The Dichotomy of the Modern American Dream (based on the CACS 2000-2021 Corpus of American Ceremonial Speeches)

Abstract

The American Dream is a set of beliefs that have been deeply ingrained in the American consciousness since the nation's founding. It is also the idea that anyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, can succeed through hard work and determination. While stories of the American dream generally refer to achieving success in America through hard work and persistence, the definition of the American dream varies widely, as it can be determined by many different factors. For some, it could mean achieving financial wealth, self-fulfilment, social justice or equality, while others may perceive it as a journey of failure, hardship, poverty and huge debt. The ambiguity of the American dream also reflects the fact that success in America is not always determined solely by hard work and determination. Other factors such as luck, opportunity and social networks can also play a significant role. This can make it difficult to ascertain the extent to which individual effort truly determines a person's destiny. The purpose of this study is to analyse the dichotomy of the modern American dream, which encompasses not only success and wealth, but also disillusionment with achieving goals, debt, and consumerism.To achieve the goal of the research specially created Corpus of American Commencement Speeches was used –CACS (2000-2021), which contains 100 commencement speeches from 2000–2021. AntConc Corpus Manager was used to work with the CACS.