Reading about Jurgis and listening to our guest in class got me thinking about the American Dream and what it means. It seems that the response to the question, What does the American Dream mean to you? reveals a lot about people's background and worldview. Comparing the story of Jurgis in the Jungle with our guest in class with Sabino's seems to give two sides to the American story. Jurgis failed to achieve his dream while Sabino really improved his economic well-being and is confident that his children will have even more economic opportunity. If we were to judge the American economic experience just by listening to both Jurgis's and Sabino's stories it would be easy to get the impression that the ability climb in socioeconomic class is easier now than the past, but is this true?
I started doing some research to find if Sabino's success and Jurgis's failure represented American society as a whole during their respective times. One of the most balanced and nuanced articles I came across was entitled "The Mobility Myth" in the New Yorker. The "Mobility Myth" points out that in virtually any society that has ever existed economic mobility has never been the norm, yet America in late nineteenth century had greater economic mobility than Europe. Stories like Andrew Carnegie starting out as a boy factory worker and later becoming the worlds' richest man made a deep impression on the American psyche, as those rags to riches stories were unique to America. When Upton Sinclair published the Jungle, sociologist Werner Sombart noted that most U.S workers felt they had a good chance of rising out of their class, according to the article.
Things changed in the second half of the 20th century. Americans are no longer more economically mobile than Europeans and there are certain parts of America that are the least economically mobile in all of the devolved world. Despite the lack of class mobility in comparison to Europe take home pay doubled from the late forties to the early seventies in America. People who didn't move up in economic class still saw their wages increase.
It looks like you had some very extensive research done on this topic. After talking about this topic in class, I believe you make up your own American dream. Whether you're an immigrant or a natural born citizen of this country, there are multiple interpretations of one's personal viewpoint on the American Dream.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good point. To me, and to everyone else, we picture the American Dream as a white picket fence, a rose bush or two, and 2.5 kids. But for these people, the dream is to just be free, supporting yourself and your family, and having everything you need. It is crazy how we can all live in the same country, hell, the same city, and have different perspectives on what living in America is really about.
ReplyDeleteAustin: I really liked the question that you asked Sabino in class on Tuesday. The perspective of "The American Dream," is a very interesting and broad topic; and is interpreted in a million different ways.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked that question and I think you're right about how much people's idea of the American Dream reflects their worldview. I like that you didn't accept Sabino's and Jurgis' stories as the norm, and that you actually researched the truth of things.
ReplyDeleteI also have to agree with Joe, I think everyone has their own American Dream. But I liked that you compared Jurgis and Subino because they both had the same experiences.
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