Before we dive into this post, y'all need to know who is going to be doing the artwork for Absolutely Unsure from now on!
One of my really good friends from school is an all around brilliant creative mind. One day she showed me her art and then boom! Here we are!She is a self described " nerdy, hobby-artist and writer." I love her work and I think you guys will too! So go look at some more of it! She has Deviantart and Tumblr!
Okay! On to the post! Today while trying to read through some dreadfully boring homework (Environmental Biology might just be the death of me) my mind wandered to my American Literature class from last week. We read "Winter Dreams" by F. Scott Fitzgerald (one of my faves, btw) and had a very intriguing debate over what constitutes as the "American Dream". At first, most people responded with the typical "a house with a white picket fence, a family and a dog" (cat lovers, you can switch that dog out).
Before I continue with my thoughts, it's important to have some plot information about "Winter Dreams". A young man, Dexter Green, grows up in a small town. He works as a caddy growing up, here he is surrounded by the elite members of society. This is when he decides that one day he will be a part of this upper class. As the story goes on our Mr. Green builds a laundry empire and makes his fortune. AND THAT'S ALL I'M GONNA TELL YOU! Go read it, it's phenomenal. (Here's a link to the story.)
Now that I went all English major on you...
The point is the story is about a young man works his way up to better his life. During my class discussion we concluded the "American Dream" is really just having the ability to better your life. The "American Dream" is all about chasing dreams. I believe that's always been the "American Dream", our country was founded on the belief that we could better ourselves.
My question for you then is, what does the "American Dream" mean to you?
I think the American Dream is whatever people make it to be. For the fact I claim this place to be the land of opportunities, it makes it seem as though your options are limitless thus allowing people fabricate variants of the same "American Dream" or create an entirely new dream for themselves
ReplyDeleteI really like your take on it, Randal. To build on what you said, do you think people use the "American Dream" as a safeguard for when they can't find their own dream to follow?
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