Pro "American Dream" resources

[Emiliana]

I'm teaching the Great Gatsby to my juniors right now. In conjunction with that, I'm trying to provide them with some background knowledge on the American Dream. I started last week by asking them what the American Dream was and whether it was realistic in our society today. Probably 2/3 of them said yes, if you work hard enough and are dedicated enough, you can achieve anything you want. The other third of them said no, there are forces like racism and poverty and family dysfunction that are so strong that sometimes a person simply *can't* escape them. Then I had them read this article about social immobility in the United States, which indicates that the American dream is not a reality for most people born in poverty.

tl;dr: Can anyone help me track down an article that supports the other side of the issue and says that it IS possible for people to get out of poverty through hard work or whatever?

[Portia]

If you were local, this article is one of many showing Salt Lake City's high degree of social mobility. Depending where you are in Texas, that could be an interesting exercise in contrast.

I also think that Gatsby, like all Fitzgerald's work, is less about the American Dream and more about his idée fixe. Didn't he accumulate all the Brooks Brothers shirts and stalk his ex all in a quest to gain one woman's approval?

[wryness]

Emiliana, have you heard of the English Companion Ning? It is pretty much my favorite website ever for lesson ideas, asking questions, and random professional development ideas. You should check it out. Here are some random ideas from me:

• *Forbes has an article about billionaires that says that "almost two-thirds of the world’s 946 billionaires made their fortunes from scratch."
  
  *I remember reading the novel Gifted Hands in high school and thinking of it as "proof" that the American Dream can be realized. You could probably share some selections from that.
  
  *I seem to recall that Horatio Alger wrote a bunch of popular (fictional) rags-to-riches stories that probably helped to shape our conception of the "American Dream."
  
  *Rudyard Kipling's poem "If" is about perseverance against all odds, as is "Good Timber" (which I have heard far too much in Utah and makes me think of Boy Scout Eagle Courts of Honor).

Hopefully something on there sounds appealing!

[vorpal blade]

I really like what Thomas Sowell has to say on many issues. Here is a link to an article he wrote about economic mobility. http://townhall.com/columnists/thomasso ... /page/full

Here is a similar article by Professor Sowell reviewing a book on the subject. http://townhall.com/columnists/thomasso ... /page/full