American Dream W5

Student 1: Jessica Randhawa

After carefully reviewing the work of Marianne Cooper, “The Downsizing of the American Dream” has brought a lot of new insight regarding the American Dream and the views of American citizens towards their dreams and expectations. According to the article, an interviewed group of young adults aging from 24-34 years old were seen to carry a dream that included marriage, children, a permanent job, and good education. Instead, interviewer Jennifer Silva discovered that these individuals were letting go of traditional markers of adulthood rather than planning on going to college, get married and start a family, these young adults were bouncing from one low paying job on to the next, taking on debt to get through tough times. This article is relatable to many young adults this age, it can get tough to live the perfect American Dream as there are many obstacles that come your way that you have to be prepared for to overcome. Everyone wants to hold a good college degree and have a good job, however not all can afford a college institution therefor they carry smaller jobs that are not so beneficial and not sufficient for long term expenses, this makes them not having time to consider marriage or children, so the American Dream is changing a lot, people are trying to afford their own expenses, let alone providing for a family or spouse. One positive point made in this article is that majority of Americans still believe that hard work will lead you to success, which is a great fact to keep in mind so you don’t give up on your dreams and ambitions. Another point discussed in this article is that many Americans believe upcoming generations will have a harder time and require more effort to attain success according to the changing economy and educational requirements. I thought it was interesting to read about majority of Americans surveyed considered having the ability to keep up with expenses and hold a steady job while not falling behind or taking on too much debt was their number one goal/concern. I think with the changing times it is more difficult to keep up with society and expenses while still living a good, comfortable life.

After analyzing the American Nightmare written by Lauren Sandler, it was interesting to read that it was suggested that most people have continuously become more depressed over the last half-century. It was also stated that families are staying away from purchasing big homes due to prices and inflation, as well as shying away from marriages due to the divorce rates and some unhappy marriages that result. I think the message is not to “not marry” or stay in a marriage even if you are unhappy, but to make sure the one you are with is the person you would like to spend the rest of your life with; and have a family with. I think this article was great in explaining reality to the audience, as well as good alternatives to take in order to achieve happiness in your life without doing things you would regret. The comparisons and personal experiences described in this article make it more reliable and provide examples that readers can relate to and learn from others experience and if needed, alter their version of the American Dream and include to eliminate some key elements that they wish to accomplish while living to reach their unique American Dream.

Student 2: Ruel Lewis

After reading "The Downsizing of the American Dream", I Find many parallels with "The American Nightmare" and cooper makes some valid points. It does appear that the classic idea of the American Dream cannot be applied today because of economical influences which is increasing the cost of living with no corresponding increase in pay and the focus of the current generation is being diverted from marriage, buying a house and having kids. Similarly in "The American Nightmare" Sandler explains how all the ideals of the American Dream are having a reverse effect and the research shows that getting married and having Kids and living in the suburbs are making people more unhappy than happy because the American Dream is advertised as this perfect picture,but fails to show all the sacrifices one has to make to get to that elevated level and Therefore the American Dream becomes more trouble that its worth and at this point it is important to realize when the dream is, and is not, worth chasing and adjust our expectations. In "Black Boy" in the time period where there was a rampant existence of racism, Black's could never be on the same level as Whites and no matter how they tried they could not elevate themselves as per "The American Dream", but Richard was still able to chase his modified version of the American Dream.

While I do think that Capitalism does work when both the businesses and their employees come to an agreement, a problem arises when the business owners begin to exploit their workers. The American Dream sort of exemplifies capitalism in that one gains some kind of capital such as property which is something that people are shying away from which may be negatively affecting the relevance of entrepreneurship. In "Downsizing the American Dream' Sandler discusses that to live that suburban lifestyle, you sacrifice a lot socially and how in reality we become so caught up with living in our homes which becomes our new "public realm" that we neglect our lives outside. In summary I believe that the American Dream needs to adapt with the times which are always wavering because the ideals that are described in the American Dream are becoming less and less feasible.