Comp 111 - Types of American Dreams

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Jackie dreams of living in the biggest house in America while others dream differently because everyone has gone through different experiences in life. These experiences influence them and lead them to believe what dreams and goals they can achieve. Fareed Zakaria, the author of “Restoring The American Dream” mentions, “A few years later, when I got to America on a college scholarship, I realized that the real American Dream was somewhat different from Dallas. I visited college friends in their hometowns and was struck by the spacious suburban houses and the gleaming appliances-even when their parents had simple, modest jobs. The modern American Dream, for me, was this general prosperity and well-being for the average person” (Zakaria). What he means by this is that while he was living in India he thought the American dream was general prosperity and well-being of a human being until he came to America and started to experience the life of Americans his idea of the American Dream changed. His American dream changed to having the life of his friends. So as more powerful opportunities were presented to Jackie and as she experienced having more money her dreams changed to having the biggest house in America. Therefore, due to going through experiences in life and having great opportunities a person starts to set goals and dreams that are possible for him or her to achieve.

Moreover, many children have to work to gain their American Dream but Jackie’s children don’t have too because their dream is being handed to them by their parents. Jonathan Kozol, the author of “Preparing Minds for Markets” discusses the material students need to learn in order to prepare them for their future. Kozol states “ Children in the higher grades are taught to file applications for a job, the principle explained then “ go for interviews,” she said before they can be hired” ( Kozol 302). It illustrates the difference between Jackie’s children who go to a rich private school and how they don’t have to bother learning the steps of getting a job because they’re already billionaires. They have bigger dreams and goals to accomplish by spending their parent’s money. On the other hand, students who go to a public high school have to work and achieve their own American dream by going off to college. Therefore, for the current generation Jackie’s American dream or her children’s American dream is not attainable because the Siegel’s already have billions of dollars saved up for their kids while children of today’s generation have to earn their own money to achieve their dream.

Many people are not likely to achieve Jackie’s American dream because of the different background and experiences they come from. Jackie gained her American dream by what she went through in life, for example, marrying her rich husband. On the other hand, people have to build up their success on their own. Dodd Johnny, the author of the article “Mortgage Lender, Philanthropist” discusses how Streans Glenn had a tough background due to him being a father at the age of 14. He had to get a job outside of school to help support his daughter. The author mentions, “Stearns pushed through high school and became the first person in his family to graduate from college, earning an economics degree from Towson University, but it was a chance road trip to California that changed his life: "I saw this beautiful mansion and asked the guy in the front yard what he did for a living. He laughed and said, 'I'm just the gardener, but I think the owner is in real estate.'" Ten months later, after sleeping on friends' floors and couches to save cash, he and a pal opened their own mortgage company. This year Stearns Home Loans is expected to provide $27 billion in loans (Dodd). This illustrates that each individual pictures his or her dream differently due to the experiences they go through in life. After seeing the huge mansion Stearns decided to accomplish something similar to that. He knew how far he could go and how much effort was needed to get to where he is. He saved up and went through rough times because his dream was to be successful and live in a beautiful mansion. He wouldn’t dream of having the biggest house in America like Jackie does because Stearns knew how far he could go. Hence, it isn’t possible for everyone to attain Jackie’s dream because people build their American dream due to the background they come from and the experiences they go through in life.

Jackie’s American dream is not an attainable idea for everyone because everyone has a different journey of life which contains various types of struggles which leads people to accomplish the American dream that they wish to achieve. For example, Amobi, Onuora the author of "A Legal Immigrant's American Dream” discusses how an immigrant’s dream comes true after many years of hard work. The author states, “That was 25 years ago. Today I’m an American citizen, I have a college degree and I’m the CEO of a tech company in California. I guess you could say I’m living proof that the American dream is alive and well. But it didn’t happen overnight. In fact, over 16 years passed from my first day in the U.S. to my swearing-in ceremony” (Amobi). This proofs that it is not possible for everyone to obtain Jackie’s dream and that everyone has their own definition of the American dream. People go through different types of struggles to accomplish their dreams. For example, Wadhaw Vivek the author of "Indian Immigrants Make It Obvious That the American Dream Is Alive and Well” discusses the struggles of making his dream come true. He mentions, “Immigrants who come to America face discrimination just as foreigners in any country do. Americans are generally tolerant and open-minded, but racism is an ugly human trait. People with dark skin or a foreign accent are always at a disadvantage in America. This means that they have to work harder and think smarter. Indian immigrants were typically at the top of the social ladder in the communities that they left behind, but find themselves on the lowest rung in the United States. This is a very uncomfortable experience and provides incredible motivation to do whatever it takes to succeed, as I can tell you from personal experience”( Wadhaw). In brief, the American dream is not an attainable idea for everyone because everyone’s journey of life consists of various types of struggles so not everyone can have the same destiny and dream as Jackie.

Jackie’s definition of the American dream is to have the biggest house built in America because of where her journey of life has taken her, however other people’s definition of the American dream differs from Jackie’s. For example, Leah Scott-Kirby asked multiple people for their opinion on