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Mary Hipolito Professor Wingate English 114B 24 April, 2013 The American Dream The United States of America is called the land of opportunity for turning dreams into reality through hard work. The American Dream is an ideal aspect of an individuals life such as to be able to become a citizen, acquires a high level education, buy a house, and many more. Many people born without privileges gain hope to achieve the American dream and it also one of the many reasons people come to the United States from throughout the world. Power abuse of the government, extreme poverty, and a search for a new adventure are some of the motivating factors people come to the land of opportunity. Immigrants and Americans are many ways alike, the American dream still remains the fundamental life, however, the it is not easily attainable. What is the American dream? Does it still exist? First of all, the American dream is defined differently within every individual; however, the general concept is to make the individual a better living for themselves and their families. In A Better Life Creating The American Dream by Kate Ellis and Ellen Guettler they explained the history of how the American dream came to be, it began as a plain but revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to survive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition ( Ellis and Guettler). Each individual had their own definition of the American dream: it could be to achieve success and prosperity and/or no matter how poor or low one starts h/she can build a better for himself/herself and his/her children. The American dream had powered hopes and aspirations of Americans and immigrants for generations. The ideal aspect of the

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American life is the result of an unsatisfied person with their life or a country that did not provide a certain lifestyle. Jon Clifton wrote an article called 150 Million Adults Worldwide Would Migrate to the U.S. and statistics shows About 13% of the worlds adults or more than 640 million people say they would like to leave their country permanently. Roughly 150 million of them say they would like to move to the U.S. (Clifton).This determines that the United is the most desired destination for potential migrants and the survey also shows they are most likely to be Chinese, Nigerian, and Indian. These three nationalities all have one common motive and that is opportunity, this does not just apply to the three but all nationalities. Searching for opportunities in America could have endless possibilities to start a new business, to have freedom of speech and have your own view, and to live in a safe environment for your family. In Latin American countries the deteriorating economic, political, and social conditions are motivating factors to seek out a new and better like in an unfamiliar territory. In Latin American countries there are several issues that lead people to leave their homeland poverty, institutional corruption, and abuses of the government. Poverty results in lack of protection and security, which often leads people to fend for themselves and not being able to succeed. Institutional corruption in Guatemala affects social and health services, causing a lack of access to health care, labor rights, and human rights according to the World Report 2012 in Guatemala. Millions of people in Latin American countries take refuge in the U. S. in search of a better life and prosperity. Many of these immigrants from Latin America came to the U.S. not only to seek their fortunes but also to escape political and economic turmoil in their homeland whether it is legal or illegal. In Jessica Del Cids essay The American Dream: An Illusion or Reality for Latino

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Immigrants summarizes each immigrant status has varying degrees of rights and expectations and includes naturalized citizens, legal permanent residents, nonimmigrant visa holders, and undocumented immigrants (Del Cid 50). Whether they choose to come legally or illegally they have rights to become a permanent resident and obtain a citizenship of the United States. Although it is not always easy, due to exclusive immigration laws of the U.S. and lack of opportunity for certain countries to obtain legal access. All the more reason to believe in the American dream, many immigrants make it their goal to obtain a citizenship and legally access their rights to work, vote, receive financial aid, and drive. Without a citizenship accessing opportunities would be difficult. According to Micahel Waxman author of Immigrants hoping to live the American Dream Aided by Grassroots Effort; more than 8 million immigrants who live, work, and pay taxes in the U.S. are eligible for American citizenship, but only 8% of them naturalize each year (Waxman). Even though many are eligible to become a U.S. citizen, there are lacks of resources that force them to hold off that goal. Between costly application fees, complex elgibility requirements, and lack of access to English classes, obtaining a citizenship will be difficult. The same goes for homeownership, many immigrants dream to own a house for themselves and their family. According to Eileen Diaz McConnell and Enrico A. Marcelli homeownership represents far more than legal possession of a residence. Indeed, owning ones home is a key component of achievement toward the American Dream in the United States (McConnell and Marcelli 199). The reason is that homeownership symbolizes an achievement and national pride. However, not having a Social Security card or drivers license makes it difficult to establish credit and usually banks require proof of citizenship for mortgages. Nevertheless, all immigrants, legal or not, they still value homeownership.

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In the novel The Tattooed Solider by Hector Tobar gives a great example of believing in the American dream. The main characters Antonio and Guillermo move to Los Angeles in search of a new life and trying to leave their past behind in Guatemala where political figures and the government are corrupted that created a harsh and dangerous life for their people. Starting anew was not as easy as they thought. Antonio could no longer provide for himself and his rent and consequently becomes homeless. Guillermo had an apartment and a job but his past in Guatemala still haunts him presently and in the end loses his sight of the American dream. Starting anew in a different country is never an easy adjustment especially if its unfamiliar territory but it does not stop the people from pursuing their happiness. Immigrants and Americans are in many ways alike they both share the same goals of living the American dream. Americans on the other hand are already living a piece of the American dream, having already been born into a nation of opportunity and feel entitled to their own social being. As for many immigrants they are willing to do any type of hard labor in order to improve their lives little by little. For example many Latino immigrants are willing to do most of the hard labor such as painting walls, construction, mowing lawns, and cleaning houses. They push themselves to meet each of their goals despite their rigorous jobs and they have proven themselves as hardworking and capable of being strong individuals. Newspapers, magazines, television, books, and radios all have influenced the American dream and attract people from all over the world. Social media has the power of influencing its audience. This relates to the American dream because anything is possible if you just put your mind to it and hard work. Social media such as facebook, twitter, or tumblr can be used in a means to inspire anyone achieving a dream and being able to freely write out their thoughts. And if he/she gains a large audience they can have the power to easily influence people. The

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American dream phrase was also considered that you will be able to do better than the previous generation and so forth and guaranteed you that you were able to get to that dream. I would say immigrants work harder to achieve the American dream than most Americans. However, many people believe the American dream has died because our current recession has taken a toll on most Americans and would lose sight of the American dream. In the U.S. the unemployment rate is still high and greatly affects the future for most immigrants and Americans. People who did not attend college were not able to find jobs and those who lost their jobs had a difficult time finding new ones. The uneven nature of job unemployment by the recession has greatly affected income inequality, this causing the gap between the wealthy and the rest even more wide. The article Is the American Dream Dead? by David Francis debates whether The American dream is dead or not with our current times of recession. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) The U.S. education system is less effective than those of other countries in helping children realize their potential. The United States is one of only three OCED countries that on average spend less on students from disadvantaged backgrounds than on other students (Francis). Since our education system is less effective many immigrants and Americans would find it difficult to those who need extra resources. Although factors show the American dream might be slipping away, I still believe the American dream is still strong especially to those who find hope working for the American Dream. The American dream is defined differently for every individual and those are: it could be to achieve success and prosperity through determination, hard work, and skill or no matter how

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poor or low one starts he/she can build a better life for himself/herself and his/her children. Immigrants and Americans are in many ways alike they both share the goals of living the American dream. Although I believe the immigrants have to work extra hard to gain somewhat of the Americans already have and the immigrants are more motivated and determine to follow the American dream. In Latin American countries it is the factors of turmoil on their economic and wellbeing that motivate them to seek out a better life here in the U.S. The U.S. is called the land of opportunity because almost anyone is able to get a citizenship, buy a house, get a drivers license, and etc. I believe the American dream is still going strong and can be achieved by anybody no matter who you are.

WC: 1739

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Works Cited Clifton, Jon. "150 Million Adults Worldwide Would Migrate to the U.S." 150 Million Adults Worldwide Would Migrate to the U.S. Gallup, 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/153992/150-Million-Adults-Worldwide-Migrate.aspx>. Del Cid, Jessica. The American Dream: An Illusion or Reality for Latino Immigrants. N.p., 2011. Web. 19 Apr. 2013. <http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1238&context=honors>. Francis, David. "Is the American Dream Dead?" US News RSS. U.S. News and Word Report, 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2013. <http://money.usnews.com/money/personalfinance/articles/2012/09/25/is-the-american-dream-dead>. McConnell, Eileen Diaz, and Enrico A. Marcelli. "Buying into the American Dream? Mexican Immigrants, Legal Status, and Homeownership in Los Angeles County." Social Science Quarterly 88.1 (2007): 199-221. Print. Tobar, H ctor. The Tattooed Soldier. Harrison, NY: Delphinium, 1998. Print.