American dream and other things

I completely agree that Bringing Down the House says a lot about the American dream, especially how there more variations on the American dream in today’s society. Kevin and all of the team members are excited by the prospect of easy money.  I feel like that has become the increasingly popular “American dream.” However, Kevin still wants the original American dream of having an education, a 9-5 job, and a girl who his parents would approve of. This also brings up the idea of family. Kevin wants his parents’ approval, and because of that has not told his dad about his Vegas lifestyle. One last topic that I noticed was brought up was the power of the individual. I would say these particular individuals, seemingly harmless college students who are able to tip the odds in their favor to win huge amounts of money from casinos, are very powerful. 

My favorite thing about the book is that while non-fiction, it reads like fiction. The characters are endearing and the plot is interesting and easy to follow. I don’t like the random chapters about the author rather that the story, they are a little disruptive and distracting. I agree that he should have written those all together and stuck them at the beginning or the end of the story.

I also think it is funny and ironic that Kevin often says he lives a double life. Generally, a “double-life” makes me think of undercover agents, or maybe Hannah Montana. Usually people live double lives and go out to catch the bad guys while keeping their loved ones out of danger, or sing songs, but Kevin and the team are viewed more as “bad guys.” I personally don’t think that they are doing anything wrong, but some do think of it as cheating.