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THE AMERICAN DREAM IN THE IN THE STATEMENTS OF POLITICIANS OF THE
USA Putilina A.V. Email: Putilina A.V6116@scientifictext.ru
Putilina Anastasiya Vladimirovna - Master-Student, FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, PEDAGOGICAL INSTITUTE BELGOROD STATE NATIONAL RESEARCH UNIVERSITY, BELGOROD
Abstract: the article deals with the concept «American dream» and its components. The research identifies that they are actively used in the American political discourse to influence the Americans. It is also reported which components prevailed in the American political discourse during different periods of the American history of the 20th century. Keywords: american dream, political discourse, concept, political speech, the USA.
АМЕРИКАНСКАЯ МЕЧТА В ЗАЯВЛЕНИЯХ ПОЛИТИКОВ США
Путилина А.В.
Путилина Анастасия Владимировна - магистрант, факультет иностранных языков, Педагогический институт Белгородский государственный национальный исследовательский университет, г. Белгород
Аннотация: в статье рассматривается понятие «американская мечта» и его составляющие. Исследование показывает, что они активно используются в американском политическом дискурсе для влияния на американцев. Сообщается также, какие компоненты преобладали в американском политическом дискурсе в разные периоды американской истории ХХ века.
Ключевые слова: американская мечта, политический дискурс, концепт, политическая речь, США.
UDC 811.111
The "American dream" notion is one of the most important components of the mentality, culture, history, social and political life of the United States. It is one of the specific features characterizing the world of Americans. This concept reflects one of the fundamental principles on which the USA are based. That is why American statesmen, journalists, writers, public figures have constantly used and continue to use this concept in their speeches and written works .
There exist two points of view concerning the origin of this concept. Some researchers consider that this concept "American dream" appeared in the 1600s, when the new unexplored continent captured the minds of Europeans. Another opinion says that this concept was invented by Europeans who immigrated to America at the end of the XIX century. This article we will be based on the opinion about the emergence of the concept of the "American dream" in the 1600s. The dwellers of the first Puritan colonies didn't use the word "dream" but nevertheless they began to build a new society where everyone could become happy and prosperous. This is confirmed by the chronicles in which America is called El Dorado which means "the land of paradise".
Certainly, centuries passed and the great number of historical, economic and cultural events influenced and modified the American dream but this concept still retains the basic idea laid down by the founding fathers. It is necessary to note that politicians often use this concept to inspire citizens of the USA with confidence in a better life. In order to identify the main features of the concept of "the American dream", we conducted the analysis of its definitions in the English language and the the results, given below, include the following features of the concept "American dream":
1) the dream of a happy and prosperous life, which can be achieved by any person (prosperity, happy, ideal);
2) the dream of wealth/well-being and success (success, richness, wealth);
3) the belief that any person can realize his or her dream without depending on gender, race, religion, ideology, etc. (equal rights, an equal opportunity, freedom, democracy);
4) confidence in the ability to achieve the American dream only by hard work and initiative (hard work, determination, initiative).
So, the first meaning - the dream of a happy and prosperous life, which can be achieved by any person (prosperity, happy, ideal). It may be also interpreted as "the pursuit of happiness" and, no doubt, it is the basic feature of the concept "American dream". This has been talked about since the very foundation of the United States of America. In the Declaration of Independence of America, Thomas Jefferson wrote: We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" [5]. In this sentence the author changed a well-known statement of John Locke and used "pursuit of happiness" instead of "ownership". Because the immigrants , arriving to America, needed a firm confidence in the imminent acquisition of a happy life. Today we can also find this aspect of "American dream" in different political speeches. For example:
"When our founders boldly declared America's independence to the world and our purposes to the Almighty, they knew that America, to endure, would have to change. Not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals—life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness." (B. Clinton) [1].
The second meaning of the concept "American dream" is - the dream of wealth/well- being and success (success, richness, wealth). Before the Civil War in the USA the theme of "pursuit of success" became especially popular in American literature. It is considered that for the first time this topic was covered in the works of Horatio Alger, Jr. Thanks to his novels, the "desire for success" became equal to the desire to get money. Alger's heroes were poor Germans, Irish, Italians - in a word, immigrants who managed to achieve success in American cities.
In the 20th century the topic of "pursuit of success" this topic has been expanded in the American literature. Success and its heroes contributed to the widespread planting of this bourgeois dream. Its peculiarity was that it became an integral part of the beliefs of ordinary Americans. Therefore, it is not surprising that politicians, addressing the society, could not fail to mention "success" in their speeches. We can see this in the following statements:
"And should we defeat every enemy, and should we double our wealth and conquer the stars.''(B.L. Johnson) [2]. "Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort." (F.D. Roosevelt) [4].
The third aspect of "American dream" is the belief that any person can realize his or her dream without depending on gender, race, religion, ideology, etc. (equal rights, an equal opportunity, freedom, democracy). Speaking about freedom and equality in American society, it is impossible not to mention the Declaration of Independence of America again. The Declaration of Independence was the first document not only of legal and legal norms, but also of socio-moral values and ideals. Thomas Jefferson noted that one of the basic rights of Americans is the right to freedom. Many politicians have used this feature of the concept of the "American dream" in order to emphasize that their desires and requirements are directly correlated with the American worldview and beliefs of ordinary Americans. This can be seen especially vividly in Martin Luther King's "I have a dream"speech:
"Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." [3]. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all mean are equal" .
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." [3].
However, Martin Luther King is not the only one who has resorted to mentioning the freedom, equality and democracy of American society in his speeches:
"Today, a generation raised in the shadows of the cold war assumes new responsibilities in a world warmed by the sunshine of freedom but threatened still by ancient hatreds and new plagues." (B. Clinton) [1].
"Our fathers believed that if this noble view of the rights of man was to flourish, it must be rooted in democracy" (L.B. Johnson) [2].
And, at last, the forth aspect of "American dream" which sounds as the confidence in the ability to achieve the American dream only by hard work and initiative (hard work, determination, initiative). This feature of the concept we are analyzing is inextricably linked with the concept of success. It has been repeatedly said and proved that America is an individualistic country, i.e. the inhabitants of America should rely only on their own strength and on themselves to achieve their goals. All your well-being lies only on your shoulders. But how can you achieve success if you do not work hard, and do not show enough effort to achieve your dreams. Without determination and hard work, it is impossible to achieve success. We can observe the following means of linguistic representation of this feature in the following statements:
"We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and Discipline." (M.L. King) [3]. "We all can guess, from our own lives, how difficult they often find their own pursuit of happiness, how many problems each little family has." (L.B. Johnson) [2].
All the presented linguistic means of representing the concept of the "American dream" in the political discourse of the USA of the XX century they prove the fact that this concept and its signs are actively used in American speeches. Summing up all the data obtained, we came to the conclusion that the concept of the "American dream" finds a large quantitative reflection in the American political discourse of the XX century.
References / Список литературы
1. Clinton B. First Inaugural Address/B. Clinton, 1993. [Электронный ресурс]. Режим доступа: www.url:https://www.hicksvillepublicschools.org/cms/lib/NY01001760/Centricity/Domain/1060/Bill%20 Clintonpdf/ (дата обращения: 18.08.2021).
2. Johnson L.B. We Shall Overcome/B. L. Johnson, 1965. [Электронный ресурс]. Режим доступа: www.url:http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/centers/boisi/pdf/Symposia/Symposia%202 011-2012/Johnson_WeShallüvercome.pdf/ (дата обращения: 18.08.2021).
3. King M.L. Jr. I Have a Dream / M.L. King, Jr., 1963. [Электронный ресурс]. Режим доступа: www.url:http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm (дата обращения: 28.07.2021).
4. Roosevelt F.D. First Inaugural Address/F. D. Roosevelt, 1933. [Электронный ресурс]. Режим доступа: www.url:http://xroads.virginia.edu/~ma01/Kidd/thesis/pdf/fdr.pdf. (дата обращения: 15.08.2021).
5. The Declaration of Independence. - 1776. [Электронный ресурс]. Режим доступа: www.url: http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/ (дата обращения: 23.08.2021).
