Is the American Dream A Good Guide to Life?

Is the American Dream A Good Guide to Life?.

Topic: Is the American Dream A Good Guide to Life? Question: Is the American Dream a life worth living?

Instructions:

Write 750 words answering the question above. For the purposes of this paper, use the definition of the American Dream from Wikipedia, which is provided below. Your essay must put forward arguments that interact with at least three assigned texts from this course so far, excluding the story of the fisherman and the businessman and the Myth of Sisyphus (anything else is fair game)*.** * What I mean by “arguments”: not simply stating an opinion, but making claims that are logically and persuasively supported by reasons and evidence. Evidence can include discussions of assigned texts, i.e., the evidence of scholars and experts, as well as data from reputable sources. Opinions express how you feel without offering reasons why you feel that way. Arguments express what you think while providing well-informed reasons for choosing to think it. What I mean by “interact with the text”: In the course of making your argument, you need to identify, explain, and respond to the arguments found in three of the texts assigned in this course so far (besides the fisherman and businessman and Myth of Sisyphus stories); correctly identify author’s name, using first and last name at the first mention of the author and last name only in all subsequent mentions of the author; provide accurate summaries; select and include relevant short quotes, which you then explain and respond to; relate the discussion of the text to your own argument. **Also one other thing: the question isn’t about whether or not American society lives up to the American Dream, or whether it does for some and not others. Obviously, not everyone achieves every aspect of the Dream and America often fails to fulfill its promises. It would be an interesting paper to write about how American is or is not delivering on the promise of equal opportunity and upward mobility, but that’s not what this paper is asking you to write about. The question here is whether it’s a good ideal to begin with? If it were possible to create a society that perfectly matched up with the ideal of the American Dream (we can all have equal opportunity, vote, prosper, and shop), would that society guarantee a well-lived life for its members? You are in other words evaluating not the success of the Dream but its comprehensiveness as a good-life vision? Is it the right dream if what we’re wanting is to live well? And/or how might we need to rethink it, redefine it, modify it, etc? Grading Rubric: Close reading (accurate interpretations of texts, includes and explains the meaning of three short quotes, provides summaries of main ideas of those texts): 15 points Effective Writing (clear and straightforward prose, avoids assertions and generalizations, effectively integrates quotations into the author’s sentences, spelling and grammar, word usage, punctuation, clear thesis, coherent organization): 15 points Critical Thinking (effectively identifies and analyzes arguments in assigned texts, formulates and defends an original sound argument with reasons and evidence): 15 points Total: 45 points Wikipedia: The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, “life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” regardless of social class or circumstances of birth. The American Dream is rooted in the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that “all men are created equal” with the right to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Is the American Dream A Good Guide to Life?

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