“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 (Independence Hall Association, 2011).” This exert from The Declaration of Independence provides a look on America and how life is meant to be lived; with all individuals having an equal right to exist. This existence includes life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This beacons to one vital idea, one main vision, which creates a fundamental dream. This dream is the American Dream, and is the ideology that life should be richer, fuller, and more sustainable for the common man. The idea influences viewpoints that anything can be accomplished with the correct willpower, no matter the hill to climb. This fore mentioned dream causes much hope and opportunity, but additionally makes the weakest link plummet. The true American Dream can be chased, but exists if and only if the one trying for it can accept failure and move on. This continually presents itself in John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
Taking place in the height of the Great Depression, Grapes depicts the Joads, a family with no wealth that loses everything due to foreclosure and repossession. This family continually looks for both jobs and stability, which are reflected in the synopsis of the novel. This is their American Dream. But when it is only partially, and temporarily, reached, this dream crumbles to the dust, figuratively and literally. This is similar in Gatsby, as though Jay Gatsby has wealth, he cannot reconnect with his one love in the world, Daisy. Throwing lavish parties in an attempt to lure Daisy to h...
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... that the American Dream is never truly met, only falsely acclaimed, and that though the opportunity, the American Dream only creates problems. These ideas further compliment that the American Dream can be chased, but exists if and only if the one working towards it can accept failure and move on.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. S. (2011). The great gatsby, by f. Scott Fitzgerald (eBooks@adelaide), Retrieved from http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/f/fitzgerald/f_scott/gatsby/chapter4.html
Independence Hall Association. (2011). Declaration of independence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Retrieved from
http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document
Steinbeck, J. (2006). The grapes of wrath. New York, New York: Penguin Group.
Travelpod.com. (2011). On the road to dawson creek. Retrieved from http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/bwalser/1/1245743024/tpod.html
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 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.
During the time in our country's history called the roaring twenties, society had a new obsession, money. Just shortly after the great depression, people's focus now fell on wealth and success in the economic realm. Many Americans would stop at nothing to become rich and money was the new factor in separation of classes within society. Wealth was a direct reflection of how successful a person really was and now became what many people strived to be, to be rich. Wealth became the new stable in the "American dream" that people yearned and chased after all their lives. In the novel entitled the great Gatsby, the ideals of the so called American dream became skewed, as a result of the greediness and desires of the main characters to become rich and wealthy. These character placed throughout the novel emphasize the true value money has on a persons place in society making wealth a state of mind.
"Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" (Truslow, James 1931)
The American Dream is a powerful thing in the lives and hopes of its citizens, as shown in Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby. It is, and was, faith in individualism, expectation of progress, and mainly the belief in America as a land of opportunity. However, it also is differs from person to person. This plays a great part in Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby. His book took place in the 1920 's, which is also called the 'Roaring 20 's '. During this time, many Americans were freely spending. Moreover, the economy was doing extremely well and thus provided citizens with a sense of security and intense freedom. Many used that freedom and economic boom to become rich in business.
The American Dream is a concept in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success. All of this is achieved through the efficiency of hard work and dedication to reach that dream. People are lured into thinking they can have that dream if they live in America because it is the land of opportunity. The novel The Great Gatsby, is centered around the American Dream and how unachievable it is. Fitzgerald 's novel comments on how bad society is and how people dream unrealistically. The American Dream is hard to attain and hard to keep in any social class. In the novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald shows, through Daisy 's dream, Wilson 's dream, and Gatsby 's dream, just how hard it is to obtain and fold on to the American Dream.
When Mr. Fitzgerald’s writing career was on a decline ten-dency, she was not satisfied any more and practiced dance everyday which caused her psy-chosis to break out. Their daughter had to get into the best school and wife had to enter the best hospital. Mr. Fitzgerald eventually could not hold the pressure any more and began to drink excessively. He passed away because of the heart disease caused by the excessive drinking in Hollywood, Los Angeles at forty-four years old. In the novel, Gatsby’s love to Daisy is a symbol of the young men ’s pursue to the American Dream. He spends five years to be rich but he feels empty at last. The dream is not alive, it’s just a desire with-out ideal. With the unlimited desire of the status, the American Dream will be distorted one
F. Scott Fitzgerald penned The Great Gatsby in the midst of the Roarin’ Twenties. It was a period of cultural explosion, rags-to-riches histories, and a significant shift in the ideals of the American Dream. Fitzgerald’s characters all aspired to fill an American Dream of sorts, though their dreams weren’t the conventional ones. In the novel, the American Dream did a sort of one-eighty. Instead of looking west, people went east to New York in hopes of achieving wealth. The original principals of the Dream faded away, in their place, amorality and corruption. The fulfillment of one’s own American Dream is often marked by corruption, dishonesty, and hope.
The freedom in self endowment has always been the fuel to the average American citizen and his drive toward success. In other words, Americans always strive to achieve the ever so revered American Dream. What is the American Dream? David Kamp describes the American Dream as "the idea rooted in the United States Declaration of Independence which proclaims that "all men are created equal" and that they are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" including "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."(Kamp). The dream lies deeply rooted in American society and the very mention of it lights a passionate fire in the hearts of American citizens everywhere. The idea behind the dream is that if an individual has sufficient willpower, he or she has a fair chance of achieving wealth as well as the freedom and happiness that come packaged with it. Essentially, it offers the opportunity of achieving spiritual and material fulfillment. It promises success at the cost of hard work and perseverance. Over time however, this idea of attaining success through hard work and perseverance has been skewed into one which exploits greed and carelessness and The Great Gatsby is an excellent affirmation of this. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald derides the gradual corruption of hard work and perseverance in the American Dream by utilizing the motif of driving and incorporating it with the the ideas of greed and carelessness.
The American Dream has been the ideal way of life to every citizen. Equal opportunity to achieve success through hard work and persistence allows people to strive for The American Dream. For others, The Dream might have a different meaning to what the think is achievable. In the essay, “Is the American Dream even possible” John Steinbeck makes accusations about the American Dream and the credibility of it. The American Dream in Steinbeck's perspective is that in reality, The Dream is there to believe but not there to its full potential.
The 1920s and 1930s represent two decades in our country's history that were very much connected to one another but extremely different in terms of economy. The Great Gatsby takes place during the roaring 20s, a time of extravagant parties and attempts at finding happiness after World War I. On the other hand, The Grapes of Wrath takes place during the 30s while America is suffering from the Great Depression and people are leaving their homes and lives to find success and work in California. Although the times were very different economically, both were dominated by people striving for the American Dream of wealth and social status in an attempt of obtaining happiness, success, and a better life. During the 20s, people wanted to escape the terrors of the war and during the 30s they were attempting to survive during the devastation of the Great Depression. Both The Great Gatsby and The Grapes of Wrath do an amazing job of representing people's desires for the American Dream and more specifically the prevalence of failure rather than success that came as a result of their efforts.
“Immigrants are ruining this country”, is a statement made by almost every conservative in the United States. Yes, with their cheap labor, cultural traditions, and food contributions immigrants are making America a colorful and tasteful disaster. The American dream is so high in thought, yet so low in actuality. This well known dream-or nightmare- of rags to riches shines clear from sea to shining sea. However, the end goal of the American Dream varies from person to person. For some the dream plainly translates to happiness. Although for others, the end goal is an obsession of materials; beachside mansions, exotic cars, pets from the deepest parts of Africa and more things without any real meaning. The dream is only a goal if one is either
With America actually being seen as the land of assurance, the American dream is usually associated with the freedom and opportunity of gaining prosperity, recognition, power, triumph, and contentment. On the surface, this dream appears virtually delighted, offering individuals the exceptional hope of accomplishing success despite of one’s race, religion, or family history. The American Dream is accurately what it seems to be the chance of perfect lying nearby the corner. However, the actual nature of this dream prohibit the pleasure of the victory one has earned, as the desire is always demanding one to work a slight harder and gain a slightly more.
The Roaring Twenties staged a radical change throughout the United States. This time period will always be remembered as an era of deteriorated moral and social principles as well as a time of greed and mass consumption sustained by a national economic boom. Consequently, the idea that anyone, regardless of their race, social position or gender, could achieve wealth, was collectively shared. The belief that all individuals could obtain freedom, equality and opportunity was strong amongst American society during the 1920’s. In 1925, F. Scott Fitzgerald created the novel The Great Gatsby, which perfectly described how the American Dream influenced people's behaviour. In both the novel and the movie, directed
...dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion.”