I would describe the American Dream as people having opportunities to create a better life for themselves and become self- sustainable. Back when the idea of the American Dream first developed, people had this idea that America was the place to be if you wanted to have great wealth and have a good life. It was right after WWI, which is crucial because America had stepped in to help the Allies, and helped them successfully end the war. Countries destroyed by the war saw America as a saving grace and as a possible way to escape the conditions they were currently living in. This is why I said the American dream was people having opportunities to create a better life for themselves.
Based on today's society and the society presented in both The Great Gatsby and The Wasteland, I think the definition of wealth would fall along the lines of material possessions that generally cause a person to become significantly happier with their life until something greater comes along. Especially in today's society, material wealth has overtaken out lives. There is no longer an emphasis on the quantity of the life you live and the impact you make, but there is an emphasis on who can have the latest and greatest the quickest. When looking forward and thinking about what career I might want to pursue, I really looked at doing something I would enjoy doing everyday and something that would have an impact on other peoples lives.
I think that Americans tend to have a hypocritical attitude towards wealth and poverty. People always want to be wealthy and well-off and dream of being able to afford anything they want in life but at the same time they criticize people who have a lot of wealth. Americans also want to be wealthy but don't always want to put in the work. In The Great Gatsby, all Daisy had to do was marry Tom and she became wealthy. She did absolutely nothing and still ended up wealthy. Americans also take a similar attitude towards poverty. Americans sympathize and often times pity people who live in poverty but at the same time will quickly judge people and determine that they did this to themselves and that they will be able to get themselves out of this situation.
I think that wealth has more to do than just material things. While having things in life is great, there are also non-material things that are equally as important or more important. One of those things is knowledge. Knowledge is a very powerful thing and can get you in and out of many situations. In most cases, knowledge goes much farther than any material possession and is much more powerful. I think that my attitude towards poverty is a sympathetic one. I feel bad for people who live in poverty all around the world, not just the ones in countries in Africa or the veterans who fought for our country. everyone should be able to live a healthy sustainable life and not have to worry about having those basic necessities that everyone needs.
