Preserved in the Constitution of 1776 is a dream of spiritual attainment, which argues that all men, equal under law, should be free to engage in the pursuit of happiness. Throughout Tennessee Williams’s noteworthy novel, A Streetcar Named Desire, the author makes a criticism of a spiritual fulfillment of this pronounced “American Dream”. Williams continually makes the dream look to be unattainable to most Americans, and viewed as a sign of dominance rather than opportunity and perseverance. In this latest play we have read in class, the American Dream is consistently criticized and made out to look as if it is truly detrimental to the average citizen. Tennessee Williams talks about the numerous problems of the people in this back, for example …show more content…
In A Streetcar Named Desire, we see a version of the American dream that is not pretty. The author contends that the dream causes people to act poorly towards others and perform deplorable actions. However in The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald presents a different, more optimistic version of the American dream. Fitzgerald shows through his character Jay Gatsby that the American dream is undoubtably a good thing. Jay Gatsby is an upstanding individual who uses his money and influence for good. Gatsby also positively impacts the lives of many people that he meets, as well as making the people he sees extraordinarily happy. Not only does Fitzgerald offer an optimistic view of the American dream in The Great Gatbsy, he alos offers a very realistic view of it as well. Although Jay Gatsby is an outwardly happy man, he desires one thing that he cannot have: the love of his life, Daisy. In this, Fitzgerald correctly shows that while the American dream can improve the lives of people, it is not a panacea to all of one’s problems. Between The Great Gatsby’s representation of the American dream, and A Streetcar Named Desire’s, The Great Gatsby’s proves to be the most correct and the most realistic description of the meaning of the American
The almighty American dream, commonly misconceived as the property of those who reap great materialistic wealth, has been analyzed and sought after through generations. However, this dream, “could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country” (Goldberg), and the numerous success stories of impoverished beings proves this. This subjectiveness stems from the great diversity within human nature and the variation of goals and pleasures. The characters in novels such as The Glass Castle, To Kill a Mockingbird and the play, The Crucible, act to portray several attempts towards achieving this dream. Ultimately, the almighty American Dream manifests itself through the novels as the desire to accomplish stability and content within one’s
In the United States there is an idea many pursue called the American dream, which differs from person to person. The American dream according to americanradioworks.publicradio.org is “a revolutionary notion: each person has the right to pursue happiness, and the freedom to strive for a better life through hard work and fair ambition”. Yet it has been said there is no real definition of American dream, instead it merely proves that it has an unconscious influence in American mentality (Ştiuliuc 1). The American dream is different for each person because everyone yearns for things that will they hope will in return make them happy. Whatever that may be, each person goes through different struggles to obtain what they want. According to Frederic Carpenter, the American dream “has never been defined exactly, and probably never can be. It is both too various and too vague” (3). The Madonnas of Echo Park by Brando Skyhorse depicts the different interpretations on what the American dream actually is through the opinions and actions of Hector Esperanza, Efren Mendoza and Mrs. Calhoun.
The novel The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, deals heavily with the concept of the American Dream as it existed during the Roaring Twenties, and details its many flaws through the story of Jay Gatsby, a wealthy and ambitious entrepreneur who comes to a tragic end after trying to win the love of the moneyed Daisy Buchanan, using him to dispel the fantastic myth of the self-made man and the underlying falsities of the American Dream. Despite Gatsby’s close association with the American Dream, however, Fitzgerald presents the young capitalist as a genuinely good person despite the flaws that caused his undoing. This portrayal of Gatsby as a victim of the American Dream is made most clear during his funeral, to which less than a handful of people attend. Gatsby makes many mistakes throughout the novel, all of which Fitzgerald uses these blunders as a part of his thematic deconstruction of the American Dream.
In the novel The Great Gatsby and the play A Streetcar Named Desire the main characters James Gatsby and Blanche Dubois have a lengthy search for love. Both characters go about their search in similar and different ways. The characters choose illusion over reality, but the way in which they go about it differs. Also in an attempt to impress, both characters try and “buy” love by using material possessions to attract people to them. Although Gatsby and Blanche devote a lot of their lives to finding true love, their searching leaves them unsuccessful.
The American dream originated when immigrants came to America searching for new opportunities and a better life. In the early 1900’s all people could do is dream; however, those dreams gave many different meanings to the phrase “American dream”, and for the most part, wealth and hard work play a very large role in the pursuit of “the dream”. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Miller’s drama, Death of a Salesman, both protagonists, Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman, are convinced that the way to achieve a better life is by living the “American dream”. However, the dream does not end up successfully for these two characters. In fact, their ideals and hopes of rising to success cause their American dream to take a turn into a nightmare.
Everyone has experienced a situation in life where it's like a rug has been pulled out from under them. Well, T. Williams’ novel A Streetcar Named Desire portrays a similar situation of three unconventional characters whose reality is not the American Dream that they are striving for. Blanche, Stella, and Stanley approach life hoping for different outcomes in their lives. But what is the American Dream they were striving for? Simply put, by looking at the principles of America, the primary dream for everyone is to have a well-lived life. For some people this includes a family, success, happiness, independence, money, and love. If these are T. Williams’ constructs of the American Dream, then Stella and Stanley Kowalski may never find their
Illusive natures and concealment of a person’s true identity are often evidenced in modern literature and even through our personal lives. Judy Garland, a renowned actress, once claimed, “How strange once an illusion dies. It’s as though you’ve lost a child.” It can be inferred from this that destructive circumstances result because of an illusive nature. This idea is clearly illustrated in both A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The lead protagonists, Blanche Dubois and Jay Gatsby, in both texts put on a facade. Their illusive natures are depicted through their personal possessions (important literary symbols), mysterious
American clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger once said “The road to success is not easy to navigate, but with hard work, drive and passion, it is possible to achieve the American dream.” This idea of the “American dream” has been around since the founding and has become a prominent part of American culture and identity. This same idea is what the raved about novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is based around. Jay Gatsby, the protagonist, pursues this American dream through his pursuit of Daisy Buchanan and his need to be insanely rich.
The concept of one’s journey to reach the so called "American Dream" has served as the central theme for many novels. However, in the novel The Great Gatsby, the author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, portrays the American Dream as so opulent it is unrealistic and unreachable. The American Dream is originally about obtaining happiness, but by the 1920's, this dream has become twisted into a desire for fame and fortune by whatever means; mistaken that wealth will bring happiness. Fitzgerald illustrates that the more people reach toward the idealistic American dream, the more they lose sight of what makes them happy, which sends the message that the American dream is unattainable. The continuos yearning for extravagance and wealthy lifestyles has become detrimental to Gatsby and many other characters in the novel as they continue to remain incorrigible in an era of decayed social and moral values, pursuing an empty life of pleasure instead of seeking happiness.
The American Dream has long been thought the pinnacle idea of American society. The idea that anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or financial status, could rise from the depths and become anything they wanted to be with no more than hard work and determination has attracted people from all around the world. Two writers from America’s past, however, have a different opinion on the once-great American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck have given the public their beliefs on the modern Dream through the novels they have written, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, respectively. One novel placed during the Great Depression and the other during the Roaring Twenties both illustrate how their author feels about the Dream itself through the use of many literary devices. While both novels have main characters with hopes for something better, all the characters seem to fall into the same plagued pit. Through depravity and decadence, the American Dream seems to have become exactly what its name implies: A dream, not a reality.
The “American Dream” idea, born from war and depression, was the opening window to hope for Americans. This new beginning inspired change in people, and in some, inspired greed. The overconfidence and blind optimism grew in many, often in people who had already come from a place of privilege and wealth—people who expected their dreams to appear in front of them with little effort on their behalf. Williams believed these behaviors and values were destined for failure, and he successfully portrayed said beliefs through Blanche. Blanche represents the unravelling of the dream because despite her strong desire and determination, her unrealistic expectations and delusions caused her to spiral downwards into a pit of despair.
The American Dream, a long standing ideal embodies the hope that one can achieve financial success, political power, and everlasting love through dedication and hard work. During the Roaring 20s, people in America put up facades to mask who they truly were. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald conveys that the American Dream is simply an illusion, that is idealist and unreal. In the novel, Gatsby, a wealthy socialite pursues his dream, Daisy. In the process of pursuing Daisy, Gatsby betrays his morals and destroys himself. Through the eyes of the narrator, Nick, one sees the extent of the corruption Gatsby is willing to undertake in order to achieve his dream. Although Fitzgerald applauds the American Dream he warns against the dangers of living in a world full of illusions and deceit; a trait common during the Roaring 20s. The language and plot devices Fitzgerald uses convey that lies and facades, which were common during the Guided Age, destroys one’s own character and morals. Through Fitzgerald use of symbolism, expectations, and relationships, he explores the American dream, and how it is an illusion that corrupts and destroys lives.
As defined by James Truslow Adams in his book, “The Epic of America,” the American Dream is “that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Adams 214-215). In recent discussions, the question of whether America offers the opportunity of achieving the American Dream to the “…tired, the poor, and the huddled masses” has risen and sparked heated debate. Some people argue that America is the New World and Land of Opportunity, where social class and familial standings are less important than a person’s individual abilities and what they can achieve on their own. Others argue that achieving the American Dream is impossible and a lost cause without resources that aren’t available to most of the general population.
Cullen, Jim. The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation. New York: Oxford, 2003. Print.
Due to continuous changes in the concept of the American Dream throughout its prolonged existence, it is difficult to have one sole definition. The American Dream has always been a major concept that stems off of many ideas such as liberty, prosperity, equality, and opportunity, which still exists, to some degree, in our vision of the Dream today. America has always been known as the “land of opportunity” and has always emphasized the importance of future generations surpassing the success of their previous ones. But just because our present concept of the Dream may seem to overlap past concepts, it does not mean the Dream has remained what it was in the past. Actually, it is an entirely new image, morphed by social, political, and economic issues. What has it become? A society corrupted by materialism and deteriorated by the failing economy, leaving younger Americans hopeless and older Americans fearful of America’s future. It’s alarming that Americans are constantly taking their rights and freedom for granted, always wanting more than they can get– and quite honestly, what they can get is not even that much to begin with. As our economy collapses into chaotic hardships and our desires override our moral obligations, the American Dream has ultimately become the American Nightmare.