The American Dream AP ENGLISH 11 / MS. MEYER

What is the American Dream? The American Dream originated in the early days of the American settlement, with the mostly poor immigrants searching for opportunities. It was first manifested in the Declaration of Independence, which describes an attitude of hope. The Declaration of Independence states that “all man are created equal and that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness”.

Original Definition American Dream: James Truslow  “A better, richer, happier life for all citizens ….”

Fareed Zakaria’s “How to Restore the American Dream” – 2010 TIME article From Mumbai  moved to the US; highly educated (PHD from Harvard) Says his dream as a child “looked like something like the opening credits of Dallas” AND that a “green card was a passport to the American Dream” College scholarship; different from his expectations “The modern American Dream, for me, was this general prosperity and well-being for the average person … this middle-class contentment created a country of optimists.” Can we apply the American Dream to foreigners? What does his dream look like in the 70s given the context of the era? Why has his dream changed now (210) when he visits America?

Restoring the Dream Fareed suggests that restoring the American Dream requires us fixing the middle class. He posits that we should: 1) Invest rather than consume – in people too! 2) Provide more and better education 3) Control gov’t spending – healthcare & state pensions 4) Rationalize tax code & learn from global competition

Class Definition How do WE define the American Dream now? How has it changed throughout the years? Does it exist now? Is it attainable?

The AD in Gatsby In the novel, you can see what happened to the American Dream during the 1920s. The values have totally changed, instead of striving for equality, they just want to get as rich as they could get. So, it is not surprising that the new kind of "American Dream" fails several times, which F. Scott Fitzgerald describes in his book. He shows that people are not yet treated equally and that social discrimination still exists (with class, gender, and race).

The characters’ Dreams Gatsby is our most hopeful character. His hope motivates him to achieve his dream. Does he? Daisy, being rich, lives her dream daily because of her marriage to her husband. She lives for the moment. Tom was born into his dream. He does not suspect it could or would change. Wilson is struggling for his dream. He needs Tom’s help. Myrtle, Wilson’s wife, is also struggling for her dream. Like her husband, she needs something from Tom in order to achieve it.