The great American dream has three fundamentals values that this history questions these values:

·       individualism and self-sufficient: the idea of believe that about “self-made man”

·       reflect: Gatsby personify the self-sufficient (even if is corrupt), he went from poverty to a huge richness. The migratory narrative shows the hard work as a means to an end, a key value for the USA identity

·       social mobility and optimism: the hope that the next generation will have a better life situation than the last one  

·       reflect: the migratory narrative is based just in a promise with the parents sacrificing himself to guarantee the education and the prosperity of their sons

·       materialism (deviation of the ideal) : the confusion between the happiness  with the accumulation of richness and property.

Some other novels that talks about this theme are “born in the usa” this reflects the identity of the white worker class and the feeling of betrayed post-Vietnam. The national identity (born in USA) turns into a symbol of margination from the system and not of glory
by this side we can talk a little bit of migratory narrative; this reflects the collective identity of the immigrant, that contrast with Anglo-Saxon individualism. For this population the success is not personal, if for all the family, integrating community ties in the USA identity.

All this narratives acts likes a mirror of the cultural identity showing the country not like a monolith, is most like a battlefield between their foundational and the real experience.

All these works are critics about the social norms to expose failures in the system:

Norms class and social structure (Gatsby): the novel exposes a rigid social norm: the old richness disdain the new richness it doesn’t matter how much money gain Gatsby, he can never enter in the social circle of tom and daisy because his money do not have the purity of hereditation. This deny the “norm” of anyone can rise.

Patriotism norms and civic responsibility (born in USA): the song encounter the norm of reverence to military service and superficial patriotism. Exposes the social hypocrisy that glorify the flag but ignores the veterans that go back to the poverty, the unemployment and and the non-support

Assimilation norms and sacrifice (migratory narrative): show us the non-written norm about the immigrants and how they should sacrifice his cultural identity to achieve the success, just to discover that the society still watch them as “others” (social exclusion). The value of the sacrifice turns into a norm by obligation to have access to the land of the opportunities

Introduction: Stories and Cultural Clashes

The American Dream, that whole idea that if you work hard, you can make a good life, is super important in US culture. But, heads up, it's not all sunshine and rainbows. There's a big gap between what's promised and what actually happens, leaving many people behind. This essay looks at how this plays out in a few stories: The Great Gatsby shows how empty loving money can be, Born in the U.S.A. calls out how people forget those who have less, and The Help throws racial injustice right in your face. Basically, these stories show that the US isn't so simple, it's a place where dreams and reality bump heads.

Analysis: Where We Mess Up

Looking at these stories, you can see that those American Dream values (being independent, moving up, and staying positive) are kinda messed up by unfair social rules.

When Being Independent Turns into Greed:

The Great Gatsby is the perfect example. The book slams how working hard turns into just wanting more stuff. Gatsby might have all the money, but the old-money types still look down on him. This says that even if you get rich on your own (even by cheating), you're still not equal to those born into cash. So, that whole anyone-can-make-it idea kinda falls apart.

When We Leave Working Folks Behind:

Things get even worse when you check out the stories of working-class folks. Born in the U.S.A. criticizes the fake promise of patriotism. It says society might cheer for soldiers, but then forgets them when they come back broke and jobless. The Pursuit of Happyness, which is based on Chris Gardner's real life in the '80s, shows how the struggle is real: the main guy doesn't give up to build a stable life for his family. But his story also shows how tough it is to get ahead because of prejudice and a system that's rigged.

When Not Everyone Gets a Voice:

The Help shows racial separation in Mississippi back in the '60s. The story teaches that skin color and cash decide who gets to speak up or even use a bathroom. The black women, the maids like Aibileen and Minny, show love and care when raising the kids of their white bosses, but these bosses treat them badly. By writing a book about this, they tell their truth and make their voices heard, going against the white community.

Conclusions: Who Are We Really?

These stories all say that cultural identity in the US is built between being yourself and being part of something and between being accepted and rejected.

1.  Me or Us?: While the American Dream focuses on individual success (Gatsby, Gardner), immigrants see success as something for the whole family. For them, giving up stuff is normal to make sure their kids go to school and have a good future. Winning means nothing if you forget where you came from or ditch your family.

2.  Identity Means Fighting to Remember: You also have to fight to be part of the country's story. In Small Island, Caribbean folks who fought in the war get turned away in London. This, along with the story of the veterans in Born in the U.S.A, shows the country being fake, not keeping its promises, or recognizing everyone. Identity isn't just a piece of paper, it's the life you live and trying to change history.

3.  What Will it Cost us to fit In? The stories of immigrants and The Help tell us that to get ahead, marginalized groups have to ditch their culture to be accepted, only to realize that society still sees them as different.

To sum it up, the stories of the American Dream show that cultural identity is defined by hoping to get ahead and getting over problems (Gardner), but also by the hard truth of being left behind (Springsteen) and separation (The Help). Now, the strength of the dream is in fighting inequality and changing what it means to be part of a country that sometimes doesn't recognize all of its people.