The American Character is often longing for a dream. He or she consistently pursues this dream, despite any obstacles or consequences. Although it may seem like a reasonable battle, the chase of an ideal is corrupted throughout the American Experience since it is such a struggle. Oftentimes, the American Character passes the point of hope and becomes delusional within the obsession of fulfilling his or her dream. The dreamer is also usually stuck in the past, refusing to move on and face the current reality. He or she refuses to accept when the dream is no longer attainable, which leads to his or her downfall. The American Character will never reach this ideal unless he or she accepts reality and learns from previous experiences - only from there can he or she grow and develop as a person.
"There is no past that we can bring back by longing for it. There is only an eternally new now that builds and creates itself out of the best as the past withdraws." -Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe
"We must accept finite dissapointment, but never lose infinite hope." -Martin Luther King Jr.
"We must accept finite dissapointment, but never lose infinite hope." -Martin Luther King Jr.
Explore examples of this theme in American Literature and other sources:
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - Delusion
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry- Delusion
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson - Adventure
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hurt by Johnny Cash
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller - Delusion
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry- Delusion
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For by U2
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson - Adventure
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hurt by Johnny Cash
Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger