Is the American Dream alive according to its original definition? As an international student with ambitions to stay in this country, I have found myself chasing the American dream, but it is a shot in the dark when I am aware of the difficulties of obtaining a Green Card. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The original definition of the national ethic coined by James Truslow Adams in his book The Epic of America states, “The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better, richer, and fuller for all , with opportunities for each according to ability or achievement.” Adams continues to say that the dream applies to everyone, regardless of their birth or position. This is the main question I have asked myself throughout this semester and the question is born from different impressions. Everything from the crude readings that presented a segregated past in the United States, to American friends who consider the dream one of the fundamental pillars of this country, to the interview with my father. In my interview, I identified the album by Bruce Springsteen Darkness On The Edge of Town as an object of popular culture The album was released in 1978 and on several occasions Springsteen addresses his view of the United States from a working-class perspective, which can be placed in a perspective. wider than the American dream. The American Dream and Springsteen album is linked to my father's album and the goal will be to explain and break down the concept of the American dream, while at the same time explaining the respective connection with the dream. Occasionally during my father's childhood, his family was visited by relatives from the United States. The father of the family was a successful entrepreneur and often spoke of the opportunities that existed in the United States and which planted the idea of ​​the American dream in my father's head. My father grew up in a lower-middle-class family that couldn't provide much, more than food and a place to live for him and his siblings. Therefore, the idea of ​​being successful in America and being able to provide for his future children more than his own parents made the American dream compelling. However, he graduated from high school with good grades and his parents expected him to continue his studies at a university in Sweden, but my father had a different idea in mind. Unbeknownst to his parents he had been corresponding with relatives in the United States and explaining his dream of starting his own company and a new life. Relatives agreed to offer him room, board and an under-the-table job when he could not legally work in the country without a work visa. In 1978, my father arrived in San Francisco, California, and relatives welcomed him with open hands. My father was especially close to the father of the family called Ben. Ben was originally from Texas and grew up in similar circumstances to my father, but moved to San Francisco in the early 1960s where he became a successful entrepreneur. The wealth and the family home amazed my father, who had never seen anything comparable in Sweden, and made him dream of the American dream even more. Over the course of two years he worked as a carpenter while simultaneously trying to obtain authorization from the U.S. government to work legally in the country. Obtaining a work permit became more difficult in later years when the government introduced the Hart-Cellar Act in 1965 which radically restricted immigration. Essentially, the law stated that an immigrant had to have family ties or special skills to obtain a permitof work. Even though my father was related to Ben's family, the connection between the two families was too distant and it was difficult to argue that my father possessed a special ability when he had not earned a college degree. Ben offered to pay for my father's college education so they could try again after graduation, but at that time my father didn't feel motivated enough to continue his education. In 1980, after two years of trying to get permission to work, my father gave up and moved home to Sweden. However, while in San Francisco, my father attended his first Bruce Springsteen concert and explained that the experience had given him a new perspective on both his music and Springsteen as a person. The concert lasted about three hours and Springsteen played the entire album Darkness On the Edge of Town with a total of 26 songs. My father described the concert as a 3 hour car ride at 200km/h. Continuing to say that the long, energetic and passionate performance made Springsteen's message more believable as he made the appearance of a hard-working man who wanted to deserve his salary. From the performance, my father explains that The Promised Land and Adam Raised a Cain made him relate to Springsteen on a personal level. The Promised Land says, "I've packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm" along with the entire song convey how Springsteen is experiencing many obstacles in his life that prevent him from being successful. My father related to that part especially when he saw himself in a similar position. When he himself left Sweden without having a clear idea of ​​what he was getting himself into, and in the United States he was prevented from succeeding because he failed to obtain a work permit from the government. On the other hand, in the song Adam Raised a Cain, Springsteen sings about his relationship with his father and how he feels alienated from the rest of the children, but also how society failed his father. When my father explained to his parents that he was carrying out his plan to move to the United States, his father considered it a betrayal against the family, especially he, as the older brother, was supposed to contribute to the well-being of the family. Furthermore, he had seen how his father had worked hard throughout his childhood in the local mill, but even if he worked long hours, day and night, the wages would allow the family to get by every month. Essentially, seeing Springsteen perform these songs live made the words more authentic to my father. The main reason my father moved to the United States was to try to realize or achieve the American dream. When my father first came to the United States, his idea of ​​the American dream was something that anyone could achieve as long as someone worked consistently and hard, then that hard work would pay off. That definition of the American dream would change slightly with the help of Springsteen's music. My father referred to Springsteen's songs when they expressed a form of frustration my father felt because the dream didn't seem achievable. This frustration was also aimed at Americans who pride themselves on living in a country where anyone, regardless of background, can arrive and succeed if someone wants it enough. This also makes Springsteen note that the American dream seems more easily attainable by some members of society. Springsteen's album takes a critical point of view towards the social climate in the United States of the 1970s. The songs on Darkness On the Edge of Town leave listeners with a sense of an artist who believes his country has strayed from its core values ​​and left behind greatpart of the population. He sings in The Promised Land: “I tried my best to live right. I get up every morning and go to work every day. But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold. Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode. Explode and blow the entire city to pieces. Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart. Find someone who can't wait to start something. Middle-class workers are doing their best to be model citizens. Constant work takes its toll, and the feeling of oppression eventually leads to anger. Throughout the album, Springsteen's lyrics focus on the middle- and working-class white males of society, their problems and daily life, while the woman comes into the background. The man is the breadwinner which makes the social system of the 1970s seem predominantly patriarchal. Additionally, drawing attention to the growing divide between the working class and the upper class, singing in the song Badlands, “Poor people want to be rich. A rich man wants to become king. And a king is not satisfied. Until it rules everything. It basically claims that human beings are never satisfied, but the statement is also interpreted as the way in which different classes of society live well at the expense of others, which makes the socio-historical perspective very important. Springsteen paints a picture of the climate in the 1970s as being cold and harsh. In an interview with The Guardian newspaper Springsteen states: "I have spent my life judging the distance between American reality and the American dream." Listening to the entire Darkness On the Edge of Town album, it seems that Springsteen regards the Promised Land and the American Dream as a fairy tale from the past, while the American reality seems full of difficulties. Reality provides no safety net to catch you and no one hears the cry for help. The very thought of being together fighting for a better world has disappeared and everyone has to do it alone. Springsteen states in The Promised Land, "I've packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm." This means that whether you succeed or not will depend on your determination and confidence in your abilities. According to Springsteen, the problem is the lack of work which in turn leads people to commit criminal activities or take drugs. Despair and despondency increase and pride and self-esteem abandon them, at the same time as the feeling of loneliness begins to haunt them. In The Promised Land he states, "Find someone who can't wait to get started," which interprets how working-class males are starting to become more anger-filled due to their inability to provide for their family. Therefore, many turn their trust in God to help them find a job. Meanwhile, others feel it's up to them to find a job. Many of Bruce Springsteen's best songs are about those who dream of the American dream, those who struggle against difficult odds; sometimes for love, sometimes just to survive. Born To Run is a call to escape towards the unknown promised land. Racing In the Streets is about those who hold their heads high and refuse to die, little by little. Plus there are also those who don't believe in the future like in The River. In five minutes Springsteen tells an entire life story. The narrator gets his teenage sweetheart pregnant and the two are unceremoniously married in the courthouse. He ends up as a construction worker, but has trouble finding work when the town's economy turns around. Love turns into apathy: "Is a dream a lie if it doesn't come true?" Springsteen himself asks in the last verse. Political scientist Robert Putnam asks the same question in his book Our Kids - The American Dream in Crisis. Through interviews and statistics Putnam shows how the future standard of.