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Development of the American Dream
Development of the American Dream
The american dream. how and why has it evolved over the last century? essay
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In Pursuit of the American Dream If you ask mostly any American what their ideal future looks like, you will receive mixed and varying results. The three novels in analysis here are, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. All three of the texts are written based upon roughly the same time period, with The Great Gatsby being in the roaring twenties and Of Mice and Men and To Kill a Mockingbird taking place in the great depression era (the 1930’s). In their own way, all of the stories tell a tale of the American Dream in that region and time period. Of all three of the book in question, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Great Gatsby, the best literal representation of the American Dream is The Great Gatsby because it very clearly highlights the end goal for many Americans by becoming a wealthy member of society to which some people still may agree is the American Dream today. The American Dream in To Kill a Mockingbird is to be an equal person with all other people around you. This is clearly depicted in the dialogue, “One more thing, gentlemen, before I quit. Thomas Jefferson once said that all …show more content…
men are created equal…” (Lee, 205). Without first addressing the obvious sexism in the quote, it is meant with good intention, for this is taken near the very end of the Robinson Trial to where Atticus Finch (the semi-protagonist of the story) is defending an African-American man who was falsely accused of rape. It is aimed at everyone in the courtroom to show that everyone, especially the oppressed black man that is on trial, wants a similar thing, and that is to be able to be equal and supported by others around them. Unfortunately that is not enough to sway the jury’s decision and the trial does not go in favor of Robinson, but the reader is very much able to receive the message and the power meant behind it showing generally what most people want, equality with others. Of all three of the books, To Kill a Mockingbird has the least pronounced idea of the American Dream, but also in the comparison is Of Mice and Men, which is the other depression era novel but based in California opposed to Alabama. Of Mice and Men has a very clear description of the American Dream at the time, to own their own land and be their own boss.
“‘We gonna get a little place’...’We’ll have a cow’ said George. ‘An’ we’ll have maybe a pig an’ chickens... ‘“ (Steinbeck, 105). This is George, the protagonist and best friend of Lennie (the other protagonist), describing the farm that the planned of purchasing when the had saved up enough money. Their goal was simply to own land and to be their own boss instead of doing intensely difficult farm work with a semi-low wage, because again, it takes place during the great depression. This is also a generally accepted dream by Americans at the time, but in comparison to the extremely pronounced ideas of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby, this is no
match. The American Dream ideals in The Great Gatsby are the most pronounced with the whole story in hindsight and with it difficult to pinpoint a certain point or quote. But nonetheless, in The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is to acquire a vast wealth while at the same time being a self-made person. “The truth was that Jay Gatsby of West Egg, Long Island, sprang from his Platonic conception of himself. He was a son of God -a phrase which, if it means anything, means just that- and he must be about His Father’s business, the service of a vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty” (Fitzgerald, 98). Although this quote may seem slightly unclear on meaning, it makes sense with explanation. This is spoken by Nick Carraway, the narrator of the story, describing how he believes Gatsby came up in society. It describes him to be “a son of god” which with further context makes him out to be described as self-made and the “father’s business” is said to have “vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty”. Which is roughly calling his “father’s business” to have a valueless meaning to Gatsby in his rise in society, also meaning he didn’t support himself off of old money rather to gain it himself, making him a self-made man, which at this time period is the widely accepted American Dream. To be wealthy and make it yourself. In the overall term and using hindsight of understanding the full story of The Great Gatsby, it makes sense and is very appropriate to have the most pronounced idea of the American Dream, more so that the other two stories. After reading To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Great Gatsby, the best depiction of the American Dream in its time period is The Great Gatsby because it clearly shows the goal for many Americans by becoming a self-made, wealthy member of society. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the American Dream was to be equal with others, in Of Mice and Men, it was to be your own boss, and in The Great Gatsby, it was to become a self-made member of high society. Nowadays if you were to ask people their thoughts of what the American Dream means to them, you would most likely get a wide ranging set of answers, which makes it hard to create an overarching, general idea of what the American Dream really is to this generation.The easiest way and generally most acceptable way to adapt the American Dream to fit such a varying group of people, is to simply state, “the American Dream is to end up with happiness, in whatever you do and wherever the life takes you.”
success” and where money and fame is achieved through hard work. However, Due to the United States’ economic advantages, the industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries began to change the American dream, replacing it with a statement of "get rich quick".F. Scott Fitzgerald expresses and explores this idea thoroughly in his most successful novel, The Great Gatsby. To live out the American Dream was what once was on the minds of many Americans. In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream was presented as a corrupted version of what used to be a pure and honest ideal way to live. The idea that the American Dream was about the wealth and the possessions
The Great Gatsby has various parallels to Of Mice And Men. The central characters in both books are dreamers. They desire to achieve a certain goal. During these times people longed for what is recognized as the American dream. Gatsby wanted to be rich and live with the love of his life. Lennie and George wished for a ranch where they could live the way they fancied.
The American dream is an idea that every American has an equal chance of success. In the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald shows us this is not the case. Fitzgerald wrote the character Jay Gatsby as a tragic American hero. Jay Gatsby went from a nobody to a millionaire and most people believe that he had achieved the American dream. However, he did not achieve the American dream because he lost a piece of himself in his pursuit of his supposedly incorruptible dream.
Imagine. You are sitting in complete silence, even the nearby crickets won't dare to let out even the slightest of croaks. You stare down at your cluttered, dimly lit desk. Your hand grasps your pen, and the other rubs back and forth across your temple in angst. Your eyes pass over each paper, containing each incomplete thought, and your mind floods with memories of your past. Trapped by writer’s block, you are all alone with only your experiences, surroundings, and philosophy aiding you in the fall that is the dark reality of alcoholism and depression. For renowned authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, these influences all played a crucial role in identifying their style techniques, as well as determining similarities and differences
The two novels To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men are better understood and more comprehensible with a bit of background knowledge of the 1930s. For example, racial injustice/ inequality in America in the 1930s can help the reader view these two novels from a different perspective; such as the laws, customs, and racism which took place back then. To begin with, these two very engaging novels have many similarities. They both share themes of courage, prejudice, racial injustice, and loneliness. They also both share topics that have to do with Jim Crow Laws and “mockingbird”- like characters such as Lennie, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson. Some characters throughout these books show the trait of courage such as: Atticus, Mrs. Dubose, and
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.
The American dream has been a tangible idea, greatly sought after by many over the course of American History. The dream has eluded many, to strive for achieving in America’s open markets, and become a self-made man from the sweat of one’s brow. The idea of become self-sufficient, and have limitless dreams that take one as far as they are willing to imagine is captured very differently from The Great Gatsby to A Raisin in the Sun. Both novels seem to have the American dream as their subject, but both end up having very different outcomes to how one achieves it, and if the dream is truly in existence, namely with the characters of Jay Gatsby and Walter Younger. The books mainly brushes upon the idea of what the American dream truly is, how one achieves the dream, and what the real fulfillment the dream encompasses.
After reading The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men I have came to the conclusion that both books were brilliant masterpieces of American literature. Even though on the cover and in the first twenty or so pages the books may seem very different and about completely different subject. However that statement could not be any more inaccurate. Both books are about Men trying to reach a goal, or a dream that the have set out to get. Jay Gatsby wanted to live the perfect millionaire life that a 17 year old boy would have dreamed of during the roaring twenties, and George and Lennie wanted their own house and ranch during the great depression. Readers should not be arguing between how similar the books where, but they should be arguing on who's dream is more accessible.
Within the debate on who is to be crowned the “Great American Novel,” a valid factor that may be taken into consideration is how ideals in culture become altered with an evolving environment, and therefore, the argument can be made on the behalf of The Great Gatsby to be considered for the title. Due to its more recent ideological concepts, the novel addresses American ideals that are not fully developed or addressed at all within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These ideals can be boiled down to primarily two concepts: the fully-developed American dream of richness and upper-class goals, and consumerism in the industrialization of America. While Mark Twain’s piece touches on the “American dream” with Huck beginning the book off with $6,000
“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.” F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. The American Dream, a long-standing ideal, embodies the hope that one can achieve financial success, political power, and everlasting love through dedication and hard work. During the Roaring 20s, people in America put up facades to mask who they truly were. In The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald conveys that the American Dream is simply an illusion, that is idealist and unreal.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams share and explore themes and techniques of imprisonment, by both mental and physical means. To explore imprisonment, both writers use characters and narration techniques to express themes of illusion and reality by characterisation, the American Dream in symbolism, and entrapment by responsibility through narration structure. While both authors express a story, Tennessee Williams uses play direction, while F. Scott Fitzgerald uses novel structure to convey the ideas of imprisonment.
To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men are different in setting yet share themes and details that are very common to each other. Both set in the 1930’s, the novels explore discrimination and prejudice from the working class. The two books have both white and coloured characters displaying the differences of the culture in America. Discrimination is rife in the worlds of these two novellas along with ideas of hierarchy and peer pressure. All these themes challenge the friendships and relationships in these worlds.
In his novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald states the American Dream is Materialistic through his description of character’s carefree, and wealthy lifestyle. The American Dream is a lifestyle of freedom, choices, and love. In the story it shows how the characters have different lifestyles and different perspectives of what they want to accomplish in their life. Although, in the Great Gatsby the American Dream shows how different characters have riches, and unhappiness because they don’t have the love of their life.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the American Dream is considered cynical because of its many unrealistic aspirations. Racism, poverty and prejudice are prevalent in the town of Maycomb which causes an innocent man to be convicted of a crime a white woman invented. These injustices prevent minorities from achieving the American Dream. “There's something in our world that makes men lose their heads -they couldn't be fair if they tried. In our courts when it's a white man's word against a black man's word, the white always wins, they're ugly, but these are the facts of life”. (252) Tom Robinson, an innocent man was convicted of a crime he did not commit because the court system chose to favor a white man over a black man. The trail shows how the American Dream is not a reality and factors like racism cause Tom Robinson's life to end. The American Dream is not a reality if the only people who can achieve it are privileged white people. Through TKAM people are judged by superficial attributes which makes it impossible for them to achieve happiness and success even if they work
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.