Essay: The American Dream: Riches Greater than Money

by Jesse B.

From the time of our country's inception, there has been talk of an "American Dream"; there has been, however, extremely limited discussion regarding what this dream actually is. It is perhaps useful to reflect on classic American literature for the answer. That being said, numerous literary sources from American history support a single ideal, which one might surmise to be the all-encompassing basis for the American Dream: Happiness is to be found not in cold, hard cash but in the simple pleasures of life and the very opportunity for success and advancement. The attainment of such happiness is the very essence of the American Dream.

The Declaration of Independence –- one of America's most important symbols of its ideals. Even prior to its 1776 publication, the ideals of the American Dream were rooted in the minds of the British colonists. As Thomas Jefferson writes in The Declaration, ". . . all men are created equal." He states that men are entitled to certain "inalienable rights" and that among these are the rights to ". . . life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." These rights speak nothing of property or money; instead, they speak of freedom and equality, the cornerstone of happiness, the pursuit of which is the American Dream.

Walt Whitman was, and still is, a powerful supporter of the common man. His works focus on the simplicities of life. One example of this is his famous poem "I Hear America Singing". In this work, Whitman analyzes the working habits of the lower and middle classes by comparing their labor to song. Each worker "sings" a tune all his own, but together their form a veritable American symphony. Langston Hughes, in his poem "I Too", expands on the thoughts expressed in Whitman's poem. He does so by directly addressing the ideals of the Harlem Renaissance and the push for equality among the races. The black man, too, he argued, was no less American and no less entitled to pursuit of the American Dream. Both Whitman's and Hughes' poems support the idea of the American Dream as both simplicity and opportunity.

Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name, Mark Twain, is a staunch supporter of both cultural advancement and simplicity of lifestyle. His novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn epitomizes these ideals. The protagonist, Huck, lives a troubled life until he joins an escaped slave name Jim on a journey downriver. Huck and Jim become involved in many adventures along the way; however, Huck finds peace and true happiness only when he and Jim are alone on a raft, letting the current carry them. At first Huck feels he is committing a dreadful sin by helping Jim, but by the novel's conclusion, he realizes that Jim is as much a human being as he is. Huck questions the moral values of Southern society and heads west, hoping to find solace. Both the abolitionist ideals and love of nature presented by Clemens are characteristic of the American Dream.

The goal of finding happiness through both life's simplicities and the opportunity for success and advancement finds its way into the works of Jefferson, Whitman, Hughes and Clemens. To be sure, these are but a sampling of American authors with such a mindset. If one learns nothing else from reading their works, let it be this: Happiness doesn't come from dollar bills; it comes from the attainment of immaterial wealth, something far more valuable indeed.