American Dream Essay Example

as a cleaner at MIT and to spend his nights going through textbooks and novels. He is a genius and has a prodigious mind in mathematics subject. His ability makes him win the heart of Skylar, a female student at Harvard University. Moreover, he meets Professor Lambeau, a mathematical genius owning a lot of awards; on the contrary, he has a criminal record that forces him to attend sessions with a psychiatrist. The story revolves around ways in which the professor and the psychiatrist struggle to shape up Will Hunting’s life. Consequently, many of the scenes in the films seem to address the idea of the American Dream (Damon and Affleck).

Will Hunting is denied good life by his foster parents, something that is against the American Dream. Will Hunting surfers abuse in the hands of his foster parents during his childhood. The abuses change his characters, and he becomes irritable. Consequently, Will’s emotional and professional lives become a self-sabotage. His childhood predicament shows that the American Dream has not been achieved and so it is disillusionment. He lacks good life due to his circumstances of birth, something that is against the American Dream (Cullen, page. 10).
We can also depict an idea that there is no equal opportunity for all the citizens of the United States to prosper. Though Will Hunting has prodigious abilities in solving Mathematics just like Professor Lambeau at MIT, his social class and education background do not allow him to teacher mathematics at the same college with the professor. On the contrary, he spends his youthful life as a janitor. The gap between both lives of Will and the Professor shows disillusionment

of the American Dream. Even though Will is a genius in Mathematics, he has no “good life.” There is no opportunity for him to prosper and become successful through his talents in solving Mathematics problems. He continues to live rough life which affects his emotional and mental wellbeing.

Also, the film shows that there is no fair judgment in the judiciary system. Will Hunting who attacks a youth in pursuit of vengeance does not go to jail due to the intervention of Professor Lambeau. Hence the Will’s victim is denied justice. This shows that the American Dream has not been achieved.

In conclusion, though some people may feel that the American Dream has been achieved, many people, especially the disadvantaged group are not even aware of the American Dream due to varied reasons. Some of these reasons include unfair treatment in the judiciary system, unequal job opportunities, and child abuses. The American Dream can, however, be achieved if positive steps such as providing equal job opportunities, offering fair judgment in the judiciary system and taking good care of children, especially orphans.