"The American Dream: Achievable for All?"

  My personal conception of the "American Dream" is the ability to think of, pursue, and achieve or fail anything that you want to. As Americans we have many freedoms, probably some of the most in the world. While not everyone is born with a "silver spoon in their mouth", anyone is capable of being successful in this country. I will admit though, that I think your upbringing plays a significant part in the EASE of being successful. Many of our countries most successful people did not always come from a rich family. However, it was their ambition, hard work ethic, and blessings that they were able to achieve what they set their minds to. I think that is the beauty of the American dream. Although the journey to success may be different for all of us, it is still a road that we all have the choice to embark upon. 
  I think that Brittney Spears represents the stereotypical American Dream. For many people, their dream or goal in life is to be rich. In our country, often times society and the media play a bog role in equating happiness and success with money. However, this is not always the case. As evident in Spears's own life, money does not equal happiness. While she does have a very lucrative career, making her a millionaire, she went through a period of depression and many questioned whether she would be able to maintain or recover her career. Brittney Spears may have obtained the American Dream according to society, but many times we tend to let this overshadow the downs of life. I feel that becoming a celebrity and rich should not be defined as the American dream. The true American Dream should be reaching your goals you have set for your own life, and being truly happy.
  I feel that the speech in this video clip is partially applicable tot he Younger's life. Each of the characters in the play have their own personal dreams that they are striving to reach in the play. However, many factors, within and outside, of their family unit hold them back from achieving their dreams. One of the main factors holding the Youngers back is the issue of money. From the opening scene of the play, the reader is clued in that the Younger family is waiting on a check. They feel like this check will be a new beginning for them. Walter has dreams of investing, and plans to use the insurance check as his down payment for a liquor store with his "friends" Willy and Bobo. Walter's sister, Beneatha has dreams of going to medical school and becoming a doctor. She is in school now, and hopes to use some of the check to pay her tuition for medical school. Mama and Ruth both want to move out of their cramped apartment, and their plans for the check is to use that for a down payment for a new house. All of the family members dreams seem to be dependent upon this check. Within their household, Walter feels as if no one in the family supports his dreams, especially Ruth. This is a main source of tension between them. When the check arrives, it is almost as if a heavy weight is lifted from their apartment, their lives, and their attitudes. Everyone is in good spirits. When Mama uses part of the check to put a down payment on a new house, every one is excited except for Walter. It is not until Mama entrusts him with the remainder of the money that he is happy. However, he does not listen to Mama and uses all of the money in an investment deal gone wrong. This really upset me. Although I was not surprised, I still felt that it was really selfish and stupid of Walter to do this. His actions directly affected the family, and especially Beneatha, whose tuition money was included in that deal. I was surprised about how the end of the play turned out. I thought that Walter was going to accept the offer from Lindner; I was happy to see that he didn't. I think that Hansberry ended the play like this to show that the Youngers were still a proud people, and that despite their recent monetary setbacks, they would achieve their dreams. Whether they knew it or not, I believe that the first step for any of them to achieving their dreams was moving out of their apartment. If their was a sequal to the play I think that it would be set about 5-10 years int he future. I think that the Youngers would have saved up enough money to send Beneatha off to medical school and she would take Asagai up on his offer to move to Africa. I also think that Ruth would have kept her baby. Walter would have also matured and started to put his family first before his own dreams. 
  Nowadays, I think it takes more than just optimism and determination to fulfill one's dreams. It also takes hard work and maybe most importantly, the acceptance that failures may occur. There are many successful people, who did not become successful on their first, second, or even third attempt at their dream. I think this is what separates the people who become successful from those who do not, how they bounce back from failures and setbacks. I think that the Youngers are people who are able to overcome their setbacks, and this is why they will be able to achieve their own "American Dream". I think that some people's idea of the American dream may have been affected by the recent economic downturn. Many families are now struggling to provide for their loved ones, and live from day to day. I feel that while the American spirit of hard work and determination have not been lost, the goals of the American people have changed. People still want to be successful and be able to provide for their families, but with the economic hardships they just have to work harder and realize that their sense of "comfort" can be taken away from them in the blink if an eye. While I have been blessed to not have been affected by the economy too much, some of my peers have. I can only hope that the economy continues to improve, people get their jobs back, and the American spirit of pride and determination pave the way for many more people to embark upon the journey to their own American Dream.