The American Dream is the idea of achieving success from hard work and dedication. In Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby, Willy and Gatsby both suffer from the degradation of their idea of the American dream. In Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby, the American Dream disrupts Willy and Gatsby’s real goals. Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby both stride to be well liked and have money and pleasure. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman says that a well-liked man and a personally attractive man in business will go far in life and make an abundance of money. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby threw grand parties every Saturday night to show that money and pleasure were more important than more noble goals. Both characters are both struggling with living the American Dream. Willy Loman’s idea of an American Dream is to be attractive, and this gives him a blind faith of what it is really about and that attractiveness is …show more content…
the only key to success. Gatsby is distracted from, his love for Daisy because of the social statuses. In Death of a Salesman, Willy’s idea for an American Dream differs from others in the play. Willy’s idea of the American Dream is not the hard work, but popularity and being well liked amongst others. Willy wants Biff to be well liked, so he will not have to work hard and will have a job and a good life handed to him. Willy sees himself as a failure and does not want Biff and Happy to follow in his footsteps. Arthur Miller uses many symbols in Death of a Salesman to portray the American Dream. One symbol in Death of a Salesman are the seeds. The seeds represent Willy Loman’s hard work to try and achieve the American Dream. He is trying to prove that he is worthy enough to be a father and a salesman. These seeds also represent Willy’s failure with raising Biff. Regardless of Willy’s idea of the American dream to success, Willy failed at raising Biff. Another symbol is the diamonds. The diamonds are what made Ben, Willy’s brother, rich and show Willy that he has failed at being a successful salesman. Willy could have gone with Ben to Alaska and made a fortune with his brother, but instead trusted the dream to have financial security. Lastly another symbol in this play is the rubber hose. The rubber hose is what Willy used to try and commit suicide with by inhaling the gas. Ironically, the gas that he is inhaling to kill himself is what is keeping his family alive. The gas is what produces heat and is helping the family survive. This constant struggle of trying to kill himself with this poisonous gas represents Willy’s struggle of trying to live the American Dream. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s idea of the American Dream is to have money and love. Gatsby has already achieved being wealthy; now he is trying to get Daisy to be with him. Gatsby never achieved living the American Dream because he was blinded by getting Daisy to fall in love with him throughout the book. In The Great Gatsby, F.
Scott Fitzgerald uses symbols to define The American Dream. One symbol that is portrayed in this book is the Valley of Ashes. The Valley of Ashes shows the decline of moral values. Also, the Valley of Ashes represents the lower classes and how the upper classes look down on them and don’t care about them. The rich make their money off the industry and just throw away the waste and as a result, the Valley of Ashes has a gray and dismal look to it. Another symbol that portrays The American Dream is the green light at the end of the dock. It represents Gatsby’s wanting to live the American Dream, but cannot easily attain it. After the war, Daisy wouldn’t marry Gatsby because he was not wealthy and was a lower social status than her. When he realized this, he worked hard and was a part of the upper class and was wealthy and was beginning to live the American Dream. Lastly, another symbol in The Great Gatsby are the eyes of T.J Eckelburg. These represent the meaningless of the world and how objects are more important to the
characters. Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller both undergo the same struggle by trying to achieve the American Dream. Both of the characters did not get to live this dream because they were both blinded by trying to take shortcuts to achieve it. Willy Loman struggles throughout the play to prove that he is worthy enough to his family and friends and Jay Gatsby struggles throughout the book to win Daisy’s heart.
“The American Dream”. What is it? What is it all about? “The American Dream” by definition is; the idea that everyone should have an equal opportunity to live a successful life through hard work and dedication. In both the novel ; The Great Gatsby, as well as the film ; Catch Me If You Can, both protagonists, James Gatz (Gatsby) and, Frank Abagnale Jr demonstrate how they view their own “American Dream” as well as how they pursued it. Although they both view it differently, they both pursue it in similar ways.
What is the American dream? The American Dream is the reason why people live and come to America. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” the novel is all about the American dream. Fitzgerald expresses the American dream with the terms “old money” and “new money”. Old money meaning you were born rich, while new money means you became rich on your own. Throughout the story there are many difficulties and benefits of living in America where society is all about money.
This leaves Gatsby alone with his wealth and no one to share it with. Gatsby's belief in achieving his American Dream through Daisy led to his failure. While the American Dream suggests that everyone can achieve the status and wealth they desire through hard work, Gatsby's newly earned wealth and lifestyle are looked down upon, due to which he desires to be married with Daisy, which can lead to him attaining his dream. The American Dream during the nineteen twenties is portrayed by the author as a dream merely restricted to the attainment of wealth and social class which had consumed many people including Jay Gatsby.
Everyone has a dream of their desired future, they dream of the one thing that makes them happy that they do not have now. In Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman and Gatsby are characters dominated by an American dream that destroyed them. Their dream comes from a fantasy past. These dreams were made outside from who they truly are. Gatsby tried to repeat his past, while Willy attempted to create a new past. The lack of control over their goals and dreams lead to their downfall at the end. The two novels show the various points of the American dream; either to pursuit of happiness, or to pursuit of material wealth.
The American Dream is an ideal that has been present in the majority of American literature including The Great Gatsby. Although this phrase has become a cliché we sometimes put it into use without knowing the meaning. What exactly does this famous American Dream mean? Some might say that it is a journey to wealth and prosperity, while others might say that it is nothing else but the beautiful promise of settling down, having children, being able to provide for your family, and basically living a pleasant worry-free life. However, over time, the original expedition for resolution and freedom has evolved into a continuing
The American dream clouded both Willy and Gatsby’s mind. It changed their personality and changed the way they saw things. They were too set on what their heart wanted. You have to earn it, you can’t just expect to achieve it. Gatsby’s and Willy’s American dream made them clueless. “He presents it in Gatsby as a romantic baptism of desire for a reality that stubbornly remains out of his sight” (Bewley). They both ended without the lives they dreamt of, and without lives at all. The authors of these books are trying to show the American dream is not what its made out to be. It ruined their lives instead of them actually achieving
The term American Dream was first coined by James T. Arthur in his 1931 novel The Epic of America, and has since become a famous phrase used widely to discuss the opportunities one is granted in the United States. However, this one simple phrase can be perceived differently among each individual. For some, the American Dream is a symbol of hope for the future, while for others it can be a reminder of failures in the past that set them back from achieving their dreams. In the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the play Death of Salesman by Arthur Miller the main characters, Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman, strive to achieve their own perception of the American Dream. The American Dream can be described as working hard in the pursuit
He talked a lot about the American dream in his work. The American dream is about living the perfect life, being wealthy, and happiness. F. Scott Fitzgerald manages to define, praise, and criticize what is known as the American Dream in his most successful novel, The Great Gatsby. It shows how wealth seems to be what everybody wants but it actually cause destruction.
The American Dream has no singular definition, but a multitude of interpretations. Yet, in these two completely different literary works, the authors share the same message; the American Dream should not be a materialistic goal, but a goal in pursuit of true, spiritual happiness. This is shown in both Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, and The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Both authors feel very strongly about the issue, as do many other authors writing today, who fear American Economic views could doom the human race to a meaningless existence. With an ending not too dissimilar from Brave New World.
The Great Gatsby written by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller give different aspects to the failed American dream. In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is the main character who believes that the American Dream can come true if he uses his wealth, luxurious parties, and belongings to gain Daisy’s interest back. Essentially using luxury to win Daisy’s heart over. This characteristic binds in to the characteristic of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman wanted to be wealthy and prosperous, but instead should have been looking for happiness. Willy feels guilty about not being able to provide for his family but does not feel guilty for cheating on his wife.
Throughout both The Great Gatsby and Death of A Salesman, the author F. Scott Fitzgerald and playwright Arthur Miller use the focus of materialism and the consumerism of 1920s and 1940s America to explore the failure experienced by many in relation to the American Dream. In context to the time periods in which the novel and play are set in post war America and the financial boom which occurred in America following both WW1 and WW2 are reflected in the consumerist lifestyle led by the characters of Fitzgerald’s and Miller’s works due to the misguided belief that through acquiring wealth and the purchase of material objects, they will attain happiness. It is this false image of the American dream which is central to both works and the continual
The American Dream is the idea that citizens of every social status can become successful in their life by working hard to achieve a better, richer and happier life. In The Great Gatsby, the protagonist Jay Gatsby was once a troubled young-boy who turned his life around to become a wealthier man, however in the case of Jay Gatsby, money was the only element of the American Dream which he managed to accomplish.
This reveals their failure, along with many others, to truly attain the American Dream. The introduction of the American Dream created high expectations for an individual's later years and gave society a vision of how they wanted their lives to turn out. Gatsby is undoubtedly one of these individuals, and the green light on Daisy's dock represents his unattainable dream.
The American dream was a vision shared by the American people who desired their land to be improved and wealthier for every individual, with the opportunity for everyone in accordance to achievement. The dream is based on every individual working hard to become successful with an abundance of money, a nice house, two children and a high-quality job. In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the American dream symbolizes being free to come and go with the river, not to have restrictions, and to take pleasure in the wide-open Western edge. The dream’s beauty and liberty is depicted as a requirement for Huck, and for Jim who is a slave. The book shows that the American dream consequently turns out to be a celebration of freedom, for physical organization and rules, and also chauvinism of the Southern society in the slavery period. However, The Great Gatsby, which was written by Fitzgerald, is a figurative meditation on the 1920s breakdown of American dreams, in a period of unparalleled wealth and material surplus. Fitzgerald depicts the 1920s as a period of rotten moral and social value that is shown through America’s sarcasm, gluttony, and empty chase of enjoyment.
Of both The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, they share the major theme which revolves around the American Dream, and the subsequent death of it. Firstly, the dream itself suggests that if you are thoroughly accomplished in your line of work, own expensive items and are socially-well connected, you are likelier to achieve more in life. This lifestyle is extremely materialistic and those who lead it often hold a façade of happiness and success and aren’t as rich as they would have other people believe. This is demonstrated in the novel, The Great Gatsby, as Ja...