What Is The American Dream?

Sarah Polcaro 9.14.12 Period 6

Over the years, the hopes and expectations of how life in America should be have changed depending on circumstance. Those facing hardships in their own counties such as poverty or unemployment often view America as a land of refuge where they and their families can flourish and truly be happy. Whether or not this happens is up to fate. One cannot simply say that by coming to America and working hard, he or she will become wealthy and live free of trouble. The American Dream is to have the ability to start over from previous circumstances and re-write ones own destiny. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. all illustrate this American dream. The Bean Trees, written by Barbara Kingsolver, strongly illustrates the American Dream because the protagonist, Marietta Greer, starts out in a small Kentucky town and ends up creating an entirely new life for herself in Tucson, Arizona (Kingsolver 15). Marietta is unhappy with her life so, just like that, she decides to change it. Even Mariettas name is not to her liking; because of this, she chooses to rename herself. Marietta says, I kept my fingers crossed through Sidney, Sadorus, Cerro, Gordo, Decatur, and Blue Mound, and coasted into Taylorville on the fumes . And so I am Taylor Greer (15). Even though Marietta wants to believe that it is solely her destiny that brings her to Taylorville, she knows that she ultimately has control over the situation
because she says, I suppose you could say I had some part in choosing this name, but there was enough of destiny in it to satisfy me (15). Taylors ability to have control and give herself a new

start is her achieving the American Dream. Into the Wild, written by Jon Krakauer, demonstrates that the American Dream is not necessarily about setting out to find a new start in society. Chris McCandless, the focus of the book, achieved his own American Dream by giving himself a new beginning, but it was not in society. Chris was born to a wealthy family, but he resented them immensely for it. Chriss fresh

start was in a place away from them and almost everyone: in the Alaskan wilderness. Krakauer states, McCandless was thrilled to be on his way north, and he was relieved as wellrelieved that he had again evaded the impending threat of human intimacy, of friendship, and all the messy emotional baggage that comes with it (Krakuer 61). Chris McCandless did achieve the American Dream; he started fresh the way he wanted to live. Chris truly found himself and his new life by eliminating human relationships entirely and living off the land. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail of the injustice behind segregation and the pain that it put in the hearts and minds of African-American children and adults alike (King 5). King had a vision for America where blacks and whites could live harmoniously, a vision that was possible but not easily attainable. King wrote, for years now I have heard the word wait! It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This wait has almost always meant never.justice too long delayed is justice denied (11). This quote from Kings letter shows how much he wanted a new start for America; he wanted the American Dream more than anything. Anyone can achieve the American Dream; all that matters is making the choice to do so. Taylor Greer has to make the choice to get into her car and leave Kentucky just as Chris McCandless had to make the choice to abandon materialism and society and trade it in for a life of modesty and exploration. Martin Luther King Jr. made the choice to speak his mind about the injustice of segregation in hopes of creating a new beginning for his nation. At the end of the day, the American Dream is not about wealth, possession or power; it is simply one finding the ability within him or herself to create a new beginning. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail written by Martin Luther King Jr. are faultless examples of the American Dream.

Works Cited King, Martin Luther, Jr. "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." Letter to Southern Clergymen. 16 Apr. 1963. African Studies Center. Ali Dinar, n.d. Web. 13 Sept. 2012. <http://www.africa.upenn.edu>. Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. New York: Harper & Row, 1988. Print. Krakauer, Jon. Into the Wild. New York: Anchor, 1997. Print.