...Dream Big America White picket fences and a comfortable savings account are a couple things that people often associate with the American dream. Most people believe that this idea is becoming less achievable as time goes on. It also goes back to how a person defines the American dream, is it the rags to riches story that most people only hear about, or does it go deeper than that. Now I believe the American dream is about securing a life that is content and debt free. Having a life where one doesn’t have to be burdened by bills and living paycheck to paycheck. In the essay, “ Is the American Dream Over?” by Cal Thomas, he blatantly puts blame on the government for diminishing views of the American dream. Thomas says, “ The creation of government that is out of control, and thus out of touch robs every citizen, preventing fulfillment of the original American dream(569).” He thinks that society has put too much faith in the government. Even though it seems as if the American dream no longer exists working hard towards your goals make it very attainable. Thomas then refers to Bob Herbert’s composition, “ Hiding from Reality,” disagreeing with him that the American dream is alive and one should not put too much dependence in the government. A person needs to take initiative of his or her own lives and put in the necessary work to make it happen. I agree with Thomas, the American dream is very much a reality the necessary steps to achieve this dream is a good education, respectable...
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...Critical Response 1. The article "Keeping the Dream Alive" by Jon Meacham main subject is based on the American Dream. In this article, the author is talking about the American Dream. He says back in the post war era (WWII) life was much different than it is today. Back then people were better, richer, and happier. People made more money, the unemployment rate was a lot lower and overall life was a lot better. 2. The purposes the writer has for presenting this argument are pretty simple. He is trying to make a point that the American Dream began centuries ago. Immigrants who migrated to this great country had a dream in order to make their dreams a reality migrating to America would be their goal. It was more easily seen to succeed in America than in their country. 3. The position the writer takes would have to be looking back in history and creating an idea of how it must have been how people struggled to come to this great country. He also must had quite a good amount of research done to make his article approved. 4. The writer mostly supports ideas mainly with facts every piece of information was taken from pieces of history. Every fact he states was very well put together research was his main focus for this article. He had to look back and try to make a comparison of todays history relevant to way back. Seeing the some changes were made but people still kept the goal of the American Dream. 5. The evidence the writer presents to support the position he states would...
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...a possibility. Charlie Morley, teacher of the Tibetan Buddhist practice of dream yoga, has experienced the power of the dream state in healing. He teaches lucid dreaming to numerous people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder—including ex-soldiers, victims of terrorist attacks, and those who experienced abuse during childhood—as a means to not only cure nightmares, but he says "to open people up to view their nightmares as a call for help rather than an attack from the unconscious." A lot of our fears, traumas, and the shadow aspects of psyche that we have unconsciously rejected...
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...wake up in a whole other world where anything your heart and mind desired became reality. Flying over clouds, breathing underwater, going to any part of the world or even getting to be with that person you so much desire wasn’t impossible anymore. Well there is a way that can be done, and that’s through something called lucid dreaming. After listening to this presentation I hope you will have a better understanding of the world of lucid dreaming and how it can be done. I will begin by explaining to you in detail what it is exactly. Then, you will learn a few of the benefits gained by this experience and some dangers. Last, I will give you a few simple steps to how it can be done. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? I know I was! As explained in an article by Rebecca Turner, Lucid dreaming is the proven ability to become aware while you’re dreaming, to consciously “wake up” inside the dream world and control your dreams. In other words, it’s being able to do as you please while you dream. Marshall Brain researched that when you sleep, your brain goes through several stages of a sleep cycle. The cycle that deals with dreams is REM or rapid eye movement which takes up 20 to 25% of sleep and your brain is basically shut off during this period of time. Your body becomes paralyzed except for the eyelids and the part of the brain that deals with logic is shut off which is why most of the time our dreams don’t make sense. Lucid dreaming occurs during this stage of sleep with a slight...
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...An essential part of American identity is the assurance that our children can inherit a greater quality of life than we were subjected to. James Truslow popularized the phrase “American Dream” in his book Epic of America, published in 1931. Truslow stated that the American Dream is, “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for every man, with opportunity for each according to his ability or achievement… [A] dream of 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.” In essence, the American Dream is the philosophy of upward mobility. It is the opportunity to make individual choices without being limited by class, religion, race, or ethnicity. Since it’s origin, this idea of the American Dream has not coincided with the American reality shown through the segregation of class, race and ethnicity, unhappiness in the home, and the failure of public education. Immigrants during the Industrial Revolution were exposed to unjust treatment and stifled growth in society, women in the 1950s faced an identity crisis spawning from the materialized idea of perfection, and at the turn of the century public education showed poor performance on the worldwide scale. The industrial revolution marked a turning point in the history of the United States of America, impacting...
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...Before Jane could start fulfilling her dream of running a luxurious hotel, she has to decide on the type of business strategy she is going to utilize in helping her dream become a reality as there are many different types of business strategies she could apply. I think that Jane should focus on a Business Level Strategy which is “an integrated and coordinated set of commitments and actions the firm uses to gain a competitive advantage by exploiting core competencies in specific product markets”. By utilizing the business level strategy approach, it will help Jane to decide exactly who she is catering for, that is, her target consumers, the needs of her target consumers that she would need to satisfy and how she would go about satisfying those needs. In order for her dreams to come to reality and be successful, Jane would have to use Information Systems in order to gain the competitive advantage she would need due to the competitiveness of the industry. Jane could invest in purchasing a Hotel Management Information system software that is available and that she can afford. This system can be used to gather and disseminate information pertinent to running the organization in the hotel industry. With a Hotel Management Information system Jane would be able to run her hotel efficiently as the software would take care of Reservations that is the booking of rooms via the Internet or through travel agencies, availability status ,keeping track of her guests, posting of bills for...
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...painting while in school, and much of his work was admired by his fellow students and teachers. It would be in 1931 when Dali would create one of his most memorable pieces of work to date –the Persistence of Memory. Dali, also created arts such as Metamorphosis of Narcissus in 1937 and The Elephants in 1948. The Metamorphosis of Narcissus retells the story of the tragic fate of Narcissus and Echo. Elephants on the other hand were specially selected animals which Dali used to contrast the difference between weight and structure, with the elephants carrying huge weight on their backs on top of brittle legs which were vastly elongated in order to substantially distort reality and strengthen the symbolism in his painting. Although Dali was a great artist, it was his unusual way of thinking and deep concern for dreams that gained him the most notoriety. Salvador Dali was born in 1904 in Figueres, Spain. In 1921, his mother passed away, and drew Dali closer to the arts. At first influenced by futurism, in 1924 Dalí came under the influence of the Italian painter de Chirico while in art school in Spain and by 1929 he had become a leader of Surrealism. His precisely realistic style enhances the obsessively nightmarish effect of many of his paintings. Among his best-known works is Persistence of Memory with its strangely melting clocks. In 1940 Dalí escaped from Nazi-occupied France and emigrated to the United States. He wrote The Secret Life of Salvador Dalí and also made surrealist...
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...“America! From the other end of the earth where I came, America was a land of living hope, woven of dreams, aflame with longing and desire” (Yezierska 16). This quote centers on America’s promise to provide everyone with access to the American Dream. The American Dream is the thoughts, aspirations, visions and hopes associated with one’s future in America, specifically one’s goals, ambitions, and intents. In recent times, the dynamics of the American Dream has changed, and this shift has raised questions as to whether America is keeping its promise pertaining to the American Dream. While many Americans assert that because they have been able to achieve their goals America still provides access to the American Dream, others insist they have no way to achieve their American Dream because the...
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...Dream vs. Reality As you grow up, adults always ask you the same question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Little boys often say “super heroes” and little girls often say “princesses”. I, personally, got over the princess stage pretty quick and opted for mermaid. But, a few years later, I saw a movie that changed my mind. The title was “Ice Princess” and it was the story of a high school student who started figure skating. I begged my parents who eventually agreed to let me start classes. I was in middle school at the time, so I thought I had plenty of time to become a real ice princess. A girl’s dream always seems to be becoming a princess, or an ice princess, but over time and experience, reality hits. Figure skating is seen as a very graceful and effortless art, but it is still a sport. I tried all sports as a kid but never grew attached to any. Being athletic just wasn’t my thing. Figure skating appealed to me because of the ice, and how I would never get hot because of the cold temperatures. It seems like that at first, but it does get very hot after training for hours. As with any sport, training starts with the very basics. The way my program did it was there were multiple levels with certain elements in each one. After you finished all levels, then you would start doing programs, or performances, and competitions. It took me about a year to pass through all the levels, which normally takes two or three for other girls, so I thought I had finally found...
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...her lack of self-confidence. Not only is her leg frail, but so is her self-esteem. Laura is treated with fragility by her family members who “come to her rescue” and prohibit her from attempting to accomplish anything, provoking audiences to question Amanda’s parenting. Furthermore, the integral music, specifically "The Glass Menagerie" theme, a distant-sounding, delicate melody coupled with the glass menagerie’s shattering, highlights Laura’s fragility when she cries out “as if wounded” creating an emotional emphasis, evoking sympathy within the audience. This play delves into the moral ramifications of specific kinds of escape, provoking audiences to question the repercussions of leaving loved ones. Williams’s examines perceptions of reality through the use of delicate music, serving as a thread of connection and allusion between the narrator and the story, exploring characters’ illusionary worlds and conveying the surface vivacity of life, provoking audiences to question the underlying strain of immutable and inexpressible...
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...Existentialism talks about man making himself. Man has a dream for himself to fulfill one day. These dreams sometimes get the best of people and become them. These people become isolated from society with only their dream keeping them going. Isolation is everywhere. There are different types of isolation: intrapersonal, interpersonal, and existential isolation. We see the main character Gregor Samsa going through all three types of isolation in the short story The Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa is an ordinary man with a dream to one day fulfill. This dream or goal of his has become him. The only thing keeping him going is the thought that one day his goal will be reached. This dream has kept him running away from reality, which has led to his isolation. The first type of isolation that we see in Gregor is interpersonal isolation; this is the form of isolation from others. Throughout the short story Gregor isolates himself from his family. He overworks himself to try to maintain his family by himself. People would think that such dedication from a son would bring him closer to his parents; “but for all the work one does, one still doesn’t gain any right to be treated with loving kindness by everyone; on the contrary, one is alone, a perfect stranger to everyone, and merely an object of curiosity.” (Emrich) Gregor did not stand up for himself, he let his parents control his life; a life he despised. His parents had such control over him that he no longer was a son to them, but an...
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...Of Mice and Men “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” This quote from James Truslow Adams “The epic of America”, states one of the themes in the novella Of Mice and Men. John Steinbeck, the author of Of Mice and Men, deals with the topic of living through the great depression, as the readers follow the story of two migrants workers and their wish to fulfil their American Dream. Steinbeck’s inspiration for his novella can be linked back to his own life, as he was both born and raised in Salinas Valley, the most productive agricultural region in California. This essay will cover Of Mice and Men’s setting, the characterisation of major characters and the key themes identified within the novella. Two protagonists, Lennie and George, travel around together to obtain work. Within the novella, Steinbeck has presented two obvious settings, and focused on the contrast between them. Nearing the beginning of the book, the two men spend a night in a small, secluded glade near the river. The description of the nature area could be compared to heaven, just a beautiful place as described in this quote: “On one side of the river, the golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Galiban mountains” (page 1, line 5), where the nature is described as majestic, strong and even golden. However a contrast is formed with the two men entering the setting...
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...that I saw was called The Persona of Dreams painted by a man named Eric who was happened to be painting portraits of people to in order make money on the side from his real job as a barber. Also, his painting had many details that left me in deep awe and his visceral purple landscape was layered with radiant moonlight and stars, which honed in the perspective of how he saw the night. From me it was a surreal experience just seeing the painting. Some of the details and meanings that I picked up from Eric’s painting was the blue pond − it portrayed the necessity of life and was mirroring a reflection of the surroundings in the painting, just as water does in our world....
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...The Unachievable American Dream One of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, and one of the most iconic civil rights activists in our countries history, Martin Luther King Jr., both believed in equality for all. In the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote “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” ( 327). Since then, America has become the number one country for achieving life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Today, we know this better as the American Dream. The American Dream is something that every American strives for. Immigrants from other countries come here and become American citizens with the hope of someday achieving their ideal American Dream. We all design and carry this image in our heads of our own American Dream. The job we hope to have and the pleasant family we hope to build and raise in our perfect ideal homes, are all images that come to mind when thinking of the American Dream. Most of us, every day of our lives, are doing the best we can. We try to make this dream become a reality, but the reality of this dream is that it’s getting harder and harder to reach; due to unemployment, poverty, and our countries overall economic state. Over the past few years the country’s economy has been in a downward spiral and we’ve reached an economic recession. Poverty and unemployment rates amongst United States citizens have...
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...Strategies to Achieve Educational Goals Shirley Lemacks HCS/301 October 3, 2011 Karen Benjamin Strategies to Achieve Educational Goals Setting goals can make life an interesting journey; however, taking the first step toward a goal may prove to be very difficult. Educational goals, along with any goal set must be specific. Decide what the goal is to be and be sure that it is understood what exactly it consists of. Determine what they will do after the goal is accomplished as it could take them into a different chapter in their lives. Another importance is to make the goal realistic and achievable along with measureable and timed. Failure comes when a goal is unrealistic and impossible to achieve. Give it a time line obtainable in the near future, not 20 years from now. As an older adult the wish to become a cardiac surgeon this year would be an example of an unrealistic goal. Once a goal is set, prepare for obstacles and hurdles to cross over. Decide how long it will take to accomplish this goal. After this goal is achieved, repayment would be spread out over time. Time is a valuable asset and commitment is a must. Construct a chart to keep up with academic progress and obtain a superior support system by involving family and friends. According to a study by Templeton research, “Once a goal is chosen, the mind has many processes to promote its pursuit” (Masicampo, 2011, p. 672). Educational and Personal Goals After working as a nursing assistant for many years in...
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