How Are Jay Gatsby And Joe Keller Alike

Michael Gugliotta

12/18/14

English 2 Honors

Mrs. Salvatorelli

The American Dreamers

The American Dream cannot be achieved by everyone. In Miller’s, All My Sons, and in Fitzgerald’s, The Great Gatsby, both Joe Keller and Jay Gatsby did not achieve their personal American dreams. Joe Keller was an owner of a plane part business and a father of two sons, Chris and Larry. Since Larry was killed in combat Keller wanted his other son, Chris, to inherit his wealth and business. Jay Gatsby was a rich man from the West Egg in New York. He loved a woman named Daisy who he wanted to be his wife. Daisy was already married to Tom and had a young daughter. Both Joe Keller and Jay Gatsby only worried about themselves and did whatever was necessary to achieve

They both acquired their wealth through nefarious means and utilized it for selfish reasons. They lied and were obsessed with achieving their dream. Joe Keller was so obsessed with achieving his American dream that he lied about selling broken engine parts to avoid jail, keep his business, and retain his wealth. Although Joe Keller was talking about Steve Deever, he described himself perfectly when he said, “There are certain men in the world who rather see everyone hung before they’ll take the blame” (Miller 64). Keller let his business partner take the fall for his crimes. As a result, Keller did not go to prison and his business boomed. His son, Chris, knew what his father had done and would not tolerate his wrongdoings. He realized his father had dirty money and wanted him to turn himself in for his actions. Keller said to Chris, “I’m telling you what to do, if it’s dirty [money] then burn it. It’s your money, that’s not my money” (Miller 80). Keller shows us that his American dream was more important than other people’s lives. He says to Chris, “The paper, it was all over the front page, twenty-one went down, and it was too late… Chris…Chris I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you” (Miller 70). Keller’s selfishness led to his downfall. He killed himself because of his son’s beliefs. Only Jay Gatsby had more greed than Joe Keller. Jay Gatsby was too selfishly obsessed with achieving his goal and a repulsive liar. He lied about many things such as how he got his money, where he was from, and even his name. Gatsby used his dirty money to try to impress Daisy and he did not care how he earned it. His motive was to make sure that what he had was good enough to keep Daisy satisfied. Gatsby became so obsessed with getting Daisy back that he said, “but of course I’ll say I was [driving]” (Fitzgerald 143). He took the blame for the death of Myrtle to keep Daisy out of trouble. This directly led to his murder.