People know the famous American dream and what it stands for all over the world. It is linked with people who want to move to the united states in a bid to obtain education, freedom, a new family, or better job opportunities. However, this is not always the case because life in the U.S. is governed by different rules with challenges that are reflected in American dream essays.
As a student in a United States college, you may be required to write an American dream essay. It is usually a requirement for the English Composition class. This guide can come in handy for such students. Also, if you fall into the category mentioned above, you can get writing help for a custom essay on the American dream from expert academic writers.
What Is An Essay On The American Dream?
First of all, let’s find out – what is the American dream essay? Before writing the American dream essay, it is necessary to review several examples and tips. Be sure to start by explaining what my American dream essay is.
In most cases, this type of essay is a narrative and an academic essay. The main goal of the essay is to explain the American dream concept interestingly. Essays about the American dream don’t fall into any specific essay category. Rather it is a narrative paper bordering on a specific topic, and might even be very creative. Lots of people think the American dream paper is about the ideal lifestyle in the United States that many people believe is attainable, no matter where your come from or monetary status.
Both success and prosperity are promised to all residents of the country. However, an individual has to invest effort, time, and money to be able to achieve this success. An essay about the American dream is meant to motivate youths to remain dedicated to achieving their goals. Also, this essay should show the different sides of the coin; the good, the bad, and the ugly. It should also explain that youths can choose and build their lives.
Consider James Adams, who was the first person to bring the American dream to the spotlight. He was a writer and famous politician, and he wrote a book in 1931 titled The Epic of America. This book covered the concept fully. In defining the concept, Adams said it is a country where every individual lives well. The writer added that the country predetermines the chance to fulfill the dreams of every individual. People may wonder if this dream is still in existence today. The essay should prove that it does and that the country has all that is needed to make all dreams come true.
Every essay should have an outline. In this case, the essay shouldn’t have a different outline from other types of essays. Here is a guide to help:
American Dream Essay Outline
There are a lot of things to consider before writing the essay. This helps you come up with an excellent outline to guide you as you write. The seven steps to consider include:
- Concept
- Define the American dream in your word
- Use relevant literature to explore the issue
- Introduction
- Capture the attention of the readers using an interesting hook, which is linked to the concept.
- Highlight background information without detailing them
- Interpret its meaning
- Main thesis
- Highlight a vision of the classic American dream in your definition.
- Share some ideas on the American dream as well as the development of the concept.
- Elaborate on what this American dream means to you
- Narrow down the introductory paragraph closing it with thesis statements.
- The paper’s body should be divided into two body paragraphs with each containing stories.
- The first story should cover someone or some people who have succeeded in fulfilling something major and discovering the American dream.
- The second paragraph should describe and contain the thesis statement as well as the crucial arguments and facts.
- Analyze the stories you chose and end with a brief key paragraph for comparison. Contrast both stories.
- Conclusion
- Write the American dream essay all over again
- Use a catchy key phrase to attract readers
- Don’t try to impress the reader. Something easier to understand is better in the circumstances.
Writing A Hook For Your American Dream Essay
The only way to guarantee that your professor will read the essay to the very end is by writing an excellent hook for the essay. This could also impact your grades positively. An unusual and catchy introduction will illustrate that what is about to be read is a creative essay that is captivating to the reader. There are a lot of essay hooks to consider for this type of essay.
Some of them include:
- A question: one excellent way to start your essay is to ask a question. It seems simple, but it is a lot more complicated. Your question doesn’t have to be a yes or no question. It needs to intrigue the reader to make him/her want to read more to find the answers to the question.
For example, consider these American dream essay examples: do you know that the American dream is not a new concept and that it was introduced by writer and historian, James Adams, in 1931?
- Definition of fact: this may be difficult because it would entail writing an original definition. However, if you choose it, refrain from copying what you find in the dictionary. This could pass as plagiarism and would affect your grades. It is a lot safer to come up with a definition from your understanding of the term. You can then paraphrase the definitions you found in those sources.
For instance: the American dream has been linked to the revolutionary war. Was this war a dream? It wasn’t, and this is why people who do not support the concept of the American dream believe that it is an illusion that was built on blood.
- Anecdote: humor can also work as a hook for your essay. It can make anyone laugh, even the sullenest ones. Also, professors appreciate students who have a good sense of humor. Such a hook can impact the total grade positively.
For instance: why is it called the American dream? It is because you need to be asleep to believe it.
- Literary quotes: you can also opt for quotes as a hook for your essay. If you like reading, surely you must have come across a great author. Find these author’s definition of the American dream. Use the best quote.
For instance: the famous writer George Monbiot said: “if wealth was gotten from hard work as well as enterprise, all African women would be millionaires.”
Top American Dream Essay Topics
Here are a few topics to choose from, pick one that resonates with you, and work with it (or get the topic of your choice from our professional writers).
- Explain the fallacy of the American dream
- What is the American dream
- The American dream is a false hope for prosperity and success
- How prejudice has ruined the American dream
- The portrayal of the concept of the American dream in the movie “The Great Gatsby.”
- The development of the image of the American dream
- The link between money and the American dream
- Top reasons to create a different American dream
- What are the immigrant ideas of the American dream
- The American dream where all residents can get the career and social status they want.
Interesting American Dream Essay Topics
The American dream is as American as an apple pie and almost every aspect of American life reflects this narrative. For essay topics on this subject, this article provides in-depth and well constructed essay topics. Some of these essay topics include;
- A critical reflection on the symbolism of the American dream
- The Illusion of the American dream and its reflection in literary works
- The study of the novels of Francis Scott Fitzgerald and the exploration of the quest for the American dream
- The conceived idea of the broken nature of the American dream
- An exploration of the theme of the American dream in The Great Gatsby
- A critical analysis of the representation of the Green light in The Great Gatsby
- A study of how the idea of the American dream came about
- A study of Langston Hughes’ Harlem and how it explores the American experience
- Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun and how it depicts the illusion of the American dream to the blacks
- The American constitution and how it depicts the American dream
- The challenge with the belief in an ideal American dream
- A reflective essay on a personal notion on the concept of an ideal American dream
- Is the American dream real or an illusion?
- A study of 20th century American literature and undertones of an American illusion
- A critical reflection of The Great Gatsby and the failures of attaining the dream
- The study of character and the characterization of Gatsby and how it embodies a fragment of the futility of American dream
- Redefining the meaning of an American dream to colored Americans
- Arthur Miller’s exploration of the futility of an American dream
- The immigrant life and how it contrast the American dream
- The demystifying of the American dream in contemporary literature.
American Dream Essay Topics For High School Students
For high school students, there is every possibility that in one of your English or literature classes, you will be required to write an expose on the American dream topic. Here are some thrilling American dream essay topics to you can consider.
- Creating a personalized version of the American dream
- The complexity of the quest for an Ideal American lifestyle
- The significance of portraying the theme of the American dream in literature
- The Black man and the quest for an American dream in A Raisin in the Sun
- The American dream: Myth or reality?
- The importance of exploring the complexity of the American dream in literature
- Critical analysis of the line“What happens to a dream deferred, does it fester up and dry like a raisin in the sun” by Langston Hughes
- Langston Hughes “I Too” and how it contextualizes the American dream
- Understanding of the American dream from a young person’s perspective
- Is the American dream real?
- Exploring the origin of the American dream
- Is the American dream impossible?
- A study of the unattainable nature of the dream
- The American dream in the times of Covid
- Comparison of freedom, wealth, love and the American dream
- The possible in existence of the American dream
- Defining and understanding American dream for the working class
- What’s the purpose for an American dream
- Facts about the American dream
- Education and the quest for an American dream
In-depth American Dream Essay Ideas
There are so many ways to look into the American dream topic and the section provides topics to fit this category.
- The Immigrant challenge and how this boycotts the quest for the American dream
- Navigating America as a non-American black and the quest for survival
- The American immigrant standard of living in contrast to the American dream
- False hope and the American dream
- Literature and its role in dissecting the concept of an idealized American dream
- America’s obsession with work in comparison to the American dream
- How the carceral system impede the quest for an American dream
- Attaining the American dream and what it means for the working class
- Postmodernism and how it impacts the American dream
- A contextualization of the American dream and the rise of inflation
- American popular culture in respect to the dream
- How Hollywood explores an unattainable American dream
- The use of symbolism to depict the American dream in literature
- The contrast between 1920s and 2020s American dream
- Critical analysis of American dream today
- Materialism and the American dream
- The hypocrisy of the perfect American dream
- Understanding the dream from an immigrant perspective
- Possession of power and the American dream
- A study of corruption and the American dream
Good American Dream Topics For College Research
If you are considering some angle you can shape your American dream topic, the section of this article provides you with some topics to look into.
- The immigrant quest for the American dream
- How the idea of the American dream promotes capitalism
- A parallel study of the American dream and capitalism
- Gish Jen’s In the American Society and Asian American perspective of the American dream
- A comparative analysis of 20th century literary reflection of the American dream and the 21st century reflections
- The American quest and the rise of moral declination
- The futility of dream as an undertone of the American dream
- The fragility of the American dream
- Racism and the satirized American dream
- The ridicule of a supposed American dream
- Is there a perfect American dream?
- The American dream and disillusionment
- James Baldwin’s exploration of the follies of an American dream
- The equation of the American dream with success
- Does success differ from the American dream?
- Explaining the American dream from a non-American perspective
- The pursuit of happiness and pains of attaining a dream
- The contrast between student loans and embracing the American dream
- American healthcare system and the dream
- The healthcare nightmare and how it demystifies the American dream.
Don’t Feel Like Writing American Dream Essay?
Now that you’ve read a simple guide as well as taken a look at a wide variety of American Dream essay topics, you might still feel you’re stuck or are facing a tight deadline. But fear not, there are many options to look into. One of them is the brilliant and easy idea of referring to an essay writing service to buy essay online. Our expert writers can handle any type of task, including writing high quality essays on any topic. Your professors and teachers won’t be disappointed, and our system and process has top security standards, so they will never know either. We are trustworthy, fast and affordable. So if the deadline is approaching, you can always pick us.