The American Dream

“If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress” President Obama

The quote by President Obama is an effective example of how the idea of the American Dream is still presented today. Many ideas and aspects involving the idea of the American Dream, feature in presidential speeches and speeches made by other inspirational speakers.  The American Dream is also a belief which is also shared by many of the citizens in America today, and has been a belief which has stayed strong since the eighteenth and nineteenth century. However like during the eighteenth and nineteenth century there are also many people who are skeptical of the idea of the American Dream and merely see it as a myth or even a lie!

The quote depicts many ideas which create the overall idea of the American Dream, the idea that if you work and try hard you shall be successful in the long run. The idea of the American Dream is also represented in the novel Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger, in a number of different ways. The vision that if Dick, works hard and puts time and effort into succeeding then, he shall be successful in the long run. Dick’s, success is emphasized by the comparison to his friend Johnny’s lack of success, Johnny also shows little examples of the concept of the American Dream in his life. The character Dick made progress through his strives to succeed and be successful, continuous hard effort and determination but also honesty. All of these help to create the impression of the American Dream.

Obama supports Algers presentation of the American Dream in a number of different ways, through the reference to the path being presented as a path to success and to the overall goal and achievement that is the American Dream, much like Dick’s overall goal and aim in life. The words which present most powerful to me in the quote are “Keep walking” implying that the journey to achieving the American Dream can be long and hard work an effort is needed in order to achieve it. Much like the events which are presented in the novel Ragged Dick, Dick has to overcome certain obstacles but after hard work and determination he is eventually successful. Dick’s transformation reflects on the idea that the American Dream becomes a part of one’s life. Both the quote from Obama and aspects from the novel Ragged Dick show examples of how the American Dream is seen as a goal or and aim, but it take time and determination to achieve it.