The American Dream By Lorraine Hansberry - 1741 Words

The American Dream From the first day that we can walk, talk, and think for ourselves, we are dreamers. These dreams can be nothing more than an illusion, or the foundations to the very lives we live daily. The American Dream is no exception to this, shaping the lives of millions of Americans each and every day, as it has done so for decades. We can see this through the works of many notable authors and their works. Some examples of these people are F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lorraine Hansberry, Thomas Jefferson, and even some more recent writers like John Meacham and Lena Williams. While all of these people may have been alive at different time periods, they all, for the most part, share one common ideology: the American Dream is still alive,†¦show more content†¦The â€Å"pursuit of happiness† that he mentions shows that the common belief was that anyone can achieve their â€Å"happiness†, or the American Dream, as long as one was willing to work for it and overcom e any obstacles in their way. During any time period, there is always the common dream among those living in society, where everyone wants to make the most of their life and achieve the dream that they have been dreaming since the day they could think for themselves. The American Dream was alive even during the beginning of our wonderful country, and it was relatively the same as it is now. More than a century after the Declaration of Independence, the American Dream was still alive and well. In the 1950s, Lorraine Hansberry wrote A Raisin in the Sun. This play is about a financially troubled African-American family and the problems they face as they try to achieve all of their versions of the American Dream. The play itself is centered around the American Dream and how hard it can be to achieve. The main character, Walter Younger, even says during the beginning of the play, â€Å"Sometimes it’s like I can see the future stretched out in front of me—just plain as dayà ¢â‚¬ ¦ Just waiting for me† ( Hansberry 75). As Walter says, his American Dream is the future, and he can almost see what it holds for him. He knows what he wants to accomplish and have, but he has not reach that point in his life when he