The Evolution of the American Dream
The American dream is easily the greatest of any American tragedy. Once one of the most noble and sought after ideas, now only a simple idea cast aside by differing virtuosos in differing professions.
“And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes – a fresh, green breast of the new world. Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby's house, had once pandered in whispers to the last and greatest of all human dream”(Fitzgerald.9) This shows that people who once came to this land, sought a lifestyle that is no longer available to many people today. They had adventure, and could go anywhere they wanted, and life was simple. The Great Gatsby shows that this once pristine and beautiful wonderland, has turned into a disgusting and industrialized country.
There were many people and groups that tried to stop this destruction of nature, and also tried to educate people about nature. The transcendentalists, the transcendentalists were a group of people who sought to reconnect with nature. They shunned the factories and cities of the industrial world, and instead sought what few people sought during those times, which was nature.
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”(Emerson .3) Emerson was one of the leading transcendentalists, and he was even able to abdicate himself from society, and movie into the wild. Many people tried to do what he did however, very few can actually pull it off.
One of the few people who tried to achieve the old American dream, is also someone who was able to find ha...
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...ness almost nihilistic in a sense, about everything that comes across their paths. This further reinforces the fact that Tom and Daisy helped destroy the American dream. Since the American dream used to mean happiness and connection with nature, it has turned into a competition of wealth, an extravagant show of whose stores of wealth are greater.
Few ideologies were as noble as the concept of the American dream. Living life to the fullest, connecting with nature, and being happy, thats what the American dream entailed. However, the times have changed, the once noble concept of the American dream has turned out just like the diluted concept of Communism. No longer will people chase after the simple lifestyle, and the natural world. People will remain ignorant in their isolated cities, and have them enrich upon the majestic nature that was once revered by men.
The American Dream has multiple meanings or definitions that have been developed and are passionately believed throughout the world. Throughout time these meanings have changed and adapted to modern culture.
...ed to an optimistic emphasis on individualism, self-reliance, and rejection of traditional authority” (American 1). The major players in the transcendentalist movement are Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. They shared ideas such as self-reliance, and ideas about how there is a divine being that controls every person. They influenced many other writers and they even had an effect on the American society, then and now. Transcendentalism was a philosophy and a way of life. It will continue to be this as long as we have access to the great minds of the transcendental movement.
The 1920’s was a time of great change to both the country lived in as well as the goals and ambitions that were sought after by the average person. During this time, priorities shifted from family and religion to success and spontaneous living. The American dream, itself, changed into a self centered and ongoing personal goal that was the leading priority in most people’s lives. This new age of carelessness and naivety encompasses much of what this earlier period is remembered for. In addition, this revolution transformed many of the great writers and authors of the time as well as their various works. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, perfectly symbolizes many emergent trends of the 1920’s. More importantly the character of Jay Gatsby is depicted as a man amongst his American dream and the trials he faces in the pursuit of its complete achievement. His drive for acquiring the girl of his dreams, Daisy Buchanan, through gaining status and wealth shows many aspects of the authors view on the American dream. Through this, one can hope to disassemble the complex picture that is Fitzgerald’s view of this through the novel. Fitzgerald believes, through his experiences during the 1920’s, that only fractions of the American Dream are attainable, and he demonstrates this through three distinct images in The Great Gastby.
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.
Thoreau wrote, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” The words transformed people’s lives to think more of the why in life and live with a purpose not just do what they are told, which was a driving idea within the Transcendentalist movements. Transcendentalist were hard to define, but perhaps one of the fathers of transcendentalism Ralph Waldo Emerson defines it most gracefully in a speech he gave, “The Transcendentalist adopts the whole connection of spiritual doctrine, He believes in miracle, in the perpetual openness of the human mind to new influx of light and power: he believes in inspiration, and in ecstasy”. As Emerson’s key student and self-proclaimed Transcendentalist Thoreau fulfilled these requirements to help further this movement of higher
The American dream is a slowly fading dream that seems to be escaping all the lower classes of American society. The American dream still exists if we examine it correctly. The dilemma with the American dream is that it has become so much harder to fulfill. Social inequality, along with a lack of social mobility, have negated the ability to accomplish this. As time has passed, the gap between the rich and poor has become larger and larger.
Transcendentalism is a social, religious, and literary movement: a philosophy. Combining elements from the romantic period with eastern philosophical beliefs, it sought to fight against rationalism and conformism by inspiring individuals to look into their inner selves and embrace their own beliefs. One of the spearheads leading this movement was Ralph Waldo Emerson: an American writer and philosopher who sought to teach others what he himself had found. Transcendalists, such as Emerson, viewed society as a catalyst for downfall and instead believed that humans were inherently good and pure; embracing our inner feelings and emotions and ignoring expectations and conformity are essential to achieve happiness and fulfillment. Such ideas can
Americans are perpetual dreamers, unwavering optimists, and incessant innovators. We believe in ourselves, we believe in a better world and we believe that we can do anything we put our minds to. Pursuing the American Dream at all costs, economic class, race, and religion are not barriers; we achieve our goals no matter how unattainable they may seem. We are a nation of underdogs who put our heads down and work towards our goals. Dating back to the Revolutionary War, this mentality won us our freedom; we were David and England was Goliath, but we wanted freedom more than they resisted it. Our nation had a dream and it was determined to make it a reality. 250 years later, Americans are just as ambitious as our Founding Fathers. Young people in this country
Since the beginning of our nation, literature has attempted to define “American Dream.” For the Puritans, living the American dream meant building God’s kingdom in this world and practicing their faith without persecution, whereas other settlers sought adventure and financial success. But within the last one hundred years the concept of the American Dream has taken on new meaning as the values and principles of cultures have changed. The modern man has sought security in the unachievable goal. Throughout the twentieth century literary periods, authors have unearthed the corrupt nature of an evolving American Dream, which has led to loss the moral values and fulfilment in the present reality.
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.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby”, is one of the few novels he wrote in 1925. The novel takes place during the 1920’s following the 1st World War. It is written about a young man named Nick, from the east he moved to the west to learn about the bond business. He ends up moving next to a mysterious man named Gatsby who ends up giving him the lesion of his life.
Ornstein, Robert "Scott Fitzgerald's Fable of East and West" College English, Vol. 18, No. 3 `
The American Dream is a difficult concept to describe because the dream is usually different for different people. Nevertheless, if we define the term ‘American Dream’ it is the uphold ideal that everyone has the right to ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ as stated in the Declaration of Independence 1776. The American Dream is also known to be an improved social and financial status by hard working. The vision of the American Dream for Of Mice and Men for George an...
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
Transcendentalism is a movement that was brought to the global horizon in the nineteenth century through prominent leaders such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. The adoption of this movement took a great role in New England, touching upon a variety of categories including, religion, philosophy, and literature. The need for this movement came about as a response to the world’s rapidly changing society. Many were in search of a source to redefine man and wanted an element that would bring about greater self-sufficiency and a more naturalistic view of life. As many started to take on the role that was associated with the adoption of a transcendentalist lifestyle, the far most pivotal element of the Transcendentalism movement arose: Individualism.