ESSAY READING QUIZ
EMILY COLLINS
HUM 2020
1. How does the reading define the dream?
a. I found that each of the readings pointed out that there is more than one
way to interpret the American Dream. Most of it being based on gender,
race, religion, or social issues.
i. Kamp describes it as something that he only sees in movies or in
wealthy people.
ii. Cullen describes it as something used to serve evil intentions.
iii. Jillson says the American Dream is to live a “better, wealthier, and
happier life.”
2. What historical details are given and how do they connect to the dream?
a. Kamp mentioned the Presidency of Barack Obama to illustrate the
American Dream, because he not only achieved the American Dream, but
also obtained that high position of power as President of the United
States of America.
b. Cullen mentioned the Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson because it
highlighted the hardships that people of color had in achieving equality,
let alone the American Dream.
c. Jillson included the history of the Declaration of Independence as a
premise of the American Dream, as it says, “all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by the creator with certain unalienable Rights that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."
d. Jillson also mentioned the Great Depression, a time during which the
American Dream was almost completely diminished.
3. What examples of the successful dreams are given--common American
Dreams?
a. Kamp referenced Moss Hart, who came from nothing and wrote a play
which made it to Broadway and helped him to become rich and finally
able to begin living his dream. “If Moss Hart, like so many others, was
able to rally from the depths of the Great Depression, then surely the
viability of the American Dream isn’t in question.” (KAMP 2)
b. Cullen talked about James Truslow Adams. He came from “rags to riches”
so to speak. His father failed on Wall Street, but he later graduated from
New York University with a bachelor’s degree and then went on to Yale
University where he got his MA.
c. Jillson – “If Abraham Lincoln and Bill Clinton can become president and
Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates can become the world’s richest man, then
others can reasonably seek to rise as well”
4. What patterns of inclusion/exclusion regarding access to the dream and issues of
race, class, gender, and sexuality are discussed?
a. One of the most obvious patterns of exclusion regarding access to the
American Dream would be that it is much more difficult for persons of
color to reach this goal. "Jennifer Hochschild compiles data suggesting
that more affluent African Americans see the dream as an opiate that lulls
people into ignoring the structural barriers that prevent collective as well
as personal advancement" (Cullen 4)
b. Jillson discusses the idea that the American Dream was originally meant
to be mostly and ideally for wealthy white men. "American Indians were
removed, slaves were imported, women were legally subordinated, and
the federal constitution acknowledged and entrenched these patterns of
privilege and exclusion. (Jillson 8)
c. "In recent years, the [American Dream] has often been interpreted to
mean "making it big" or "striking it rich"... Even when the phrase isn't
being used to describe the accumulation of great wealth, it's frequently
deployed to denote extreme success of some kind or other.” (Kamp 3)