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The American Dream Case
1950s America was an age of hope and optimism, these virtues characterised the generation as national pride and dreams of prosperity and success drove the nation’s citizens. Wolff’s memoir exposes the hypocrisy in these values and its detriment to those who desired so desperately to attain the dream.

Wolf depicts the American Dream as an ideal of escape, to attain freedom and success for ordinary people. For Jack and Rosemary it was underpinned by their desire to start again and to make amends for lost time and wrong choices. Fuelled by an ache for freedom, security from ‘a man my mother was afraid of’ the dream for Rosemary was to make a fresh start and for economic prosperity and for Jack the dream was about ‘going to change our luck,’ and the personal transformation he hoped for. Utah then held out the promise to ‘get rich on Uranium.’ Nevertheless, the American Dream did bear significant inconsistencies from the reality of the 1950s, given that what it promises is merely an illusion. Even though the dream was embraced as an opportunity and presented to American citizens as the ideal, for Rosemary and Jack it proved to be an illusion, which was quickly shattered by their experiences in Utah.

The idealistic view of a conventional family, an essential element of the American Dream also proves to be an expectation that could not be reached. From a young age, without a father Jack aches for ‘belonging to a conventional family.’ Thus, Jack aches for a farther figure, but never truly discovers one from Roy, to Dwight. Despite Rosemary’s efforts the attainment of a conventional family appears to be unattainable. This dysfunction was inherent to Jack and Rosemary’s lives and too so many others in 1950’s America.

Wolf presents the struggle associated with attaining the American Dream in the 1950s America. While the car is presented as a symbol of freedom and autonomy in the contemporary world, Jack and Rosemary’s Nash Rambler adds hardship and struggle to their journey, as it stalls, constantly malfunctioning as ‘every couple of hours the Nash Rambler boiled over’. Further the hardship associated with attaining the dream is manifested in both the turbulent weather. On their journey, Rosemary and Jack

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(2015, 08). The American Dream Case. EssaysForStudent.com. Retrieved 08, 2015, from
“The American Dream Case” EssaysForStudent.com. 08 2015. 2015. 08 2015 < "The American Dream Case." EssaysForStudent.com. EssaysForStudent.com, 08 2015. Web. 08 2015. < "The American Dream Case." EssaysForStudent.com. 08, 2015. Accessed 08, 2015. Essay Preview By: samos Submitted: August 11, 2015 Essay Length: 598 Words / 3 Pages Paper type: Essay Views: 440 Report this essay Tweet Related Essays The American Dream It is the intent of this paper to prove that the "American Dream" can best be explained as a "city upon a hill." "Ciity upon 1,771 Words  |  8 Pages Andrew Carnegie and the American Dream Andrew Carnegie and The American Dream Many have tried; few have achieved - The American Dream. What is the American Dream? According to Webster the 1,085 Words  |  5 Pages My Changed View of the American Dream My Changed View of The American Dream I believe that my thought of the American Dream was more or less lumped around freedom. I feel 320 Words  |  2 Pages How the American Dream Is Depicted in the Great Gatsby The American Dream has been around for many years. This has been the goal for many Americas, as well as immigrants throughout the world. The 1,098 Words  |  5 Pages Similar Topics American Dream Two Boys One American Dream Get Access to 89,000+ Essays and Term Papers Join 209,000+ Other Students High Quality Essays and Documents Sign up © 2008–2020 EssaysForStudent.comFree Essays, Book Reports, Term Papers and Research Papers Essays Sign up Sign in Contact us Site Map Privacy Policy Terms of Service Facebook Twitter

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American Dream Case And American Dream. (July 6, 2021). Retrieved from https://www.freeessays.education/american-dream-case-and-american-dream-essay/