When asked how they define the American Dream, most people

will say, “Success.”

The dream of individual opportunity has been at home in America 【M1】_________

when Europeans discovered a “new world” in the Western Hemisphere. 【M2】_________

Early immigrants like Hector St. John de Crevecoeur spoke highly the 【M3】_________

freedom and opportunity to be found in this new land. His glowing

descriptions of a classless society where anyone could attain success

through honesty and hard work has fired the imaginations of many 【M4】_________

European readers. In Letters from an American Farmer (1782) he

wrote, “We are all excited at the spirit of an industry which is

unfettered and restrained, because each person works for himself… We 【M5】_________

have no princes, for which we toil, starve, and bleed: we are the most 【M6】_________

perfect society now existing in the world.” The promise of a land where

“the awards of a man’s industry follow with equal steps the progress of 【M7】_________

his labor” drew poor immigrants from Europe and fueled national

expansion into the western territories.

Our national mythology is full of illustrations of the American

success story. There’s Benjamin Franklin, the very model of the

self-educated, self-made man, who rose from modest origins to

become a well-known scientist, philosopher, and statesman. The

notion of success haunts us: we spent millions every year reading about 【M8】_________

rich and famous, learning how to “make a fortune in real estate with no 【M9】_________

money down”, and “dressing for success”. The myth of success has even

invaded our personal relationships: today it’s important to be 【M10】________

“successful” in marriage or parenthood as it is to come out on top in

business.

【M9】