The expression of the “American Dream” was formulated in the early 20th century by writer James Adams in his 1931 novel titled, The Epic of America. The phrase to many Americans is synonymous with materialistic wealth, though Adams characterizes it as a “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.” Adam further goes into detail by stating, “ It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but 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. ” Though this still does have some relation that the American Dream is this idea of materialistic wealth as Adams talks as success (success in the terms of money), he adds that anyone is capable enough to achieve success. In relation to Adams ideas, contemporary author Sarah Churchhill suggests in an interview conducted by the Smithsonian, that our idea of the American Dream is always remodeled depending on what each generation's idea of success is. Where Churchhill begins to differ from Adam is when her thoughts of the American Dream play into a majority of people’s; The American Dream is only achieved if you attain wealth, and wealth is equated to happiness. I won’t entirely say this is a misconception of the American Dream by the reason of, to me the American Dream is personalized and differentiates from person to person. One version of success can be measured by how big their house and family is and the success of the other is being able to have a roof over their head. What ties each of ours together is that we have the freedom and the opportunity to make it. Throughout centuries this has been the undercurrent of the American Dream mindset, and we have to look no further than the Declaration of Independence as proof of this. Though the Declaration is not what invented this mindset, it can arguably be the first definition of what the American Dream is, as it declares that each person is entitled to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” It is through this freedom we are able to govern our own decisions on how our life goes, and the amount of dedication that goes into our work. Therefore, that is what I believe the American Dream is the freedom to make your own decisions to achieve your version of personal success. Works Cited Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America: by James Truslow Adams. Little, Brown, 1943. Diamond, Anna. “The Original Meanings of the ‘American Dream’ and ‘America First’ Were Starkly Different From How We Use Them Today.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Oct. 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/behold-america-american-dream-slogan-book-sarah-churchwell-180970311/. Kenton, Will. “American Dream.” Investopedia, Investopedia, 14 Dec. 2018, www.investopedia.com/terms/a/american-dream.asp. “What Does the American Dream Mean to You?” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/what-does-the-american-dream-mean-to-you/. Yoon, Sunyee, and Hyeongmin Christian Kim. “Keeping the American Dream Alive: The Interactive Effect of Perceived Economic Mobility and Materialism on Impulsive Spending.” Journal of Marketing Research, vol. 53, no. 5, 2016, pp. 759–772., doi:10.1509/jmr.15.0053. My collage of what I believe the American Dream is. Artist Statement
Each individual has their own personalized idea of what the American Dream is. My definition of the American Dream reflects this, as I believe the American Dream is the freedom to to make your own decisions to achieve your own version of success. This idea was what I wanted to represent in my collage, and so I started from the basics, how could I let me audience know I was talking of America? That is why I chose to have the Statue of Liberty as one of the main focal points, as it represents that this is America. In the background of the Statue, which would normally be the sky, I chose numerous newspaper headlines that demonstrated people having the freedom to make big life decisions. This is also is the explanation for the Rosie the Riveter picture, as it symbolizes women making their own decisions and branching away from the social norms. The book at the lower corner The Epic of America is a nod back to its author James Adams, as his idea of the American Dream is very similar to mine. Finally, the vintage photo of the family is show that some people’s ideas of success is just having a family and a roof over their heads. As briefly stated above this collage is the sky behind the Statue of Liberty, showing that the opportunity and the freedom to make my own decisions is all around me.
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