“A half century after it was written, Death of a Salesman remains a powerful drama. Its indictment of fundamental American values and the American Dream of material success may seem somewhat tame in today’s age of constant national and individual self-analysis and criticism, but its challenge was quite radical for its time” –SparkNotes
American Literature has been said to be timeless and relatable with its use of “American values and the American Dream of material success.” American Literature reflects the differences between respect between the upper and lower class. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman contribute to the meaning of American literature, with the incorporation of the American dream and female characters. In the desperate chase for the American dream, one can become corrupted and egocentric. The aspects of the novel The Great Gatsby and the play Death of a Salesman demonstrate the slow emotional and social downfall of the protagonists Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman with reference to the American dream and female characters such as Daisy Buchanan and Linda Loman. Both protagonists illustrate the notion of individual sacrifice in order to pursue the American dream.
In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby works to obtain the luxurious components of life. To Gatsby, the American dream consists of financial success and an upper position in society. He spends most of his life trying to achieve the significant, upper social class. He has an outstanding house, a magnificent car, and the best parties in the town. Americans tend to respect the upper class the most because of their high education, luxurious assets, and wealth. Gatsby gained respect after he became rich and prominent in soci...
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Although some may claim that American Literature is based on the audience and setting, those two elements do not transition between times. The setting and audience of present time has evolved in a sense that there are certain expectations. It is mainly based on the future and development. The setting has changed as well in terms of geography and people. The cultural allusions of the past may be unknown to today’s audience, therefore it would not pertain significance. American literature should reproduce timeless elements such as themes and gender roles.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. Print.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1986. Print.
SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on Death of a Salesman.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 4 Feb. 2011.
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 cause 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
Jay Gatsby, who is one of the main characters of the Great Gatsby, is a man with a mysterious background and an unknown personality. He doesn't mention too much about his past except certain fabricated highlights of his life which were designed to impress others. The strange and humorous thing is that he carries articles of evidence that back up most of his lies to prove that he isn't lying. Gatsby is also the kind of man that is used to getting what he wants no matter what the consequences are, causing him to be a very determined man that once has an idea in his mind won't let it go until he accomplishes it. The things that Jay Gatsby values the most is money, to impress others and gain acceptance and most of all, having things his own way. In a manner, these are some of the characteristics of the American Dream and what people strive for when they come to America.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999. 1636-1707.
Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy. "Death of a Salesman" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed. New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 1212-1280. Print.
American Literature has been said to be timeless and relatable with its use of “American values and the American Dream of material success.” American Literature reflects the differences between the upper and lower class. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman contribute to the meaning of American literature, with the incorporation of the American dream and female characters. In the desperate chase for the American dream, one can become corrupted and egocentric. The aspects of the novel The Great Gatsby and the play Death of a Salesman demonstrate the slow emotional and social downfall of the protagonists Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman with reference to the American dream and female characters such as Daisy Buchanan and Linda Loman. Both protagonists illustrate the notion of individual sacrifice in order to pursue the American dream.
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.
It’s been ingrained into the fabric of society that to be truly happy in life, one needs to be wealthy. The characters in The Great Gatsby show this is not always the case, and that wealth is not always as important as one would believe. Society has always placed a significant importance on being rich, being wealthy. It makes one believe that being wealthy is the only true way to live a happy and fulfilling life. With this in mind, many readers are going to look at the characters in The Great Gatsby, such as Jay Gatsby and Tom Buchanan, and fantasize about one day living the lifestyle that they live. While many characters in The Great Gatsby would appear from the outside to be living the American Dream, it what lies underneath this image of
Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, Americans have idealized the journey towards economic success. One thing people do not realize, however, is that journey is not the same for every individual. Media often leads its viewers toward a “one size fits all” version of success that may help themselves, but will rarely help the viewers. This is seen in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Miller includes multiple instances of symbolism and personification to reveal to the reader the situational irony in Willy’s life, underlining the theme of self-deception in regard to the American Dream. This American Dream, fueled by money, is the main source of anxiety in Willy’s life. The anxiety of income is reflected today in the issue of minimum wage. James Sherk, a writer of the Tribune News Service, plots thoughtful points against raising the minimum wage. However, his use of over-exaggeration and odd comparisons leave his argument less than convincing.
Hectic and eventful as it was but it was very empty. He lived in the measure of mundane things, forgetting the fact that to live a true rich life one must fell it with meaningful experiences and people. Throughout the story examples reoccur in a disturbing pattern entailing an empty and vacant life that Gatsby lived. First, The girl who he fell in love with was very beautiful, and also very shallow. Just like any other expensive antique he owned, she represented to him status, money, beauty and nothing more. Secondly, He also lied about his heritage and family, to show the rest of the world he was inherently rich. But he did not enjoy the fact that he gained all of his money on his own. Because when we take in respect the opinion of the people he is trying to impress - the higher class- It's far more prestigious and also unsuspicious to tell people that he inherited all of his wealth instead of telling the truth. Forgetting the fact that the ideology that he is so submerged in which is capitalism encourages hard work in the result of gaining high profit. But this where the new meaning of the american dream comes in, instead of focusing on the true value of hard work and appreciating it, he prefers that he is percieved as someone who was born with a silver spoon. Finally, Jay Gatsby did not get an education in Oxford University but lied about going there just to get associated with a prestigious school like Oxford University , because thats what mattered the image of the Great Gatsby. I believe that it didn't really matter to him wether if he did get any sort of education, as long as it made him wealthy or at least appear like one. Every weekend he filled his house with numerous people , people from all paths of life. And did not get personal with not even one person of that crowd. Even Daisy the love of his life did not know him. Gatsby was an isolated man, materialism
In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby was born into a life of poverty and as he grew up he became more aware of the possibility of a better life. He created fantasies that he was too good for his modest life and that his parents weren’t his own. When he met Daisy, a pretty upper class girl, his life revolved around her and he became obsessed with her carefree lifestyle. Gatsby’s desire to become good enough for Daisy and her parents is what motivates him to become a wealthy, immoral person who is perceived as being sophisticated.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman; Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem. New York: Viking, 1949. Print.
Murphy, Brenda and Susan C. W. Abbotson. Understanding Death of a Salesman: A Student Handbook to Cases, Issues and Historical Documents. The Greenwood Press “Literature in Context” series, Claudia Durst Johnson, series editor. Westwood, CT, London: 1999.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." Compact Literature. Ed. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 1262-331. Print.
"SparkNotes: Death of a Salesman: important quotations Explained ." SparkNotes . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .