The American Dream
Jay-Z is frequently compared to Gatsby for achieving the modern American Dream (both named Jay). He originally sold cocaine on the streets to support his family then he got famous off of rapping becoming one of the best, and richest of all time. Unlike Gatsby he kept the girl he treated like trash.
How would you describe the American Dream?
Basically to me the American Dream is doing better for yourself than your parents did. To expand on this the most common American Dream is the rags-to-riches story. The person who was born to a low-class or middle-class family, then works hard to become rich is the Dream. Then once you have this power and money you can get your children everything your parents couldn't get for you. The idea that if anyone from anywhere can achieve anything if you work hard enough is the basic concept of the American Dream, and is the main pushing factor as to why anyone works hard for anything.
What is your definition of Wealth?
Some people may be inclined to say that true wealth is being surrounded by the people you love. But it all honesty I'd rather be surrounded by people I love in a mansion than a mobile home. The idea that your life goal should be being happy is nice, but it's perpetuating a cycle of doing exactly what your parents did and never moving up economically. In modern America, wealth is your money. Anyone can have a family if they really want to, but very few people have the motivation to work hard to be richer and more powerful than everyone around them. Therefore my definition of wealth is money and power.
What are Americans' attitudes towards wealth and poverty?
(I'm about to hit y'all with some mean textual analysis)
In American Dream (2017) by Jeezy, J Cole has a feature where he breaks down his level of wealth and compares it to the dream that many people from his hometown chase.
A millionaire, silly 'cause how many really get there?"
J Cole starts the verse by saying that although he has acheived a great level of wealth, he is still working hard to make more money. He realizes this is a silly thought considering the fact that he is already a millionaire, but he still has not met the standard he has for himself.
"Meanwhile, back home, my ****** sell crack at the BP
Hoping one day they can be the
****** is there on the screen
Cause that's the American Dream"
Then he compares his unnecessary search for wealth to the people he left behind, who are selling crack with the goal of one day being as famous as he is. This puts into perspective that although his dream is constantly become richer and richer, there are still some people who just want to get where he is.
"You ever wonder why Jewish people own all the property in America?
This how they did it
Financial freedom my only hope
F**k livin' rich and dyin' broke
I bought some artwork for one million
Two years later, that sh*t worth two million
Few years later, that sh*t worth eight million
I can't wait to give this sh*t to my children"
Basically in these lines he discusses his idea of how to achieve wealth in life. To Jay-Z, his goal is to make as much money as he can in his lifetime, so that when he is dead, all of his wealth can be passed on to his children. If he makes investments, like the artwork, he can one day pass that to his children to continue the wealth. This is how he assumes 'Jewish people own all the property in America', by investing and making money for yourself then passing it on through generational wealth.
What is you attitude toward wealth and poverty?
Everyone, no matter how they stand economically, have the same goal, to achieve wealth for them self. The only separation between the wealthy and the poor is that the wealthy are making unnecessary wealth to make them more comfortable, and also so they have something to pass to their children. The poor try to make money to survive.
Bruh why do I make such long blogs?
Andrewwwww I think your blog was really good I was entertained so good job. I like how you included J Cole and Jay-Z and I think it was interesting how you compared them to the American Dream. Also idk how you made this so long but good for you.
ReplyDeleteThis is really cool. Also your love for Jay-Z worries me. I like how you said the poor try to make money to survive. I think that is pretty accurate way to describe what poverty is. It also suggests that people they are only making money to survive they have no ability to save money so it becomes hard for them to achieve a higher socioeconomic status.
ReplyDeleteThis was actually really good. I've read quite a few of these posts just for fun and yours is one of the more interesting and least generic that I've seen. I liked how you stressed the importance of money in a way that doesn't seem too cynical. I thought the line, "I'd rather be surrounded by people I love in a mansion than a mobile home." was very well put. I also really liked the integration of rap lyrics to express how Americans and yourself especially feel about the American dream. What a novel idea! In a lot of these essays people talk about generational wealth as sort of the opposite of the American dream becuase it means some people don't have to work as hard for success. You sort of subvert that idea though by saying that generational wealth is in fact integral to the American dream in that people work hard to maybe give their children a better life than they had. On the whole this was a rather good post and I'm glad you put in some extra effort to make it a more worth while read.
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