Working Class and The American Dream

Throughout our nation’s short history, countless immigrants have traveled to our shores in search of “streets paved with gold” and a mysterious reverie known as “The American Dream.” Even to this day, people continue to cross our borders in hopes of finding financial prosperity, political stability, and the freedom to be happy.

However, standing in staunch contrast with these lofty ideals is Polyestra, who contends that America represents none of this. In the opening line of the passage, she sardonically notes that “fewer than one percent of Americans break out of the class they are born into.” As a girl who experienced a working-class upbringing, she was acutely aware of her own growing discontent with the idea of “class jumping.” Despite her parents’ furious pursuit of affluence, and their constant desire to ascend the societal ladder, Polyestra finds herself unable to see the upward mobility for which America is heralded. To her, our society is characterized by a static, unchanging caste system that encourages workers to strive for greatness, but rewards only very few for their efforts. Overall, she bitterly extrapolates the plight of her family to represent the sentiments of the lower class as a whole, and as such concludes that the average American worker is doomed to live a life that is just that… average.

In contrast, I believe she mistakenly and erroneously imposes her own negative views on society in a way that speaks strongly to people’s subjectivity. She bemoans the sole one percent of people who change classes. However, it is this special one percent for which people so diligently strive. In perhaps no other place in the world can that one percent be so assured and tantalizing. In addition, that single percent of success is the very reason why such a large number of people continue to leave their own countries to come to America, for it represents the idea that hard work and innovation will be rewarded.

It is my belief that for most people, the guarantee that even the smallest fraction (in this case 1%) of the population will find success indicates that America stands as a land of unparalleled opportunity. Unlike Polyestra, I feel that most people simply want the assurance that “The American Dream” is still alive. That sole percentage point is meaningful and exactly the sort of reassurance people need.

In general, I would agree with Polyestra’s thesis. “Class jumping” in any country or setting is hard and even nearly impossible. However, in America that one percent over which she agonizes only proves to me and most other Americans that classes can indeed be jumped. This crucial promise of opportunity, above all else, is the reason why the United States is such a unique and special nation, and the reason why so many people tout the seemingly magical “American Dream.”