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Adalisa Ruiz
Professor Golden
ENC 1101- Writing & Rhetoric
18 November 2014
Synthesis Essay:
Is the American Dream fulfilling its expectations?
Have you ever just sat and thought about the economic disparity that is occurring in our
country? Recently, our nation has been experiencing a monetary gap, wherein the rich people are
becoming wealthier, and the poor population are becoming further underprivileged. Does the
American Dream paint a false canvas of a perfect goal-achieving and successful life? Do you
think it is misleading due to its fraudulent advertisement, and its inability to highlight all the
issues that we may encounter depending on our respective circumstances?
The texts which I have analyzed have allowed me to further understand the complexity
and various angles of the situation. The first article I explored is “The Great Gatsby Curve’: Why
It’s So Hard for the Poor to Get Ahead” by Matthew O’Brien, and the second text is “The
Expanding World of Poverty Capitalism” by Tomas B. Edsall.
In Matthew O’Brien’s educational and economic prosperity article “The Great Gatsby
Curve’: Why It’s So Hard for the Poor to Get Ahead”, originally published in The Atlantic
magazine on June 18, 2013, writer O’Brien articulates the relationship that income has with the
possibilities of becoming economically prosperous today. He states that the salary of parents
affects the child’s ability to thereafter earn a high salary. Various factors affect the outcome of
this possibility, including: parents, marriage, accessibility to technology, ease of access to special
programs that help students, and the student’s wish to help their parents economically. These all
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determine whether or not the student will become wealthy, as well as how problematic it will be
for them to earn a higher salary if not so. O’Brien also asserts that the irony of it all is that
although these poor students graduate college, they are still earning less than those who did not
receive an academic degree. Those who did not were fortunate enough to keep the assets of their
parents, likewise their businesses. He also points out that this gap has been increasing over the
years, and nothing like it has ever been seen before. He concludes with the statement “If we
don’t, the American Dream will be just that.” The writer says this because the American Dream
is not comprised of inequality and zero opportunities. In turn, this “dream” defines that every
individual has an equal chance of becoming who they wish to be, not matter what background
they come from.
In Tomas B. Edsall’s informative and call to action article “The Expanding World of
