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The News Website for Glendale High School

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The News Website for Glendale High School

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The Misinterpreted Concept of the American Dream

Behind this very sensitive subject of American Literature lies hidden misconceptions
The+Misinterpreted+Concept+of+the+American+Dream

The concept of the American Dream has been around since 1931, after the best-selling book of James Truslow Adams called Epic of America. The original understanding of it was the equality and the opportunity that every human individual was able to achieve in the United States. They have the advantages of buying a house and a car and raising a family.

However, in reality, not everyone gets the same type of outcome from these made-up resolutions. The American Dream is a huge lie, because not everyone gets the same opportunities as others. 

A lot of people tend to come to the United States from different countries, because they believe in the American Dream. They come thinking that everything will be possible and that everything will go as smooth as butter. 

Most immigrants sacrifice their comfort zone and come to the United States to get a house and a car, and they hope to be able to provide for their children through education and to be financially stable. However, once they set foot into America, they realize that not everything they want is possible, and after a while they understand that there’s no such thing as the American Dream. 

For example, most people come to America to buy a house and somewhere that they can call home, but not everyone has the opportunity to buy one. Over time, the housing prices are only going up and making things more difficult for the people who are trying to reach this goal. 

If you take a look at the housing prices between 2021 and 2022, you realize that the real estate industry prices have gone up a lot over the years. According to a report from Zillow, it was noted that “home values were expected to grow by about 16.4% between December 2021 and December 2022.” Besides the monthly mortgage that people have to pay after buying a house, there is also such a thing as property tax, which is something that we need to consider. 

On the other hand, with regards to people owning their own cars, I would say that it is possible. I am pretty sure it will not always be people’s best option to drive an old model car, especially in the society we live in. 

Nowadays, people tend to judge others by not understanding their thoughts, and that is one of the ugliest things someone can do to another person. Of course, everyone would hope to drive all the luxurious cars that they want, but car prices are also increasing, which is not good either. 

So you see, by taking a look at different problems, we can come to a conclusion that people are trying to do all of these things to look good in society’s eyes. And it turns out that people are running after these dreams to only look good, but not to actually feel good. 

Therefore, these are all the things that make people’s wishes and dreams harder and nearly impossible to achieve. The lie of the American Dream affects everyone, no matter if they were born here or if they are an immigrant. People are trying to stay on top of their American Dream by sacrificing their own happiness, and this is a tragic mistake.

About the Contributor
Araksya Harutyunyan
Araksya Harutyunyan, Staff Writer
Araksya Harutyunyan is a senior at Glendale High School. She has been a student in journalism since her freshman year. She’s a singer and is passionate about what she does. She loves to write articles and enjoys her journalism class.
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