Similarities Between Stranger Than Paradise And The Great Gatsby

546 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The great gatsby on american dream

American Dream Essay Jim Jarmusch’s Stranger Than Paradise, Sydney Pollack’s They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, and Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby may seem like completely different movies, but they do have some similarities. The biggest similarity is that each film depicts some of the negative aspects of the “American dream.” In the past, people were fascinated with America and many immigrants came here seeking a better life. Unfortunately, America was not as great as it appeared to be. The three films, Stranger Than Paradise, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, and The Great Gatsby, each reveal the negative characteristics of the American dream. Stranger Than Paradise, like the other two films, shows that America may not be as great as it is made out to be. When Eva comes to America, she sees first-hand that America is not as exciting as it seems. She learns about TV dinners and the mystery meat they possess. Eva also has to sit around for hours watching American football, which she thinks is stupid. At one point in the movie, Eddie makes the comment that New York and Cleveland look a lot alike. Unlike the other two films, this one is not as extreme and only shows the more trivial aspects of the American dream. Overall, this film shows that America is not always exciting. Eva finds out that in America, the food comes in frozen packages, people …show more content…

is different from the other movies because it is more extreme. In Pollack’s film, people enter a dance marathon in order to win money. The people who enter are desperate and in need of financial assistance. The marathon is extreme and lasts for weeks. The people in the competition exert themselves to the point that one woman decides to kill herself. They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? shows people living in poverty and the extreme measures they will go to to win money. This movie also shows the ghastly trials America puts people through, such as the dance marathon which would later become

Show More
Related

  • What Are The Similarities Between The Great Gatsby Book And Movie

    853 Words  | 2 Pages

    F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, “The Great Gatsby”, and Baz Luhrmann’s film, “The Great Gatsby”, both have similarities and contrasts between the two of them. The Great Gatsby is a novel and film taken place in the 1920s filled with wild parties, mysterious people, The American Dream, and most of all, love. There are several things that can be compared between the novel and film; such as the characters and the setting. There are also contrasts between the two as well; which is mainly involving the character Nick.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Great Gatsby And Fahrenheit 451

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the course of the semester, I covered many topics during this class. These topics consist of; The Great Gatsby, The topic of Rationalism, Romanticism/transcendentalism, The crucible, and Fahrenheit 451. In this assignment, I was asked to summarise each topic with a single thing I could use to describe the meaning of the topic. I chose to summarise each topic in terms of a single quote. I chose quotes because of the open-mindedness of quotes. Everyone sees quotes differently, and they have different meanings for everyone. They are often used to express opinions, or public knowledge led to educate and inspire others.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest And The Great Gatsby

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) The character McMurphy as played by Jack Nicholson, McMurphy’s is a criminal who is troubled and keeps being defiant. Instead of pleading guilty, McMurphy pleads insanity and then lands inside a mental hospital. Murphy reasons that being imprisoned within the hospital will be just as bad as being locked up in prison until he starts enjoying being within by messing around with other staff and patients. In the staff, McMurphy continuously irritates Nurse Ratched. You can see how it builds up to a control problem between the inmates and staff. Nurse Ratched is seen as the “institution” and it is McMurphy’s whole goal to rebel against that institution that she makes herself out to be.The other inmates view McMurphy like he is god. He gives the inmates reason to

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Fences And The Great Gatsby

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fences and The Great Gatsby both have many characters that plays a significant role in the story. Both stories also have characters in the story that has changed due to the past or are changing throughout the story. There were many character changes in The Great Gatsby and Fences. For example, Troy leaving his family as a kid due to his father kicking him out the house at the age fourteen. This was a major change for Troy, because this act made Troy treat his family an unusual way people would usually treat their love ones. Troy is the protagonist in the book Fences. Troy is the father of Lyons and Cory, and husband of Rose. Switching to some examples from the Great Gatsby is when Daisy loved Gatsby during the war, then started to love someone

    Read More

  • Similarities Between The Great Gatsby And Ernest Hemingway

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    Imagine. You are sitting in complete silence, even the nearby crickets won't dare to let out even the slightest of croaks. You stare down at your cluttered, dimly lit desk. Your hand grasps your pen, and the other rubs back and forth across your temple in angst. Your eyes pass over each paper, containing each incomplete thought, and your mind floods with memories of your past. Trapped by writer’s block, you are all alone with only your experiences, surroundings, and philosophy aiding you in the fall that is the dark reality of alcoholism and depression. For renowned authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, these influences all played a crucial role in identifying their style techniques, as well as determining similarities and differences

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of The American Dream In The Great Gatsby

    1049 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American Dream offers opportunity, equality, liberty, and social mobility to those who have lost their place, such as immigrants, African Americans, and white males with little wealth. This national ethos can supposedly be achieved through hard work, and determination with few social barriers. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates the unreachable American Dream that so many have stopped fighting for. While the American dream may theoretically promise equality for all, social status will either hinder or improve an individual 's chances of success. Through rhetorical strategies such as imagery, symbolism, and diction, Fitzgerald’s interpretation of the American Dream is developed.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby Quote Analysis

    1010 Words  | 3 Pages

    The idea and definition of the American dream has been continually changing based on culture and time period. Many people classify it as the big house, with the white picket fence, the kids playing in the yard and a happy spouse. With this perception many believe this dream comes without struggle but in the novel The Great Gatsby, the characters emphasize that the hard ships don’t always make the American dream as dreamlike as others recognize. In a quote said by Craig L. Thomas, he states “You stuff somebody into the American dream and it becomes a prison.” For many characters the lifestyle they lead others to believe was so perfect was actually a nightmare that they could not wake up from.

    Read More

  • Pursuit of the American Dream in Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman

    1321 Words  | 3 Pages

    While everyone has a different interpretation of the "American Dream," some people use it as an excuse to justify their own greed and selfish desires. Two respected works of modern American literature, The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, give us insight into how the individual interpretation and pursuit of the "American Dream" can produce tragic results. Jay Gatsby, from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, built his "American Dream" upon the belief that wealth would win him acceptance. In pursuit of his dream, Gatsby spent his life trying to gain wealth and the refinement he assumes it entails. Jay Gatsby, lacking true refinement, reflects the adolescent image of the wealthy, and "[springs] from his Platonic conception of himself" (Fitzgerald 104).

    Read More

  • An Inquiry on the American Dream

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American dream has been a tangible idea, greatly sought after by many over the course of American history. The dream has eluded many, to strive for success in America’s open markets, and become a self-made man from the sweat of one’s brow. The idea of becoming self-sufficient, and having limitless dreams that take one as far as they are willing to imagine is captured very differently from The Great Gatsby to A Raisin in the Sun. Both novels seem to have the American dream as their subject, but both end up having very different outcomes to how one achieves it, and if the dream is truly in existence, namely with the characters of Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger. The books mainly brush upon the idea of what the American dream truly is, how one achieves the dream, and what the real fulfillment of the dream encompasses.

    Read More

  • Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity by Roland Marchand

    1828 Words  | 4 Pages

    The American Dream is a concept that has been wielded in American Literature since its beginnings. The ‘American Dream’ ideal follows the life of an ordinary man wanting to achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The original goal of the American dream was to pursue freedom and a greater good, but throughout time the goals have shifted to accumulating wealth, high social status, etc. As such, deplorable moral and social values have evolved from a materialistic pursuit of happiness. In “Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity”, Roland Marchand describes a man that he believed to be the prime example of a 1920’s man. Marchand writes, “Not only did he flourish in the fast-paced, modern urban milieu of skyscrapers, taxicabs, and pleasure- seeking crowds, but he proclaimed himself an expert on the latest crazes in fashion, contemporary lingo, and popular pastimes.” (Marchand) This description shows material success as the model for the American Dream. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald reveals the characterization of his characters through the use of symbols and motifs to emphasize the corruption of the American Dream.

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Catcher In The Rye And The Great Gatsby

    651 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.

    Read More

  • Physical and Emotional Pain Depicted in Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    886 Words  | 2 Pages

    Overall, Jay Gatsby woke me up to the true danger of the “American Dream.” This is reality. The American Dream is dangerous, because it can cause you guilt, shame, regrets, remorse and death. One must be careful to avoid the mistakes of Gatsby, and instead, only pursue true pride and honor. One must always be careful of the dreams one follows.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of The American Dream In Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

    1180 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American dream has an inspiring connotation, often associated with the pursuit of happiness, to compel the average citizen to prosper. In Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby’s infatuation for Daisy drives him towards wealth in order to respark his love. Due to Daisy’s rich background, the traditional idea of love became skewed because of the materialistic mindsets of people in the 1920s. In the novel, the wealthy are further stratified into two social classes, creating a barrier between the elite and the “dreamers”. Throughout the novel, the idea of the American dream as a fresh start fails.

    Read More

  • The Great Gatsby: American Dream or American Nightmare?

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    “The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. 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.

    Read More

  • The American Dream in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Great Gatsby

    1197 Words  | 3 Pages

    The American dream was a vision shared by the American people who desired their land to be improved and wealthier for every individual, with the opportunity for everyone in accordance to achievement. The dream is based on every individual working hard to become successful with an abundance of money, a nice house, two children and a high-quality job. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the American dream symbolizes being free to come and go with the river, not to have restrictions, and to take pleasure in the wide-open Western edge. The dream’s beauty and liberty is depicted as a requirement for Huck, and for Jim who is a slave. The book shows that the American dream consequently turns out to be a celebration of freedom, for physical organization and rules, and also chauvinism of the Southern society in the slavery period. However, The Great Gatsby, which was written by Fitzgerald, is a figurative meditation on the 1920s breakdown of American dreams, in a period of unparalleled wealth and material surplus. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920s as a period of rotten moral and social value that is shown through America’s sarcasm, gluttony, and empty chase of enjoyment.

    Read More

More about Similarities Between Stranger Than Paradise And The Great Gatsby

Open Document