Barriers Influencing American Dreams

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Pages: 7
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Barriers Influencing American Dreams
Do obstacles in one’s life change one’s aspirations? If something hard or even unexpected occurs, does one turn his or her back on all that has been worked for? In an American society, there is an idea of a dream. Most people have dreams that differ from one another. Dreams are not limited only to society. Countless numbers of times in American literature, there are moments when an obstacle slows or possibly halts progression. Dreams can also be found in American literature; however, like the reality of society, barriers can be a component of having aspirations. Barriers create obstacles, whether emotional or physical, that make achieving a …show more content…
Tragically
for
Gatsby,
barriers
of
love
and
money
keep
him
 from attaining
his
dream
to
be
with
Daisy.
Not
all
dreams
deal
with
love
and
money
together.
The
dream
of
Lennie
and

George
in
John
Steinbeck’s
Of
Mice
and
Men
is
to
own
land
and
animals
of
their
own.

They
 are
 so
 passionate
 about
 their
 dream;
 Lennie
 asks
 George
many
 times
 to
 tell
 him again
of
their
goals
and
pursuits.
Just
like
The
Great
Gatsby,
there
are
obstacles
 that accompany
 their
 dream.
A
 barrier
 that
 occurs
 early
 on
in
 their
 aspirations
is
 that Lennie
gets
in
trouble,
and
he
and
George
have
to
leave
Weed. Lennie
grabbed
a
 woman’s dress
 because
 he
 thought
 it
 was
 pretty
 and
 he
 wanted
 to
 touch
 it.
 She

Screams.
 “‘By
 that
 time
 Lennie’s
 so
 scared
 all
 he
 can
 think
 to
 do
 is
 just
 hold
 on’”
(Steinbeck
 41).
 This
 upsets
 many
 people.
 Consequently,
 George
 and
 Lennie
 leave
 their job
to
relocate
to
a
new
place
for
work.
This
is
a
struggle
financially
for
them,
 having to
abandon
work,
because
it
slows
their
progression
in
fulfilling
their
dream.

The
lack
of
money
is
a
significant
barrier
for
Lenie
and
George.
In
order
to
live
out
 their dream,
they
need
to
have
the
money
to
purchase
the
land
and
animals. …show more content…
When

Rudy
gets
older
and
plays
more
intense
 football,
his
bigger
 teammates
pound
him.

After
 beating
 the
 odds
 of
 becoming
 a
Notre
Dame
 walk‐on,
 Rudy
 begins
 practices
 with the
university
team.
His
is
in
the
lowest
of
ranks.
He
is
used
as
a
target
and
a
 dummy for
tackling.
The
older,
bigger
men
charge
into
him
hard
and
because
he
is
 small he
struggles
at
every
practice.
Not
only
is
size
a
challenge
that
Rudy
faces,
but
 he also
 struggles
 with
 the
 support
 of
 his
 family,
 friends,
 and
 teachers.
 From
 his
 youth he
has
 been
discouraged
 of
his
dream
 from
his
 father.
When
he
was
 young,

Rudy
told
his
family
about
his
dream
to
play
football
for
Notre
Dame.
In
response
to
 his statement,
 his
 father
 laughs
 at
 him.
 In
 an
 attempt
 to
 make
 Rudy
 reconsider,

Rudy’s
 father
says,
 “’Chasing
a
stupid
dream
causes
nothing
but
you
and
everyone
 around you
 heart
 ache’”
 (Rudy
 movie).
 His
 own
 father
 expresses
 disappointment
 and doubt
 to
 Rudy
 for
 having
 an
 impossible
 dream.
 While
 attending
 high
 school,

Rudy’s
teacher
makes
several
comments
to
him
that
dampens
his
spirit.
The
Show More

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