the american dream

Stephen Calkins

Jacob Miller

THE AMERICAN DREAM

THE AMERICAN DREAM

In the Beginning of the

THE AMERICAN DREAM

• Began with immigrants moving here for a better life

• Later popularized by writers of the 20th century who were not

happy with the way people had interpreted the Dream

• Many very successful business men

lived in luxury

• This shows immigrants with very little

trying to find their American Dream

19TH CENTURY

What people had What people could have

• Material goods, Black Rights, Social

Order

• Barely a job, low wages

20TH CENTURY

What people had What people wanted

THE AMERICAN DREAM

Main themes of the

MAIN THEMES• The American Dream has been interpreted many different ways

and is different for everyone

There are those, I know, who will say that the liberation of

humanity, the freedom of man and mind, is nothing but a

dream. They are right. It is the American dream.

-Archibald MacLeish

Edges and disjuncts, shattered, bitter planes,

a wedge of disconsolate memories to echo fame,

fear of the past, a future still to blame--

Multiple heavens, hells, nothing is straight.

You earn your money, then you wait

for so-called life to see that you get paid.

Tilt! Again it's all gone wrong.

This is a heartless, hopeless song.

This is an empty, useless song.

-Robert Creeley

MAIN THEME

THE AMERICAN DREAM

Reflecting on society with the

REFLECTION

• The American Dream is perceived as a struggle for material

goods

• Many people worked from the ground up to gain a materialistic

life

• Writers have disagreed with this for years

REFLECTION

• The American Dream has changed and many now look for “Get

Rich Quick”

• Work values for many have dramatically shifted

• “Rags to Riches”

• If you work hard then you will succeed

bringing wealth and God’s grace

• He won on “Who Wants To Be A

Millionaire”, well so can I

• Lottery

REFLECTION

REFLECTION

REFLECTION

• The lottery and game shows now target Americans desire for

money

• These lures make large amounts of money feeding off of

people’s naïveeity

AMERICAN DREAM

What is our

Stephen

Money

Big House

Car

Jacob

Babes

QUESTIONS?