll want to show how Americans achieve success despite challenges and different starting points and how they’ve enjoyed their success (despite having different definitions of what it means to achieve the American Dream).

In years past, the definition of the American Dream was clear: rising above circumstances, developing a successful financial portfolio, owning a home, and having kids in a successful marriage. Today, however, many people define the American Dream differently. In an essay on defining the American dream, it’s important to consider viewpoints from different cultures and how a person’s socioeconomic starting point affects their view of what it means to have “made it” in America. 

When defining the American Dream, you may want to touch on how social and economic issues in America have made the American Dream a more realistic possibility for some groups than others. Social programs, discrimination, and civil rights issues have made it tougher for some minority groups to climb above the standing they were born into, making it harder to achieve financial stability and other aspects of the American dream.

In your essay about defining the American Dream, you may also want to touch on the importance of being able to take risks. This can be easier for people whose parents and other relatives can provide a safety net. People who are dependent on their savings to support new business ventures may find it harder to take risks, making it more difficult to achieve the American dream. 

When defining the American Dream, be sure to touch on how the Dream can be different for different people and how one person’s financial stability might not be the same as someone else’s. If possible, include anecdotal quotes and stories to help your reader connect to the way you’re defining the American Dream.

Many pieces of classic American literature work to show what the American Dream means to various groups of people. In writing an essay about the American Dream in literature, you’ll want to discuss several different classic works, including The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson. 

When discussing the theme of the American Dream in literature, there are a few different approaches that you can take to show your readers how the American Dream has changed in novels over time. You may want to work through a timeline showing how the American Dream has changed or talk about how real-life social and economic issues have been reflected in the way that authors discuss the American Dream. 

When writing about the American Dream, you may also want to touch on how each author’s social standing affected their view of the American Dream and whether the achievement of the Dream was feasible at the time. Authors born into difficult circumstances may have a different view of the American Dream than authors born into a more affluent lifestyle. 

Growing student debt, a lack of high-paying jobs, and increasing living costs have made it difficult for people to keep their faith in the American dream. Economic research shows that many first- and second-generation Americans experience economic mobility upward in immigrant families, but this mobility eventually stalls in future generations. According to some researchers, t’s possible that first- and second-generation immigrants feel more of a push to be a success story in an attempt to erase the negative connotations that some American citizens have with the word “immigrant.”

People who are new to the United States face different challenges than people who have lived in the country for their entire lives. Writing an essay about how the American Dream is different for people born in other countries can enlighten many of your readers about how the Dream is different for people in different circumstances.

The American Dream has not remained stagnant over the years, and what people once believed to be the American Dream is something that many Americans no longer want. Writing an essay about how the American dream has changed over time can be an interesting way to explore how the ideals of America have changed over the years. 

The wealth gap has changed over time in the United States, making it increasingly difficult for people born into a lower socioeconomic status to build their wealth and achieve the American dream. Research shows that more than 40% of people born into the lowest part of the income ladder in the United States stay there as adults. Talking about how economic challenges in the United States have made it difficult for many people to go through college or start businesses can be a jumping-off point to discussing changes in the American Dream. 

For many people, the ideals associated with the American dream—marriage, family, kids, a job that provides financial stability—are no longer as desirable. Some people don’t desire to get married, and it’s more acceptable in society to stay single. Some people have no desire to have kids, and some people prefer to work in the gig economy rather than going to a 9-5 job every day. Discussing these changes in American society and how they relate to changes in the American Dream can help your reader see how the Dream has changed over time.

In the eyes of many, the American dream is often associated with homeownership. Skyrocketing mortgage rates in the U.S. make it hard for many people to afford a home, relegating them to rent or living with family members. If you decide to talk about the difficulties of becoming a homeowner in today’s economy, do your research on the latest mortgage news. Many people who once qualified for mortgages struggle to get approved due to skyrocketing interest rates. Including recent financial news can help help your readers connect recent events with the reality of the American Dream.

Opinions on the American dream differ, and when writing about the topic, it’s important to keep your audience in mind. While some people have experienced at least part of the American dream, others have struggled despite hard work due to an unequal playing field from the start.

FAQs About Essays About The American Dream

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is well-known for their takes on the American dream.

When writing a persuasive or argumentive essay on the American dream, it’s important to consider social mobility, interest rates, homeownership rates, the cost of education, and other factors that contribute to creating a lucrative financial life.

If you’re still stuck, check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

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The American Dream Now Costs $4.4 Million

Investopedia / Alice Morgan

The American Dream now costs $4.4 million—that’s the estimated lifetime household cost of common milestones, including getting married, raising two children, buying a home, having new cars, saving for retirement, going on yearly vacations, and more. 

Investopedia’s report on how much the American Dream would actually cost to achieve found that the total was over $1 million more than most individual Americans earn in a lifetime, though not out of line with what a dual-income household might earn.

The average Bachelor’s degree holder in the U.S. earns about $2.8 million during their career, with women earning $2.4 million and men earning $3.3 million, according to Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce’s analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. When looking at the data by household, the average U.S. household of two earners holding Bachelor’s degrees has lifetime earnings of $5.6 million.

While this may seem like a more favorable comparison, the $4.4 million represents the cost of aspects associated with the American Dream, which is only part of the overall cost of living. Other important costs to consider would include food, healthcare, auto insurance and other baseline necessities that aren’t included in Investopedia’s American Dream calculation.

Additionally, structural factors such as the  racial wealth gap  and  gender wage gap,  along with the rising cost of living, have made elements of the American Dream increasingly unattainable for many. 

The phrase ‘American Dream’ means different things for everyone. Our analysis covers the costs of some aspects frequently associated with the American Dream and the reality of these costs for Americans today. It is not a reflection of all costs associated with life in the U.S. today. It may include elements some individuals wouldn't choose for themselves, as well as exclude elements that may be necessary for others.

Here is a look at the estimated lifetime costs of each major milestone and purchase commonly associated with the American Dream compared to the reality for most Americans. 

Saving for Retirement: $1.6 Million 

Avg Age: 22 - 65

The dream is to start saving for retirement during your first job after college and to continue saving from the ages of 22 to 65, and to have approximately $1.6 million in retirement savings to withdraw 4% each year (adjusting for 2.5% annual inflation) for 20 years. 

The reality is that many Americans don't hold retirement accounts—and those who do have accounts don’t have $1.6 million in them. About 54% of American families hold retirement accounts, according to the most recent Survey of Consumer Finances from 2022. The average amount held in a retirement account by 55- to 64-year-olds is $185,000 in 2022 dollars, according to the survey. 

While expenditures can help define a savings target, many personal factors can affect retirement costs, especially healthcare needs. According to a recent study, the average monthly cost of an assisted living facility is $5,350 or $64,200 per year, while a private room at a nursing home is $116,800 annually.

Additionally, economic factors such as high inflation over the past few years have affected savings and increased debt levels, making U.S. adults less sure of their retirement savings. According to AARP’s Financial Security Trends survey from January 2024, about 33% of U.S. adults 30 and older who are regularly saving for retirement said they will not have enough money in retirement at the current rate they’re saving (up from 29% in January 2023). Specifically, the increase in those who said they would not have enough money when they retire came from adults 50 and over. 

According to the survey, adults with lower household incomes and single adults consistently express a lack of financial security, as they generally have much lower household incomes compared to those who are married. It is also harder for those with lower incomes to save for retirement or even emergencies,  and they are more likely to be burdened by high levels of debt. 

Wedding: $44,300

Avg Age: 29

The American Dream typically includes marriage, and for those who do choose to get married, the average cost comes out to $44,300, including the ring, ceremony, and reception.  

Weddings have become more expensive over the past few years. With the pandemic causing labor shortages and inflation fueling costs, the price of wedding items such as florals has increased up to six times more than in 2019 and 2020, according to Brides.  

Raising Two Children: $832,172

Avg Age: 29 - 53

For those who choose to have children, the total cost of raising two children through the age of 17 for a middle-income, married couple is about $611,694. When adding in the cost of sending two children to a public, in-state, four-year college, the total cost of raising two children increases to a total of $832,172. 

More U.S. adults are choosing not to have children, with affordability being one of the main factors. A survey by the Pew Research Center found that over half (57%) of adults under 50 who were unlikely to ever have children say they simply didn’t want to, while 36% cited “Can’t/Couldn’t afford to raise a child” as the reason.

Owning a Home: $929,955

Avg Age: 35 - 65

Owning a home has long been one of the main aspects associated with the American Dream,  with the average age of first-time homebuyers in the U.S. currently at 35 years old. This means a 30-year mortgage would be paid off by age 65. However, the rising costs of homeownership have made it much harder for many Americans to buy a home at all, let alone pay it off.  

The average cost of buying and financing a home with a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage comes out to about $929,955. While this does include homeowner’s insurance and property taxes, it does not include other recurring costs such as maintenance, HOA fees and more. In 2023, home insurance rates rose anywhere between 10% and 23% in some states, further increasing the cost barriers to homeownership. 

The current homeownership rate in the U.S. is 65.6%, according to the Census Bureau. That’s down from 69.2% in 2004 but higher than the 63.9% homeownership rate a decade ago in 2014. 

Always Having New Cars (Two Adults): $811,440

Avg Age: 29 - 75

Since the early 20th century, cars and the automotive industry have been synonymous with American identity. As a result, we chose to include new cars in the calculation of the Cost of the American Dream.

The total cost of making monthly payments on two brand-new cars owned between the ages of 29 and 75 equals about $811,440. For our report, we chose a window for new car ownership beginning at 29 and ending at age 75, as less than 10% of the total driving population is 75 or older. We chose monthly payments on new cars to reflect the dream of always being behind the wheel of a new car, even if it is being financed. (Note: cost only includes the monthly payment cost for the cars but does not include other costs such as fuel, registration, insurance, and maintenance fees.) 

While most Americans have cars, most of them do not buy or lease new cars. New vehicle sales and leases made up around only 29.5% of all vehicle sales in 2019, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (most recent data available). 

A Yearly Vacation: $179,109

Avg Age: 22 - 85

If part of your American Dream is to take a week-long vacation every year between the ages of 22 and 85, the lifetime cost of 63 vacations comes out to $179,109. In 2022, 73% of Americans took at least one trip, according to Statista. Full-time employees with paid time off benefits took around 17 days of PTO on average in 2018, eight of which were used on vacation travel, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

Owning a Dog and Cat: $36,626

Nearly two-thirds of Americans own a pet, including 35% who have more than one, according to Pew Research Center. If you’re looking to get a dog and a cat, the lifetime cost for one of each is approximately $36,626. The number is based on the average life expectancy for dogs (12.7 years) and cats (11.2 years), along with annual and one-time pet care costs associated with dogs and cats. Of course, annual pet care costs can fluctuate depending on the needs of every individual pet. 

Funeral: $8,453

While not typically considered part of an inheritance, we included the cost of a funeral in our calculation of the price of the American Dream to account for not leaving behind burial costs for your descendants to pay for on your behalf. The average cost of a funeral, inflation-adjusted to 2024 dollars, is $8,453, according to National Funeral Directors Association data.

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The ‘Cost of the American Dream 2024’ aims to quantify, in current dollars, the costs of eight aspects of life chosen because they are historically or commonly associated with an ideal yet attainable life in the United States, specifically: home ownership; new car ownership; a wedding; raising children and providing them with a college education; leisure time including pets and vacations; and finally retirement and end-of-life expenses. While the cost of everyone’s ‘dream’ will differ, our calculation puts a price tag on these expenses across different life stages.

Items were chosen to meet two criteria: 1) they must be associated with living in the United States, and 2) they must represent an aspiration or ‘dream’ that is discretionary and distinct from a ‘necessity’. Home ownership, for example, is an ‘ideal’, and an often financially advantageous way of fulfilling the need all people have for shelter. As a result, many costs associated with items in the ‘Cost of the American Dream 2024’ are not affordable to many Americans. We aim in the article to provide context where possible to demonstrate the affordability of each line item. 

Limitations

The aim of the piece is to quantify the cost of dreaming, rather than the cost of living.  As a result, the items chosen and costs associated with the ‘American Dream’ piece do not reflect the spending habits of most Americans nor the cost of living in the United States. Importantly, these items do not include basic necessities such as food and healthcare. Some basic necessities are becoming increasingly unaffordable for many Americans. The cost of food has recently put considerable strain on U.S. consumers (as of July 2024, the cost of food has increased 27% since 2019). Further, according to one recent analysis nearly 1 in 12 adults hold medical debt, and nearly half have been diagnosed with a chronic condition. Essential food and healthcare costs have been excluded from our analysis on the basis that they are insufficiently discretionary to meet the criteria of representing a ‘dream’. 

All costs associated with items in the Cost of the American Dream are calculated in 2024 dollars (often adjusted for inflation to the latest 12 months as of publication using the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers). Many item totals represent costs summed over a ‘lifetime’ or time period associated with each item. As a result, the totals are hypothetical, as realistically costs would be both accrued and paid over a lifetime. For example, the average payment for a new car may vary significantly over 46 years (for reasons including but not limited to inflation), and these changes would meaningfully affect the final figure. 

Finally, the items chosen for the ‘American Dream’ may reflect aspects of life individuals may not choose for themselves, as well as exclude elements that may be important for others. For example, many individuals choose not to marry or have children, while others marry many times, have larger families, etc. Beyond family life, there are many choices individuals might make such as hobbies, donating money, or circumstances that prevent individuals from participating in the workforce, all of which carry financial implications. Our aim is not to provide a prescriptive view of the ‘American Dream’ but rather to use the concept as a starting point, and to provide each reader the information they need to consider how they might want to plan for their own financial future. 

Acknowledgements

Items included in the ‘Cost of the American Dream 2024’ were selected by Investopedia editors, including Editor-in-Chief Caleb Silver, as well as the Data Journalism and Communications teams. Data were collected and analyzed by Amanda Morelli. Special thanks to the Anti-Bias Review Board and Dr. Mackenzie Price for consultation and editorial guidance.

Data Collection & Analysis

Below is a description of how each estimate is calculated. 

New car ownership

Data Source:  

According to Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market Report (Q1 2024), the average monthly payment for a new car was $735 ($523 for a used car).

Transformation:

We are defining the dream as a new car per adult from the ages of 29 to 75. We chose 29 as a starting point to coincide with the average between the median age of first marriage for men (30.2) and women (28.4) (Current Population Survey, 2023), and chose 75 as the end point because it is the age after which the share of the total driving population falls below 10% (Federal Highway Administration, 2022). This yields a total of 46 years driving and paying for a new car, or 552 months. We then multiply the monthly payment value by 552 months and 2 for each driving adult in the household. 

Using the reported average interest rate (6.73%) and the average loan amount ($40,634) from the same Experian report, we estimate that these monthly payments would result from a 60- or 72-month agreement, which would amount to approximately 8 new cars driven per adult from the ages of 29-74.

Notably, this figure is only meant to represent the cost of the car itself, and does not include additional costs such as maintenance, insurance, or fuel. 

Latest cost for new car ownership is: $811,440

Home ownership

Data Source:

The National Association of Realtors publishes the average sale price for existing single family homes in the U.S. for each month. To arrive at a final sale price we take the mean of the most recent 12 months of data (latest June 2024) from the NAR for an average value of $403,246. For the same time period, we take the mean interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage for an average of 7.02%.

Transformation

To arrive at the final cost of the home ownership, we apply the mean mortgage rate to the mean sales price, and assume the following:

• 20% down-payment with fixed interest throughout the length of the 30-year mortgage
• Annual homeowner’s insurance premium: $1,522 (Freddie Mac, 2023)
• Property tax rate of 0.91% per year (Tax Foundation, 2022)

Notably, this does not include HOA fees or other costs such as home maintenance, and assumes a fixed mortgage rate throughout the life of the loan (though many homeowners may choose to refinance). 

Latest cost for home ownership: $929,955

According to The Knot’s 2023 Real Weddings Study, the average cost of a wedding ceremony and reception (among those getting married for the first time) was $38,000, and the average cost of an engagement ring was $5,500.

We adjust the sum of the 2023 costs for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers to reflect the latest 12-month average as of publishing.

Latest cost for a wedding: $44,300

Raising & sending two children to college

Data Source: 

The USDA’s 2015 Expenditures on Children by Families report estimated that middle-income, married-couple parents of two children could expect to spend a total of $233,610 per child from birth to age 17 for major budgetary components.  

We then multiply this number to reflect the costs of two children and adjust 2015 costs for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers to reflect the latest 12-month average as of publishing.

The National Center for Education Statistics reports the 2022-23 average total cost of attending a public, in-state, four-year college (including on-campus living) is $27,146 per year.

We then multiply this number to reflect the costs of two children attending for 4 years each, and adjust 2023 costs for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers to reflect the latest 12-month average as of publishing.

Latest cost for raising and sending two children to college: $832,172

Allianz Partners USA's annual Vacation Confidence Index for 2024 reports the average cost of a vacation (defined as a leisure trip lasting at least one week that is 100 miles or more from the respondent’s home) is $2,843 per vacationing household.

We multiply this cost by 63, which would represent an average of one vacation per year from the ages of 22-85.

Latest cost for an adult lifetime of yearly vacations: $179,109

The ASPCA reports costs associated with care for both dogs and cats for 2021. These costs include annual costs such as food, and one-time costs such as spay/neuter procedures. 

In order to calculate the lifetime costs for a dog and cat we multiply the annual costs ($1,391 for a dog, and $1,149 for a cat) by the respective average life spans for each pet, and add the initial/one-time costs. We then adjust 2021 costs for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers to reflect the latest 12-month average as of publishing.

Latest lifetime cost for a dog and cat: $36,626

Data Source

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the 2022 income before taxes for consumer units as $60,359 where the age of the reference person is 65+. We use this figure as a proxy for desired annual income for each year of retirement. 

To calculate the overall savings target for retirement we first adjust 2022 income for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers to reflect the latest 12-month average as of publishing. We then apply the 4% rule (dividing annual spend by 4%) to determine how much a consumer unit might need to save in order to generate the necessary retirement income. 

Latest savings target for approximately 20 years of retirement: $1,599,995

Funeral Expenses

The National Funeral Directors Association reports the median cost of a funeral (including viewing and burial) as $8,300 for 2023.

Transformations:

We then adjust 2023 costs for inflation using the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers to reflect the latest 12-month average as of publishing.

Latest cost of a funeral: $8,453

Census Bureau. " Census Bureau Releases New Educational Attainment Data "

 The Fed. " Chart: Survey of Consumer Finances, 1989 - 2022 ."

Genworth. " Cost of Care 2004 - 2023 ."

 AARP. “ AARP Financial Security Trends Survey, January 2024 .”

The Knot. " 2023 Real Weddings Study ."

Brides. " How Much Does the Average Wedding Cost in the United States ?"

Pew Research. " The Experiences of U.S. Adults Who Don't Have Children ."

Census Bureau. " Housing Vacancies and Homeownership - Press Release ."

Bureau of Transportation Statistics. " New and Used Passenger Car and Light Truck Sales and Leases ."

PR Newswire. "  Americans Expect to Spend a Record-Breaking $221 Billion on Summer Vacations This Year ."

Statista. " Chart: How Often Do Americans Travel ?"

 U.S. Travel Association. " State of American Vacation. "

Pew Research Center. " About half of U.S. pet owners say their pets are as much a part of their family as a human member ."

ASPCA. " Cutting Pet Care Costs ."

National Funeral Directors Association. " 2023 NFDA General Price List Study Shows Inflation Increasing Faster than the Cost of a Funeral ."

• Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker. " The burden of medical debt in the United States ."
• Centers for Disease Control. " Chronic Disease Prevalence in the US: Sociodemographic and Geographic Variations by Zip Code Tabulation Area ."
• Experian. " New vehicle inventory bounces back, reshaping the automotive finance market during the first quarter of 2024 ."

U.S. Census Bureau. " Historical Marital Status Tables ."

U.S. Federal Highway Administration. " Highway Statistics 2022, Table DL-20 ."

National Association of Realtors. " Summary of July 2024 Existing Home Sales Statistics ."

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. " 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average in the United States ."

Freddie Mac. " Economic, Housing and Mortgage Market Outlook - March 2024: Homeowners' Insurance Costs - Freddie Mac ."

Tax Foundation. " Facts & Figures. How Does Your State Compare. 2024 ."

The Knot. " The Knot 2023 Real Weddings Study ."

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. " BLS Data Viewer ."

U.S. Department of Agriculture. " Cost of Raising a Child ."

National Center for Education Statistics. " Digest of Education Statistics ."

Allianz Partners via PR Newswires. " Americans Expect to Spend a Record-Breaking $221 Billion on Summer Vacations This Year ."

National Library of Medicine. " Life expectancy tables for dogs and cats derived from clinical data ."

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Home — Essay Samples — Economics — American Dream — Is the American Dream Still Alive?

Is The American Dream Still Alive?

• Categories: American Dream

About this sample

Words: 712 |

Published: Jan 30, 2024

Words: 712 | Pages: 2 | 4 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, history of the american dream, economic perspective on the american dream, social perspective on the american dream, cultural perspective on the american dream, personal perspective on the american dream, counterarguments to the american dream, references:.

• Kelly, P. (2020). The American Dream. Forbes.
• Gallup. (2020). Americans Still Believe in the American Dream.
• Kochhar, R. (2016). The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold? Pew Research Center.
• Wilhelm, H. & Schulte, B. (2020). Is the American Dream Dead? Global Young Voices.
• Delgado, R. & Stefancic, J. (2001). Understanding Words That Wound.

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