Gateway to the American Dream

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6/2/2013 Reaching the Dream Through Wal-Mart: Is it Possible? When you hear the phrase, ‘the American dream,’ what comes to mind? Is it immigrants trying to start a new life in America? Or is it rags to riches? Is the America Dream accessible to everyone? Over many years the idea of the American Dream has changed. According to Brandon King in his essay, “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold,” he states that, “Living the American Dream meant going from dirt poor to filthy rich… Today most people do not strive for a rags-to-riches transition, and instead prefer a stable, middle-class lifestyle” (King, 573). What he is saying more people do not strive for the fancy car, or the sky rise apartment on 5th Ave anymore, they plan their finances for a stable future. In correlation with this new American dream, I will be discussing if working at Wal-Mart can allow one to reach King’s idea. In an essay titled, “Up Against Wal-Mart,” Karen Olsson discusses the mistreatment and unfairness of the multi-billion dollar corporation towards its employees. She uses many first hand accounts of employees who are very quick to say they have been mistreated. I am arguing in this essay that the Wal-Mart Olsson discusses negatively impacts the ability for workers to reach this newly reformed “American Dream” that King brings to our attention. Although many others believe the American Dream has ceased to exist, King feels that “The ideals and values of the American Dream are still very much alive… I would redefine the American Dream today as the potential to work for an honest, secure way of life and save for the future”(King 572-3). The rise of the middle-class lifestyle has caused this transition in the Dream. Because of the high-income gap, along with the Great Recession, more Americans strive for this new goal of economic stability. By taking a look at one of
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