The American Dream of Equality. Literature & Language Essay

Essay Instructions:

Essay Prompt from Professor:
Step #1: Write a thesis-driven essay of at least 5 pages minimum in which you respond to the following and develop an argument based on the questions that follow (you don’t have to answer every question):
Using the three types of Equality described in Chapter 4 of Jim Cullen’s "The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation", discuss the state of equality in the United States today.
Step #2: How were these types of equality thought of in earlier conceptualizations of the American Dream?
Step #3: How have those ideas changed over time?
Step #4: If there has been progress towards more equality, has that progress been significant and enduring, or has it been nominal and fragile?
Step #5: What are some of the arguments against equality (think more about economic arguments than explicit bigotry)?
Step #6: Of the three types of equality, which seem to be more difficult to achieve and why?
Step #7: (Rather than a simplistic answer of "It has gotten worse" or "It has gotten better" consider a thesis that will show a dynamic and complex argument that the subject deserves. It might be better in some ways, worse in others. Some reasons for it might be legitimate, while others are not.)
Step #7: When you write your thesis statement in your essay make sure bold it out so it stands out.
For your thesis statement I want it to be detailed, developed, and dynamic.
Below is an example a thesis statement that is detailed, developved and dynamic.
Thesis Statement: Even though women have long been drivers of the American Dream, by advocating for issues of equality and community, their access to different aspects of that dream has grown exponentially over the last 60 years. However, this inclusion has caused considerable backlash, seen most glaringly in the rise of explicit misogyny online, that threatens the very foundations of the American Dream itself.
Step #8: Essay should be a minimum of 5 complete double-spaced pages in MLA format and a Works Cited page will be considered the 6 page.
IMPORTANT: You must use at least FIVE different sources that can include prior readings from the class, books, academic journals, online articles, and websites.
Step #9: You must qoute at least twice from what we read of Jim Cullen's "The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation" more specifically Chapter 4. (Remember these two quotes must be meaningful - meaning the quotes you choose should be significantly connected to the point you are discussing in the paragraph in which you use the quotations.)
Step #10: You must quote at least twice from what we read of Lawrence Samuel's "The American Dream: A Cultural History" from either Chapter 1 or Chapter 2. (Remember these two quotes must be meaningful - meaning the quotes you choose should be significantly connected to the point you are discussing in the paragraph in which you use the quotations.)
Step #11: You must use at least one quote from at least three different outside sources. (Remember these three quotes must be meaningful - meaning the quotes you choose should be significantly connected to the point you are discussing in the paragraph in which you use the quotations.)
ESSAY GUIDELINES:
•Should have a title that states topic and hints at a thesis.
•Introduction should begin with 3-5 sentences introducing the topic of the American Dream and the specific topic you chose from the bullet points above.
•A thesis statement should end the introduction making an analytical argument—that is detailed, developed, and dynamic—about the relationship between the American Dream and the topic you chose.
•Body paragraphs should begin with clearly articulated topic sentences that develop individual points helping to support your overall thesis.
•Evidence should describe particular theories, facts, and/or events and be connected to quotes, paraphrase, and/or summary from outside sources (including course readings and other academic sources that you find on your own).
•Conclusion should bring these individual points back to the overall thesis and make it clear what the implications are for the near future or the long-term future of the country and the American Dream.
* Essay should follow MLA style, double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font, with 1” margins all around
Notes from the student to the Essay Zoo Writer:
* Note#1 I uploaded screenshot images of Chapter 4 of Jim Cullen's "The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea That Shaped a Nation" since I could only upload 20 files in the order form the remaining images are located in the
DropMeFiles link: https://dropmefiles(dot)com/80D1D
* Note #2: I also uploaded screenshot images of Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 of Lawrence Samuel's "The American Dream: A Cultural History" in the DropMeFiles links below:
Chapter 1: https://dropmefiles(dot)com/8Qii5
Chapter 2: https://dropmefiles(dot)com/nBZgC
* Note #3: Feel free to use any other outside sources but just in case here is a possible outside source I uploaded the readings of the book "The Tao of Wu" by The RZA from page 1 to page 120 in this DropMeFiles Link: https://dropmefiles(dot)com/djPaj
Thank you so much for your time.

Essay Sample Content Preview:

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The American Dream of Equality
The American Dream has gradually proved its resilience in developing a unique and consistent concept that the citizens have come to interpret, understand and define in different ways as significant to their way of life, life narratives and experiences. One of these definitions is found in Jim Cullen’s book, The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped the Nation, where, in Chapter 4 of the text, he discusses three types of equality presented in the national ethos. The annotation is based on the sense that although it has been championed, misinterpreted, denounced and poorly defined, the United States was founded on the principle of equality of rights as were the past rulings of the French Revolution, communism and socialism and the American Civil Rights Movement. The literature analysis on the topic yielded that since liberty and equality were the main drivers of the development of the American Dream, the notion of equality has undergone a significant change where there are higher levels of inequality in the United States now compared to the past. The current forms of inequality in the country range from gender discrimination, wage inequality, health insurance, residential segregation and racial gaps of education among others. Moreover, deducing information from Jim Cullen’s book, and comparing it with the current nature of inequality in the United States, it is evident that each of the three forms of inequality; political, civil and social justice, have increased significantly, with more emphasis on social inequality.
Jim Cullen’s book gives a clear manifestation of the nature and meaning of equality in the United States and how it was applied throughout the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The author states that although this case was viewed as arising from interstate travel, it was basically about explaining the nature and meaning of equality. In the case, the author outlines three different types of equality, starting with political equality, where Jim Cullen states that this is "the rights of citizens in relation to the government." Other models are civil equality, which is the "rights of citizens in the public sphere," and social justice, which annotates the "rights of citizens in their usual personal dealings with each other" (Cullen 105). Previous conceptualizations of the American Dream thought of social equality as a right for all individuals to enjoy the same status in society. In the wake of this, except for slavery, the leaders of the land at the time ensured that they invented standard social classes such as the working-class roots. Secondly, political equality, as Lawrence puts, gives the citizens an "opportunity, success and financial gain, payback perhaps for the thrift and sacrifice the American people had to endure the past decade and a half." (43)
In 1970, the United States was similar to most other developing and wealthy democracies such as Japan and France, in terms of economy. There was a small gap in development, showing that the issue of civil equality was somewhat irrelevant to the initial definition of the American Dream. However, this idea has changed bec...

Updated on January 26, 2024

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The American Dream of Equality. Literature & Language Essay

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