The American Dream is an ethos idealized by millions of people. It is an attitude and mindset that can promote success and prosperity throughout life. When it comes to the American dream, a significant part is the quest for money. As shown in classic American Literature such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the influence of money plays an important role throughout both novels. There are characters in both books that use money as a way of representing what their morals and values are. The decline of the American Dream is evident in both novels considering the negative effects money has on certain characters.
The American Dream still lives today in society in which people strive to the top and accomplish their goals in life. James Truslow Adams coined the term in 1931 in his book called “American Dream”. He stated in the book "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement". The importance of this quote in Adams’ novel is that the American Dream can be achieved by anyone (Warshauer 3). There are no limits and bounds to these emotions and people from any social class can seek their dreams and desires in life. Over the years the definition of the American Dream has changed, but the underlying fundamental meaning had stayed the same. The American mentality is basically participation in the economy and society in order to gain a better social standard and be prosperous. The United States Declaration of Independence also had some influence in the definition of the American Dream. In the Declaration of Independence it states all men are "endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights" includi...
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... American Dream. The unemployment rate in the United States rose 25% during the depression and jobs were scarce(VanGiezen 7).The Great Depression started in 1929 and lasted until the early 1940s (McElvaine 1). The same time frame accounted for the publication of both The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire.
The American Dream has been an emotion and mentality in people that has lasted for hundreds of years. Success and prosperity are two things everyone longs for so that they can live life to the fullest. The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire both depict the decline in the American Dream. When it comes to prosperity and money it is essential to follow your morals and values. Jay Gatsby and Blanche DuBois are two characters in each of the novels that are hurt by money and power and ultimately both characters are forced to have unfortunate endings.
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).
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 term “American Dream” is defined as an idea which believes that all people have the possibility of prosperity and success. The idea first came from James Adams, a noted American writer and historian. He claimed, “Life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability and achievement.” Therefore, the core concepts of the American Dream were closely linked to hard work and opportunity.
First, what is the American dream? According to David Wallechinsky, “the traditional American Dream is based on the belief that hardworking citizens can improve their lives, pay their monthly bills without worry, give their children a start to an even better life, and still save enough to live comfortably after they retire” (1). “The American Dream” states, “It has always represented the possibility for individuals to succeed and live a life of wealth and comfort, made possible by both the political and economic attitudes in the USA and the individual’s own hard work” (1). Daniella Nicole adds that “in years past, chasing the American Dream meant the sky was the limit. . .” (1).
Frances Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, is written in the 1920’s setting and focuses on the American Dream. Gatsby, the protagonist, strives to make his American Dream, the achievement of wealth, social status, and family a reality but fails by paying the ultimate sacrifice—his life. Today, many people believe in coming to America to pursue the American Dream, yet they do not realize they are pursuing an inexistent achievement. People pay a high price as well because they spend so much of their lives working on achieving their dream and when they fail, it is as if they wasted their entire life. Similar to Gatsby’s efforts, today’s society defines the American Dream in the same way as Gatsby, causing people to sacrifice their morals, friendships, and lives in their journey towards this unattainable dream.
Up until now, the term American Dream is still a popular concept on how Americans or people who come to America should live their lives and in a way it becomes a kind of life goal. However, the definitions of the term itself is somehow absurd and everyone has their own definition of it. The historian James Tuslow defines American Dream as written in his book titled “The Epic of America” in 1931 as “...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.” The root of the term American Dream is actually can be traced from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 which stated “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
The American Dream defines us and is present in all aspects of our culture, including our literature and past social movements. In Steinbeck 's Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie dream of their farm, even when others tell them it is impossible. They believe the farm is obtainable despite their economic situation much like Americans believe peace and totally equality are possible , even though they seem out of reach. This idea appears again in Fitzgerald 's The Great Gatsby and Tan’s Joy Luck Club. Jay Gatsby longs to break free from his poor family and live a life of luxury. Through hard work and a little bit of criminal activity, Gatsby becomes one of the richest men on the East Coast. In Tan’s novel, Waverly Jong, a first generation Chinese-American, flourishes in her chess career despite the discrimination she faces as both an immigrant and a girl. Jong is victorious because she is confident and she seizes the opportunities she is given. Her perseverance and success against all odds embodies the idea of the American Dream. Countless social movements also attest to our country 's
Wealth, material possessions, and power are the core principles of The American Dream. Pursuit of a better life led countless numbers of foreign immigrants to America desiring their chance at the vast opportunity. Reaching the American Dream is not always reaching true happiness. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby achieves the American Dream, but his unrealistic faiths in money and life’s possibilities twist his dreams and life into useless life based on lies.
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 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.
The American Dream is a well sought after thing, which leads many. to go over the limits to achieve it, even in just having the opportunity to be wealthy. The Great Gatsby notifies the decayed moral values and unnecessary materialism brought about by the American Dream. However, it proves.
The American dream has always been a talk amongst the American culture. When people speak of it, they often think back to the 19th century. The American Dream can be thought about when learning information on the Declaration of Independence which states that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed with certain unalienable rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness this was written by Thomas Jefferson. Despite this, the American Dream is just as relevant to American culture today as it was in the 19th century and in many ways still attainable.
Americans live in constant pursuit of what they want more than anything, the American Dream. The perception of the American Dream varies from person to person, depending on what they hope to accomplish. In The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men the American Dream manifests in various extravagant and corrupt forms. The lives of these characters revolve around achieving their version of the American Dream.
A lot of American historians say "The American Dream" even has its beginnings in the Declaration of Independence and the first European Settlers because the basic idea is that every man and every woman shall, regardless of their birth, achieve what there are able to do. Everybody shall be treated and seen equally and be recognized by others for what they are and have reached, referring to their
When the term ‘American Dream’ was first mentioned in 1931 by James Truslow Adams, he described it as “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.” (Clark). When Adams mentioned the term, it had much more of an idealistic meaning, rather than the materialistic meaning it has in modern society. At the time of it’s mention, the dream meant that prosperity was available to everyone. In the beginning, the American Dream simply promised a country in which people had the chance to work their way up through their own labor and hard work (Kiger). Throughout history, the basis of the dream has always been the same for each individual person. It