American Dream
This is the belief that anyone can achieve success through hard work.
What is the American Dream?
This phrase in the Declaration of Independence connects to the right to seek personal fulfillment.
What is the Pursuit of Happiness?
This term describes someone who works hard to become successful on their own.
What is a self-made man?
In the song Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen, he sings these lyrics, "In the day, we sweat it out on the streets ff a runaway American dream. at night, we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines." The myth representing this is..
What is the American Dream?
This famous inventor kept trying even after failing many times before successfully inventing the light bulb.
Who is Thomas Edison?
This novel shows that money and success don’t always lead to happiness.
What is The Great Gatsby?
Gatsby believes he will find happiness by achieving this.
What is winning Daisy’s love?
Gatsby becomes a self-made man by doing this.
What is changing his name and bootlegging?
In The Simpsons, Homer regularly seeks simple comforts and happiness through food and friendships instead of pursuing success or money. What myth does this represent?
What is the Pursuit of Happiness?
He grew up in Akron, Ohio, faced family struggles, and became one of the greatest basketball players in the NBA.
Who is LeBron James?
This character works hard to become rich but never truly finds happiness or acceptance.
Who is Jay Gatsby?
Esch’s happiness is tied less to wealth and more to this thing.
What is family?
In Salvage the Bones, Esch and her family show that success also depends on this.
What is helping and supporting each other?
In the song My Way by Frank Sinatra, he says, "Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew when I bit off more than I could chew but through it all, when there was doubt I ate it up and spit it out I faced it all, and I stood tall and did it my way". The American myth this embodies is..
What is Individualism/Self Made Man?
He grew up in Detroit, suffered severe poverty and bullying, and worked hard to become a world-famous rapper with multiple Grammy Awards.
Who is Eminem?
This novel challenges the idea that anyone can succeed through hard work by showing how poverty and disaster make it harder.
What is Salvage the Bones?
In The Great Gatsby, wealth does not guarantee happiness because of this.
What is the carelessness of rich people?
Gatsby shows that being self-made can be hard because of this.
What is social class and privilege?
The Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue says this "The Statue of Liberty started shakin' her fist and the eagle will fly man, it's gonna be hell when you hear mother freedom start ringin' her bell." The myth to best describe this is..
What is Patriotism?
This immigrant moved to the U.S. with nothing. Through hard work, he became immensely successful in bodybuilding and acting in movies like Twins and The Predator(1987). He was also the governor of California.
Who is Arnold Schwarzenegger?
The myth of the American Dream is...
What is that ambition, talent, or hard work alone can guarantee success in America?
These two authors wrote books that show that happiness is not guaranteed because of problems outside a person’s control
What is F. Scott Fitzgerald and Jesmyn Ward
Both novels show that working hard is not always enough to succeed because of these factors.
What are luck, family background, and social class?
In this animated TV show about a burger joint, the main character and his family show examples of working hard to live a good life as well as entrepreneurship.
What is Bob's Burgers
This famous author, who wrote one of the most famous books ever, grew up in severe poverty in England. She struggled with depression after her mother died. She went through a failed marriage and years of unemployment. Instead of finding a job, she wrote a book, and after many many rejections, one publisher decided to print it, and it sold over 600 million copies worldwide.
Who is J.K Rowling?