Similarities Between The Great Gatsby And Death Of A Salesman

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.

In The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby had the social

status of one who would be wealthy but had very few close friends and tended to isolate himself from most people. Until, we see him repeatedly looking upon the green light, at the end of the dock across the water towards East Egg, as his hope towards his love, Daisy. Daisy had been one of his long lost loves from back in the time of war and he hoped to further their memories. Unfortunately, the green light never disappears, representing how his chances with Daisy are slim to none because of her love for Tom. Gatsby does indeed meet Daisy with the help of his neighbor, Nick Carraway, but Daisy is not the same person anymore after her marriage with Tom Buchanan. She can not give up her family or her love for Tom. This disappoints Gatsby greatly and the green light fades signifying that Daisy is now an unreachable woman that he cannot ever get back now matter how hard he tries to lavish himself to impress her.
In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman came from a poor family and wanted both of his sons Biff and Happy to succeed where he had failed and live up to his dad’s luxury.

Willy soon figures out that his father’s idea to be wealthy was pointless and ends up committing suicide. His unhappy family could no longer believe that he was a well liked salesman because no one showed up to his funeral. Willy infact was nothing close to what he brought himself out to be. His son Biff Loman, had an outstanding life in high school having been very skilled in football with multiple scholarships, lots of friends, and far too many female admirers. He failed math, however, and did not have enough credits to graduate. This disappointment led to his urge to steal and resulted in him getting fired from almost every job that he had been employed in. Biff could not cope with his ambition that had told him to abandon Willy’s dreadful dreams and move out West to begin his working career. He therefore fails miserably to incorporate his life with Willy’s expectations of him. Happy Loman, Willy’s thirty-two-year-old younger son, has been a mirrored image of Biff all of his life, but he compels by using his relentless sex drive and professional ambition. Happy works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store and presents himself as a very valuable person even though he practices bad business ethics and sleeps with the girlfriends of his

superiors.
Even though Willy Loman and Jay Gatsby believed in the American Dream neither of them could succeed. They were overly idealistic and had higher expectations of themselves than would ever be possible to achieve. Dreams can be dreams, but not everyone gets what they set out to achieve. In these two stories, the American Dream or ideal that everyone should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative does not work out for neither of the two main characters.
With much in common, these two stories were two great examples of failed American Dreams. I felt as if Jay Gatsby’s American Dream was better in a way. F. Scott Fitzgerald gave a much more clear understanding in the form of a story instead of a conversation like that in Death of a Salesman. It was also nice to reflect on Gatsby’s past in times of the war when he had a relationship with Daisy to realize why he came back in search of what he had lost.
These stories signify how not every goal that is set out for goes your way in the end. It takes hard work and initiative to achieve what may seem impossible. Sometimes failing is one step closer to success. Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman definitely got a glimpse of how it felt to fail. They may not have achieved the happiness and wealth that they set out for, but it was definitely worth the time spent reading these two novels.