American Dream in Great Gatsby

The Idea that Pervades Society The American dream is the longing of success that means a happy family and equal opportunity to go from rags to riches, through hard work. This idea is scene in a lot of places. On the picture by Margaret White, the poster proclaims: World’s Highest Standard of Living-There is no way like the American Way†. Or the headline of the newspaper story is â€Å"The American Dream, the subtitle is Doing Well by Doing Good. † Examples of the American dream are almost invisible when looking at average Americans. In the photograph, there are hungry people carrying buckets. None of them are white and none of them look remotely happy in front of the camera. This shows how not everyone can live the American Dream especially if they are barely getting by. Immigrants also failed to reach the American dream for reasons like not being able to speak English and lack of resources. Having a happy family is not easy either. There is lots of conflict at home over the dinner table and no time for American adults to have fun once they have kids. It is unrealistic to expect fun when there is housework, bills to pay, and more. Although it sounds good, it is a negative force in our society because it is just too good to be true. The American dream means equal opportunity to go from rags to riches. Sometimes, aggression may be necessary to get this â€Å"equal opportunity† due to circumstance. â€Å"At the time, most southern blacks could not share a water fountain, a beach, a bus seat, a school room, or a voting booth with southern whites. † (Moser, and Watters) This barrier to civil rights meant that many were considered inferior and could not succeed because they were separate from the average American. This shows that the American dream is unrealistic for blacks. Langston Hughes states how America should be a land â€Å"where Liberty is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe. †(Hughes) However, he later asserts that â€Å"America never was America to me, And I swear this oath-America will be! † (Hughes) This reiterates how this equal opportunity will be there in the future. Thus, showing how the American dream is currently unrealistic for them. Immigrants who were not American tried to go from rags to riches as well. â€Å"Education was free. That subject my father had written about repeatedly, as comprising his chief hope for us children, the essence of American opportunity, the treasure that no thief could touch, not even misfortune or poverty. † (Antin) This shows his belief in the equal opportunity in America. In the end, many of this people did not fully realize the dream and may have ended up in a worse financial situation than before. The Antin’s wound up losing everything after the storm on Crescent Beach. They could not achieve the success that the American dream entitled. Her father was â€Å"master of no art, of no trade; that even his precious learning was no avail, because he had only the most antiquated methods of communicating it. † (Antin) They did not expect this would matter but being immigrants put them at a disadvantage. It is clearly not achievable for the poorer Americans and immigrants who probably worked very hard but live in an oppressive society that values background over hard work. You need to be a white American gentleman to succeed like Tom who lives in East Egg. The American dream means a happy family with a nice house and all the amenities of civilization. However, how can a family be happy when there is so much work to be done at home? â€Å"A good home life for a family of four took about 60 hours of nurturing work per week in 1982. That work may have been more physically arduous in the past, but never more complex than now. † (Hayden) Today, it’s nowhere near that amount but it is still quite a load. On top of that, people are picky meaning that â€Å"part of homemaking involved seeing that each family member’s myriad personal needs are fully met. For example, â€Å"Home cooking requires meals prepared to suit the personal likes and dislikes of family members.(Hayden) How can the American dream be achieved when you worry so much about homemaking? The idea of a happy family ceases to exist because of this. Even rich people with all the amenities like the laundry machine, dishwashers, refrigerators, and stoves still have a lot to worry about. Rich people still need to worry though about their kid’s educat ion and choose to private school their kids. However, â€Å"this puts more pressure on families, cutting them off from the diversity and connectedness of the proverbial village. Poorer families without the same resources to send their children to school worry even more about this. There are exorbitant rates for the top state universities and federal aid is hard to come by. The journal of health and Social behavior published her findings that â€Å"adults with children experience depression and unhappiness in greater numbers. Our expectations that children guarantee a life filled with happiness, joy, excitement, contentment, satisfaction, and pride are an additional source of stress for all parents. This shows that happiness is hard to achieve and many are dissatisfied because of the times when they have housework to do. A lot of the times, Mother’s in their sphere do not have many people to talk to except for other women. â€Å"Or it may come from husbands and children who finally notice when their wives and mothers break down. † (Hayden) For example, Daisy in the Great Gatsby had a hard time dealing with Tom, who had a bad temper. â€Å"You did it, Tom, she said accusingly. I know you didn’t mean to but you did do it. That’s what I get for marrying a brute of a man, a great big hulking physical specimen. † (Fitzgerald 16) During this incident, Tom intentionally broke Daisy’s finger for no reason. Daisy was very upset about having to put up with this. This shows how not everyone is happy all the time. Later on at the end, Daisy was so upset about Tom’s mistress and almost left Tom for Gatsby. She states, â€Å"Why, -how could I love him-possibly? † (Fitzgerald 139) This is in response to Gatsby telling her to state that she never loved him. In this case, â€Å"him† refers to Tom, who now desperately wants her back. Even if a family is wealthy or poor, there is so much going on at home that people are likely to be unhappy. Although it sounds good, there are lots of problems in life preventing the American Dream from happening. Every day, there is housework, kids to take care of, and bills to pay. This makes home life frenetic all the time. Unless you can afford a housekeeper and somehow have a perfectly content family, you should not wish for the American Dream. The American dream is the longing of success that means a happy family and equal opportunity to go from rags to riches through hard work. A lot of people decided to immigrate here in pursuit of this dream. Many of them were disappointed when it ended in failure although they worked hard. The American dream was simply out of their reach like with Mary Antin’s father. Therefore, the American Dream has a negative impact on our society because of its false promises that cannot be achieved by the overwhelming majority. So until you can guarantee equal opportunity, limited house work, and no home conflict the American dream will cease to exist.

Code of Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Code of Ethics - Essay Example They need to be aware of the things that can get them fired. Sanitation hazards need to be taken very seriously. The littlest thing could turn away a customer, and perhaps lead to a lawsuit. When dealing with food, all precautions need to be taken. A lot of businesses require wearing gloves, having your hair pulled back, and no visible piercing or tattoos. Jan Norman, publisher for The Standard-Times stated, "A lot of people are offended when they see people in the workplace with piercings and tattoos." (Norman, p.1) When dealing with other people's food, all of those things are turn-offs. After touching your hair or face, going to the bathroom, or any other contact with yourself or another person, the person should immediately wash their hands. OHS states, "Hand washing reduces the risk of Common Infections." (p.1) Putting up signs for the employees to remind them to pull back their hair, and remove any visible piercing such as from the nose, eyebrow, lip or tongue. All of this affects the businesses as well. By sanitation standards not being met, stated by Occupational Health and Safety, this can cause businesses to be shut down. So employers need to keep close watch on employees." (OHS,P.1) Every day consumers are more concerned with sanitation especially when it concerns their food. There are so many bacterias that can be spread.

Persuasive Oral Presentation about paparazzimedia ethics in Hong Kong Essay

Persuasive Oral Presentation about paparazzimedia ethics in Hong Kong - Essay Example Sometime this year, there were a group of activists that were fighting for the right to preserve a certain historical site in Hong Kong. The group went to the site and stayed there for some days with very little attention from the local media. However, a certain politician realized that there was an opportunity to garner public attention through the activists. Consequently, he called some members of the press informing them that there would be a fight between some activists and the police at a specified time. (Mei Ning & Cottrell, 2008) Ten minutes before the set time, local pressmen were presented with their cameras; the police had already arrived. At the set time, the politicians arrived with the small group of activists. The police confronted them immediately and the demonstrators also put up some resistance. All this time, the ensuing activities were being recorded. After ten minutes of this, the policemen, politician, members of the press packed up their belongings and left; a classic case of doctored stories. The activists were at least content that their case would be aired on the nine o'clock news. Ladies and gentlemen, this extreme case demonstrates just how absurd our media has become. Isn't it time that we began discussing such lack of professionalism More importantly, isn't it time for us to think of ways in which we can change such depictions What really is freedom of speech In my view, Hong Kong Media have overstepped their boundary. In case you are not convinced about this issue yet, here are some incidences that reinforce my earlier sentiments. In the year 2002 during the month of October, well known gossip magazine East Week splashed naked pictures of actress Carina Lau in the edition. They claimed that these were photos of the actress at that time when she had been arrested some twelve years go. Actress Lau was clearly in anguish and distress but this did not stop East week from publishing this shocking images. In response this sheer lack of humanity, angry protesters marched to the streets of Hong Kong claiming that local tabloids lacked moral substance. Most of them wondered 'what had happened to media ethics' while it may be true that you as the media authority did something in response to these acts your actions were not solid enough. Through your actions, this magazine company was closed for one year. But shortly after, the company was reopened and is still back in business. I ask you, 'How many more Car ina Lau's do we have to witness before we can instate radical changes in our local media In close relation to this incident was a publication made by Next Magazine. The group had displayed pictures of the dead corpse of a woman at the bottom of Sheun Chi building. (Mei Ning & Cottrell, 2008)Not only were these pictures quite disturbing but they were worsened by the alleged causes of the death. The magazine claimed that it was the husband of the deceased who had been engaging in acts of promiscuity that had propelled his wife to suicide; they claimed that he had been engaging in extra marital affairs with prostitutes. Instead of sympathizing with these distraught family members, the media was fuelling their anger and remorse. What was more devastating about the media handling of this case was that some media companies paid the deceased wife's husband to take meals and