The American Dream Project
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Although I am working alone, I am partnered with Matt Johnson as someone whom I can bounce ideas off of.
We are partnered because we both of our projects will be essays, meaning that we will have to reason and argue our paragraph in similar manners. In addition, we have answered the guiding question of the project in a similar way. While Matt (Johnson) argues that America no longer provides for the tired, poor, and huddled masses, but such people can still become successful, I have concluded that America no longer provides for them, but the promise of the American Dream creates an illusion that the opposite is the case.
My project will be an essay which reflects this claim: America no longer is a haven for "the tired, the poor, the huddled masses", but the promise of the American Dream creates the impression that the opposite is the case. I will be applying into my essay examples from The Great Gatsby, Europe and America, next to of course God america i, and America and I.
My project will be constructed in such a manner because I feel that an essay would be the best medium by which I could convey my message. As I am by no means an artistic person, the quality of an artistic piece, I suppose, would be quite low, and thus distract the viewer from the message I am trying to convey. An essay, on the other hand, requires little no artistic skill. In addition, my specific opinion on the American Dream is difficult to represent figuratively, meaning that I will need to repeatedly cite the aforementioned texts in order to get my point across. Thus, if I were to make a speech or presentation, my need to include many references to texts could come off as boring. Essays, on the other hand, depend on these citations. As such, given the low-on-dazzle, high-on-facts nature of my opinion, an essay is the best medium of choice.
Why my choice to complete the project as an essay will pay off:
Given past examples of essays I have written, my project, an essay, will we successful in conveying my opinion on the American Dream. In both projects where I was required to write an essay and where I chose to do so, I have found this medium very conducive to being able to effectively get my point across. In addition, my proficiency in communicating my message via essay can be seen in a wide range of subjects; I have had little trouble with writing essays in any of the classes I so far have taken. Therefore, according to these examples, I should have little trouble in writing for this class, too, and, thus, my essay will deliver.
As I have in the past done well in situations where I had no choice but to write an essay, I should be able to succeed in a project which I have concluded to be most effectively communicated in essay format. To reiterate, as I have previously determined that my specific message can be best conveyed as an essay, the notion that my project will work can be proved by the fact that I have had past successes in having to write essays on subjects which may have been better conveyed in a different medium. One such success is an essay I wrote last year in Mrs. Rogers' history class on the Allied and Axis strategies during the Battle of Iwo Jima. My opinion on the matter, which I had to prove with mostly statistical information, as I found, would be much better conveyed as a research paper of PowerPoint presentation. However, I nonetheless did well on the essay, of which I received an "A" grade. Another example of an essay of the same nature that I nonetheless succeeded in is the persuasive paper which I had to write in order to be considered for admittance into the CHS Leadership program. As I had no idea as to who would be reading my essay and had never written an essay about myself before, I was concerned that there would be great disparity between what I had written and how the readers of the essay would interpret it. In addition, I felt that I would give a better impression of myself in person, and thus concluded that a speech or interview would do a better job. Despite my apprehensions, however, the essay landed me a spot in the program. Ergo, as I have enjoyed apparent success in writing essays where I felt that another medium would be most prudent to the proving of my point, I will succeed in writing an essay when I feel that my point will best be expressed in essay format.
Connecting to my mentioning of when I chose to write an essay, I have done so multiple times and have succeeded each time. As the essay I am going to write on the American Dream will be of the same nature, then same results can be expected. One example when such results were produced is the essay I wrote in a driver's training class I took over the summer which discussed the effects of inclement weather on driving. While most other members of the class chose to present their findings in the form of a poster or chart, I, upon examining my findings, decided for myself that such information would best be conveyed as an essay. The decision paid off; my presentation was the only one which met the minimum time limit set by our instructor. A more recent example is the first 500-word response I did in this class, which gave my own definition of 20th century American culture. Despite not being specified as having to be written in an essay format, I chose to do so. Although this essay, I assume, was much longer and took significantly more time to write than the responses of other students, I am quite proud of the work I did (and the grade I received) and am adamant that I made the right choice in terms of the type of paper I wrote. If the two aforementioned examples are any indication, when I have decided to express a claim of mine in the form of an essay, such decisions have panned out. As my project on the American Dream has came to be in a similar manner (i.e., I have decided to make the project an essay), I therefore have made the correct definition.
My past experiences involving the writing of essays, and the fact that nearly all of such experiences were fruitful, indicate that my upcoming essay on the American Dream will be no different. As demonstrated by my successes in writing essays pertaining to multiple subjects, of which I both had to and chose to write, my ability to get the job done, per se, in the form of essays can best be described as proficient. Given this apparent proficiency, rest assured that my essay on the difference between what the promises of the American Dream and the realities of American life will be a good one.
Works Used:
1. Europe and America, a poem by David Ignatow.
This piece emphasizes the differences between first and second-generation Americans, and is meant to act as contrast to the stereotypical "immigrant journey" propagated by the ideal of the American Dream.
From the poem I first realized that the typical "immigrant journey" is very far from the stereotypical definition; I realized that the lives of immigrants in America often are fraught with struggle and hardships instead of the fulfillment of dreams.
2. The Great Gastby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This novel's highlighting the differences between social classes iterates the point that although it often appears as if the American life is conducive to the accomplishment of dreams, such accomplishment is inaccessible to the lower classes, i.e., the tired, poor, and huddled masses. In
As the main character, Gatsby, fails to realize the implausibility of his grandiose aspirations, I found that not only is the American Dream inaccessible to the non-elite, but that many Americans, through little fault of their own, subscribe to the illusion that the Dream is indeed easily accessible.
3. next to of course god america i, a poem by E.E. Cummings.
This poem, via its sarcastic tone, reveals America's hypocrisy, as it riffs on some stereotypical definitions of America and, in doing so, brings to light how America's actions often do not fall in line with our ideals.
By means of the poem communicating the notion that American ideals and the reality of American actions are often polar opposites of one another, I concluded that, if it often is repeated that America provides opportunity for the poor (as is the case), the complete opposite situation must be the reality.
4. America and I, a short story by Anzia Yezierska.
This short story is meant to provide contrast between what immigrants expected of America and what the reality of the lives they lived turned out to be.
From this story all of my previous conjectures about the American Dream are validated: the story tells the tale of a poor immigrant, who bought into the notion that the American Dream is accessible to the poor, coming to America with high expectations, only to find that the achievement of the American Dream is off-limits to her.
Deadlines: Basic outlines of essay (outline of body paragraphs)-Friday.
Rough drafy of essay-Saturday.
2nd draft of essay-Monday.
Final essay is done-Tuesday.
We are partnered because we both of our projects will be essays, meaning that we will have to reason and argue our paragraph in similar manners. In addition, we have answered the guiding question of the project in a similar way. While Matt (Johnson) argues that America no longer provides for the tired, poor, and huddled masses, but such people can still become successful, I have concluded that America no longer provides for them, but the promise of the American Dream creates an illusion that the opposite is the case.
My project will be an essay which reflects this claim: America no longer is a haven for "the tired, the poor, the huddled masses", but the promise of the American Dream creates the impression that the opposite is the case. I will be applying into my essay examples from The Great Gatsby, Europe and America, next to of course God america i, and America and I.
My project will be constructed in such a manner because I feel that an essay would be the best medium by which I could convey my message. As I am by no means an artistic person, the quality of an artistic piece, I suppose, would be quite low, and thus distract the viewer from the message I am trying to convey. An essay, on the other hand, requires little no artistic skill. In addition, my specific opinion on the American Dream is difficult to represent figuratively, meaning that I will need to repeatedly cite the aforementioned texts in order to get my point across. Thus, if I were to make a speech or presentation, my need to include many references to texts could come off as boring. Essays, on the other hand, depend on these citations. As such, given the low-on-dazzle, high-on-facts nature of my opinion, an essay is the best medium of choice.
Why my choice to complete the project as an essay will pay off:
Given past examples of essays I have written, my project, an essay, will we successful in conveying my opinion on the American Dream. In both projects where I was required to write an essay and where I chose to do so, I have found this medium very conducive to being able to effectively get my point across. In addition, my proficiency in communicating my message via essay can be seen in a wide range of subjects; I have had little trouble with writing essays in any of the classes I so far have taken. Therefore, according to these examples, I should have little trouble in writing for this class, too, and, thus, my essay will deliver.
As I have in the past done well in situations where I had no choice but to write an essay, I should be able to succeed in a project which I have concluded to be most effectively communicated in essay format. To reiterate, as I have previously determined that my specific message can be best conveyed as an essay, the notion that my project will work can be proved by the fact that I have had past successes in having to write essays on subjects which may have been better conveyed in a different medium. One such success is an essay I wrote last year in Mrs. Rogers' history class on the Allied and Axis strategies during the Battle of Iwo Jima. My opinion on the matter, which I had to prove with mostly statistical information, as I found, would be much better conveyed as a research paper of PowerPoint presentation. However, I nonetheless did well on the essay, of which I received an "A" grade. Another example of an essay of the same nature that I nonetheless succeeded in is the persuasive paper which I had to write in order to be considered for admittance into the CHS Leadership program. As I had no idea as to who would be reading my essay and had never written an essay about myself before, I was concerned that there would be great disparity between what I had written and how the readers of the essay would interpret it. In addition, I felt that I would give a better impression of myself in person, and thus concluded that a speech or interview would do a better job. Despite my apprehensions, however, the essay landed me a spot in the program. Ergo, as I have enjoyed apparent success in writing essays where I felt that another medium would be most prudent to the proving of my point, I will succeed in writing an essay when I feel that my point will best be expressed in essay format.
Connecting to my mentioning of when I chose to write an essay, I have done so multiple times and have succeeded each time. As the essay I am going to write on the American Dream will be of the same nature, then same results can be expected. One example when such results were produced is the essay I wrote in a driver's training class I took over the summer which discussed the effects of inclement weather on driving. While most other members of the class chose to present their findings in the form of a poster or chart, I, upon examining my findings, decided for myself that such information would best be conveyed as an essay. The decision paid off; my presentation was the only one which met the minimum time limit set by our instructor. A more recent example is the first 500-word response I did in this class, which gave my own definition of 20th century American culture. Despite not being specified as having to be written in an essay format, I chose to do so. Although this essay, I assume, was much longer and took significantly more time to write than the responses of other students, I am quite proud of the work I did (and the grade I received) and am adamant that I made the right choice in terms of the type of paper I wrote. If the two aforementioned examples are any indication, when I have decided to express a claim of mine in the form of an essay, such decisions have panned out. As my project on the American Dream has came to be in a similar manner (i.e., I have decided to make the project an essay), I therefore have made the correct definition.
My past experiences involving the writing of essays, and the fact that nearly all of such experiences were fruitful, indicate that my upcoming essay on the American Dream will be no different. As demonstrated by my successes in writing essays pertaining to multiple subjects, of which I both had to and chose to write, my ability to get the job done, per se, in the form of essays can best be described as proficient. Given this apparent proficiency, rest assured that my essay on the difference between what the promises of the American Dream and the realities of American life will be a good one.
Works Used:
1. Europe and America, a poem by David Ignatow.
This piece emphasizes the differences between first and second-generation Americans, and is meant to act as contrast to the stereotypical "immigrant journey" propagated by the ideal of the American Dream.
From the poem I first realized that the typical "immigrant journey" is very far from the stereotypical definition; I realized that the lives of immigrants in America often are fraught with struggle and hardships instead of the fulfillment of dreams.
2. The Great Gastby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
This novel's highlighting the differences between social classes iterates the point that although it often appears as if the American life is conducive to the accomplishment of dreams, such accomplishment is inaccessible to the lower classes, i.e., the tired, poor, and huddled masses. In
As the main character, Gatsby, fails to realize the implausibility of his grandiose aspirations, I found that not only is the American Dream inaccessible to the non-elite, but that many Americans, through little fault of their own, subscribe to the illusion that the Dream is indeed easily accessible.
3. next to of course god america i, a poem by E.E. Cummings.
This poem, via its sarcastic tone, reveals America's hypocrisy, as it riffs on some stereotypical definitions of America and, in doing so, brings to light how America's actions often do not fall in line with our ideals.
By means of the poem communicating the notion that American ideals and the reality of American actions are often polar opposites of one another, I concluded that, if it often is repeated that America provides opportunity for the poor (as is the case), the complete opposite situation must be the reality.
4. America and I, a short story by Anzia Yezierska.
This short story is meant to provide contrast between what immigrants expected of America and what the reality of the lives they lived turned out to be.
From this story all of my previous conjectures about the American Dream are validated: the story tells the tale of a poor immigrant, who bought into the notion that the American Dream is accessible to the poor, coming to America with high expectations, only to find that the achievement of the American Dream is off-limits to her.
Deadlines: Basic outlines of essay (outline of body paragraphs)-Friday.
Rough drafy of essay-Saturday.
2nd draft of essay-Monday.
Final essay is done-Tuesday.