I believe "the city upon a hill" represents the Puritan pridefulness. They thought that they were perfect, a city on a hill that everyone would look up to and admire but Winthrop was showing the city for what it was, a "shipwreck" (Winthrop 169). He did say that they must consider that they are a city upon a hill and the eyes of all people are upon them (Winthrop) This does not mean that they are perfect, it simply means exactly what it says, that they are up there and they are visible to everyone. So every single mistake is seen by everyone so I believe that he was trying to warn them that they need to be mindful of what they do. They will be under a microscope, unable to hide their failures from everyone watching them. No one wants to live in a city on a hill, because all your trash it out there for everyone to see.
Winthrop never used the word "dream," he eloquently detailed his vision of a society in which everyone would have a chance to prosper, as long as they all worked together and followed Biblical teachings (Winthrop 167-172). Gradually, that dream of opportunity evolved in colonists' minds into a God-given right. But I believe that John Winthrop was the one who explained and created “the American Dream”. His vision of prosperity is still thriving and is alive in the modern day Americans. After all, isn’t that what America is about? America is the place where everyone wants to come to and have a better life. Everyone’s definition of a better life is a life with more money and more stuff. I also think that is another thing that Winthrop was stating. Everyone is so focused on trying to thrive with material things and no one is thinking of religion and no one is considering the fact that everyone is watching them. I believe that America is also a “city upon a hill” because like I said before other countries look up to us and strive to be here and live the “American Dream”. America has evolved and it is