The American Dream The American dream is a set of ideals, which include the freedom of opportunity, success, and prosperity. The American dream as been altered since the time of Ben Franklin. It has changed immensely since then. Franklin believed that if you were early to bed and early to rise that would make you healthy and wise. He also believed that the key to wealth was industry. The main focus during this time was not to be wealthy but to have economic independency and opportunity in social advancement. Throughout time the vision of the American dream has changed greatly, with the main focus on money. Most Americans strive to be at the top of the economic ladder and want to be wealthy. As seen in the movie, the Joneses, money is the main priority in the families mind. The family is focused on the sales within their family and need to be up to date with all the new technology. They want to become the top of the market and become an icon for the company. When there is an abundance of money families or people become more materialistic and want to show off their wealth. This movie shows a great example on how greedy some people are with reaching the American dream due to money.
Money became a big factor in the American dream because people are very competitive. They want to have all the new clothes, cars, and technology. In recent years the American dream has changed a lot due to the recession. Money was starting to become a problem with Americans due to the recession and so were jobs. Many Americans suffered from unemployment and is still taking a toll on us today. Due to the recession many people wanted to save rather than spend because of the uncertainty in the job market. This made people more focused on personal goals and to have a financial safety net. To reach the American dream many characteristic help you to reach your goal. Although the American dream has been altered through out the years two many qualities to achieving your goal are education and wealth.
Education is the main building block to achieve any dream in life. Without education you would not be able to attain any type of goal in life. In the 17th century right around when Ben Franklin was born the first public school was being built. This shows how important it is to receive an education and how we have grown as intellectuals. Since the day we are born we are forced to receive an education. It is mandatory in the United States for a child to attend school until they reach high school. From that point a student can decide whether they would like to further their education or not. Students today have a choice to even receive online schooling as a second option.
“Before World War II, only a small proportion of Americans went to college. In 1937, just 15 percent of high school students went on to higher education, and most of them were from upper-income families” (American rw,1). To receive a higher education such as going to a University in the old days used to be sought as a huge