4.10.12 The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on hold

1. The writer’s central argument is that the American dream is not dead or on hold like many Americans think, but that the values and ideals of the American dream are still alive in today’s society. The writer point of view is that external factors such as the economy, has made people believe the American dream is unobtainable. According to the writer, that sentiment is not true because there are still opportunities in American to achieve the dream.

2. The writer uses many examples to prove her point. In his first example, the writer uses historical data pertaining to when the American dream slogan was created. The next example was a New York Times poll who’s goal was to see how many Americans felt it possible to start poor, work hard, and become successful. His last stat was on how many Americans were renting homes instead of purchasing them. The writer uses quotes from authors about his subject. He quotes Robert Reich’s “the year Wall Street bounced back” and Paul Krugman’s” The conscience of a liberal” The writer also inserted New York Times columnist Bob Herbert and D. Chapman into his paper. There were few comparisons and he used logical explanations to blend his argument and the evidence.

3. I think the writer is convincing because of the evidence he presented and his analysis of the argument. The writer always presented a point in each paragraph and thoroughly explained it. When the writer argued his idea, he would bring a reliable source that agreed with his argument, which created credibility. His arguments were concise and logical, which made it easy to follow and understand. I was further convinced because towards the end of his paper and sometimes thought the body paragraphs, he inserted a naysayer and people who opposed his view, which proved to me that the writer has though about the subject intensively.

4. I don’t agree with the writer. Although most dreams are hard to reach, the American dream is suppose to be obtainable. The American dream of today is not a dream; it’s a fairytale. External factors such as the Wall Street and the economy have alerted the dream. Everyone is suffering, college students who have to pay more for tuition and fees, employers cutting jobs of qualified people, blue collar jobs going to overqualified candidates because they cant find work in their field. Instead of hard work paying off, people are finding themselves in a similar or worse situation than before. It’s like two steps forward and four steps backwards. The American dream of today has been altered to surviving as best as you can in society.

5. Is the American dream a dream or American propaganda?
Does the American dream apply to everyone in society?
Rags to riches is often associated with the American dream, so does riches to more riches mean one has achieved the American dream? Or is the dream only achievable if you’re significantly less off than you started?