Book Summary: The Pact

The American dream is an example of a national spirit that represents different ideologies. The set of ideas may be of democracy, equality matters, liberty, rights, and opportunities. The American dream believes in freedom for prosperity and success for its citizens. The idea suggests that upward social mobility for individuals can be achieved only through hard work. In a story done by George Saunders, the American dream is exemplified in several instances. The author, George, tells the story of contemporary America through a diary. The main character in the story is a father to three daughters. The family’s struggles are examples of how individuals will go extra miles just to provide for their families and also

But a presentation at their school made all three of them aware of the opportunities available to them in healthcare, they made a promise to each other that they would become doctors. It took a lot of determination, and support from one another, and even though they had to overcome a lot they succeeded in their goals.

In the novel “The Pact” follows three teenagers who have lived in the dark, tough inner city-streets of Newark, New Jersey. However they overcame their obstacles countlessly and made a pact: they would stick together, go to college, graduate and become doctors. Now many years later, these three men have become doctors and helped people across the country with their intellect in medicine and health. Now George showed many important and quality characteristics in the novel. The three most unique characteristics or traits that led him to be successful academically and personally are that he is attentive, curious, and determined.

I found it difficult to relate with the book, The Pact, for near the first half of the story. The three boys, Rameck, Sam, and George all grew up in impoverished neighborhoods in New Jersey. They were surrounded by drugs, violence, theft, prejudice, and death. None of the 3 had a father figure within their home while growing up and discovered that it was extremely difficult to find any positive role models within their area. As kids, Sam and Rameck both caved under the peer pressure and became entangled in immoral activity. Rameck had even let adrenaline take over during a fight and stabbed a man in the thigh with a switchblade. As a result he spent 4 days in jail, some time on house arrest, and faced attempted

As poverty grows throughout the United States, it continues to make it more difficult for our future leaders to become successful if they do not have the equal opportunity to pursue their personal American Dream. David H. Freedman discusses his thoughts on the American Dream and how poverty can get in the way of such success by asserting, “In the view of proponents, that money could also benefit people who aren’t poor but aren’t affluent either. They’d gain access to higher education, an escape route from oppressive jobs and relationships, greater opportunity to invest in their children’s well-being and education, and time to spend on artistic or other mostly nonpaying endeavors” (David H. Freedman). Devastated by the dreams of others freedom and success can still be achieved through the American Dream, even if poverty has affected someone as long as the self-determination to make decisions that will benefit in the future outcome of what they feel is the American Dream. Against the odds of barriers that lie in the way of success; such as, poverty, education, even sometimes religion and ethnicity, the American Dream is still achievable according to Steve Tobak, a well known writer, as he described “The American dream is not a guarantee, there has to be hard work to achieve a goal. There are many factors that play into having the feeling of the American Dream” (Steve

Over time, The American Dream has changed in an innumerable amount of ways. Past civilizations have laid the foundation for what we view it to be today. In the 1970s, people looked at a variety of aspects such as culture, political affairs (government), one’s appearance, and entertainment to fit their definition of “The American Dream”. The 1970’s helped shape and influence what people regard as the current American Dream.

Remember when you were a child and somebody asked you what you wanted to be when you grew up? Personally, I wanted to be a NASCAR racer. I know, a little far-fetched if you think about it. When we were children we were so optimistic. We hardly accepted failure. This was the time in our lives when we sincerely believed in ourselves. We believed in the American Dream because it was instilled in our minds by our parents that we could be anything we wanted to be. We dreamed without limits.

In Jay McLeod’s influential book, Ain’t No Makin’ It (2009), he discovers new sociological theories and social reproduction through his research over many years. Through social reproduction McLeod shows us how education’s role gets passed down from one generation to the next from class inequality. He claims that aspirations/lack of aspirations is being reproduced. He deeply examines two resident groups of male youths that have opposing views on what their aspirations are in life. McLeod also deciphers what the American Dream is according to them. “The American Dream is held out as a genuine prospect for anyone with the drive to achieve it” (McLeod 2009: 3).

They discuss being products of low expectations and share insight toward how expectations shape ourselves."The expectations that others place on us help us form our expectations of ourselves" (Wes Moore, 126). I believe regardless of environment and others expectations we all have opportunities to be successful. However, that being said those who say they can and those who say they can not are both usually correct. In conclusion you should not allow others expectations of you to become your own. I can relate to this just by being a high school student. For nearly 3 years I have been exposed to peer pressure and bad opportunities: after all of it I gained positive expectations of myself regardless of others

In the novel, “A Separate Peace” by John Knowles, the seasons develop actions and characters in the story. The story takes place at an all-boys boarding school in New Hampshire during World War II based off of the author’s previous experiences at a boarding school. The two main characters, Finny and Gene, experience character development alongside different seasons. In written works, seasons are commonly used to symbolically represent a change in the character’s personalities. The nature or setting of the story is used to specifically evolve Finny and Gene in seasons such as the summer, autumn, and winter. Each season change also generates an entirely different mood.

In New Jersey, there are a set of teaching standards that all teachers must follow in their classrooms. Standard 2ii5 states, the teacher understands that learners bring assets [and liabilities] for learning based on their individual experiences, abilities, talents, prior learning, as well as language, culture, family, and community values. On the other hand, standard 3ii2 says, the teacher values the role of learners in promoting each other’s learning and recognizes the importance of peer relationships in establishing a climate of learning. In this paper, I will be talking about standards 2ii5 and 3ii2 and how they relate to the novel The Pact. The Pact talks about three young doctors and their journeys in getting there. All three of the

The American Dream is something many Americans desire. The desire to the mind – set or belief that anyone can be successful if they worked hard for what they’ve been yearning. It is considered to be a ‘perfect life’; it can be full of money, contentedness or even love. There are many divergent opinions given by people. Walter Younger from Lorraine Hansberry’s ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ and Willy Loman from Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of the Salesman’ both have their own views on the American Dream and how it can be achieved. Walter Lee Younger, a

As time has went on the meaning of the American Dream has altered. When Adams trademarked the term the American Dream, the idea of it was for people to become “better and richer and fuller,” (Adams 412), but now as 20th century inventions have been introduced to society the dream has changed. People want what others have and what is portrayed as glamorous and prestigious. A prime example is Gary Soto’s recollection of his childhood obsession with wanting to be like the families he saw on the television saying, “I very much wanted to imitate [the families from Leave It to Beaver and Father

Nowadays, many Americans wonder if the American Dream is still alive. At one point in our country, people felt that they could achieve success by working hard. However, after the economic hardships and recession of the 21st century, a number of Americans not only lost income, but some also lost their jobs. Although there has been slow progression to improve the economy, there are those who question whether or not the dream of Americans can ever be achieved again. With unemployment levels still high and salaries failing to increase, there certainly is doubt in most of Americans. In his essay, Brandon King formulates ways to redefine and change the way to look at the American dream. After analyzing King’s essay, one can see his view as believing that the dream is still very much intact. As he points out, the American economy is a very complex system that has had downfalls, but there is always a way to get back up from it. Regardless of your economic status (poor or middle class), if one has a working job, it is possible to succeed based on how much someone is willing to work to achieve their goals. As King would agree, the American dream is not only still alive and well, but anyone can reach success.

Introduction: Kids in U.S. are taught to believe the process: good at high school, then a good college, then a good job, career, which is the American dream