There are two major themes that really spoke out to me. The first theme deals with the idea of appearances. Carolyn Burnham, played by Annette Bening, was enthralled by the quote stated by her secret mister. "In order to be successful, one must portray the image of success at all times." This quote itself exemplifies the whole idea of achieving the American Dream- not necessarily to reach the ultimate goal, but to portray the image of reaching that ultimate goal. For example, I was taught that the ultimate goal would include everything from receiving a college education, getting married, and having kids. Once I receive that, will I really be a better and happier person? Or once I reach that, will I have the opportunity to say that I reached my goal, hence portraying the image of being better and happier. The idea can really apply to everything I do in life. Am I really a happy, fun-loving person? Or am I

What this movie has taught me is this: look closer. People may be happy, but not successful. People may be beautiful, but not happy. People may be successful, but not beautiful. Everything is possible. Don't be afraid to look inside yourself and in others to see what is really going on. Do not be afraid to ask someone "How are you doing?" and really mean it. The world is beautiful, as long as we keep it as real as possible. If we understand the way that American values teach us to live, then we understand that we don't have to go along with it. We don't have to portray to be whatever we think we're supposed to be. We can actually be those things, as long as we understand what we are trying to do. We're not trying to be successful, because we think we're supposed to be. We're trying to be successful because we want to be. We're not trying to be beautiful because we want to be, but rather because we are. We're not trying to happy because that's the way it's supposed to be. We're trying to happy because that's how we honestly want to live. Look closer.

The second theme that I wish to talk about it is "What does it mean to be beautiful." In context of American values, three images make a person complete: beauty, happiness, and success. In order to be beautiful, once must be happy. In order to be happy, one must be successful. In order to be successful, one must be beautiful. And vice versa. Think about it. In order to be beautiful, one must be happy. (I.e. Beauty is defined by outer presentation and appearance, confidence, and personality- all components of happiness). In order to be happy, one must be successful. (I.e. Happiness is defined by the amount of money you have, the amount of children you have, if your marriage/family life is rewarding, if your job is something you enjoy and get paid well for- all dealing with being successful). In order to be successful, one must be beautiful. (I.e. Appearances play an important role in how people perceive you, how much you appeal to people, and how much money you're going to make). It all goes hand in hand. It forms a triangle, which we a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1448
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)