There often lies a disparity between the idea of something and that something’s reality: the idea seems much brighter than that something itself. This conviction arises in all aspects of one’s life, from politics, to religion, to hobbies, to entertainment, and relationships. F. Scott Fitzgerald examines the harsh reality of such a dilemma in his work “Winter Dreams.” This story follows a self-made, successful man, Dexter, and his inner struggle between the need to attain wealth and success. Ultimately, Dexter is forced to face reality when this desire clashes with his fantasies surrounding Judy Jones, the woman of his pursuit. As a writer of the Jazz Age, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s characters often assume a materialistic lifestyle and a self-justifying importance to conceal their desire for the central truth. Through his work, Fitzgerald manages to define, honor, and criticize what is known as the American Dream: the belief that anyone, no matter their background, can attain success, material wealth, and prosperity. In “Winter Dreams,” Fitzgerald masterfully uses characterization and symbolism to illustrate the demise of the unachievable, American Dream, and the rising disconnect between reality and idealism.
Fitzgerald cleverly uses the characterization of Dexter Green to illustrate the conflictions between his self-motivation and genuine intentions in attaining the American Dream, and his superficiality that results. Dexter’s middle-class background is no coincidence. The narrator first introduces Dexter Green as a fourteen-year old caddy at the Sherry Island Golf Club, and the son of a successful grocer in Black Bear, Minnesota. Some caddies at the golf club are “poor as sin,” working hard to support their destitute lives, whereas ...
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...onsequently results from the relentless quest of the so desired American Dream. In the end, wealth and status take the place of genuine and authentic connections with people, diminishing the likelihood of true pleasure and self-fulfillment. As a result, Dexter is forced to accept that money does not buy happiness, regardless of his vigorous efforts and hard work in obtaining such success. Similar to Dexter Green, Fitzgerald is remembered as a self-made man, eager to rise above his hereditary placement in life. Reflective of his personal life, Fitzgerald's conflicted characters are a true representation of modernist's shallow nature, making his work definitive of the social history of the Jazz Age.
Works Cited
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. “Winter Dreams.” Introduction to Literature: Pearson Custom Library. New
York: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2011. 135-153. Print.
Throughout the history of literature, a great deal of authors has tried to reveal a clear understanding of the American Dream. Whether it is possible to achieve lies all in the character the author portrays. The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye stand as prime examples of this. F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.D. Salinger, the authors of these titles, respectively, fashion flawed characters, Jay Gatsby and Holden Caulfield, with one vital desire: the longing to gain what they can’t have; acceptance and the feeling of belonging. Each retaining characteristics that shows their differences and similarities in opinion of the world around them.
Dreams prove as a powerful, motivating force, propelling an individual forward into real achievements in life. Conversely, dreams can transpire as blatantly artificial. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” depicts the story of Dexter Green, a young man who dreams of achievements and works hard in a real, non-illusionary world to win them. His work in this plain, unromantic world brings him ever closer to the dream world he so desperately wants, while at the same time the dreams show themselves as decaying or empty. Unfortunately, this does not cure him of dreaming and does not push him to abandon his dreams in favor of a healthier attitude.
Fitzgerald likes to write about love, corruption and, fantasy during the Jazz age. Winter Dreams is about a middle-class boy falling in love with a wealthy girl and doing whatever he can to obtain her. Dexter Green chases his dream of wealth and love for one woman only for it to come crashing down. F. Scott Fitzgerald shows the characterization of hope through Dexter’s Green
A doctor, a firefighter, a teacher, an astronaut: these are the kind of answers children give when asked the infamous question: What do you want to be when you grow up? As you grow older, this repetitive question becomes annoying because it forces you to confront and decide what exactly you want to do when you have been through adolescence. This conundrum is what plagues two characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams.” In this story, Judy Jones and Dexter Green chase after their own dreams and collide multiple times along the way. Jones wants to continue in her current lifestyle of freedom, power, and fame which seems attainable with her charm; however, Jones’ manipulative tendencies make her unappealing to people after a time.
The short story of “Winter Dreams” was written around the same time that Fitzgerald was developing ideas for a story to turn into a novel. While The Great Gatsby wasn’t published until 1925, “Winter Dreams” débuted in 1922 and the similarities between the novel and short story were done on purpose. “Winter Dreams” became a short draft which Fitzgerald paralleled The Great Gatsby after, but also differentiated the two in specific ways (“Winter Dreams” 217). The main characters are both men, Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green, who desire for the American dream, not necessarily for themselves, but in order to lure back the women they idealize. In The Great Gatsby and “Winter Dreams” F. Scott Fitzgerald’s constant theme is shown through the characters of Jay Gatsby and Dexter Green, both similar in the way they pursue the American dream of wealth and social status in order to try and win back the women they love, but also different in specific ways.
The American Dream offers opportunity, equality, liberty, and social mobility to those who have lost their place, such as immigrants, African Americans, and white males with little wealth. This national ethos can supposedly be achieved through hard work, and determination with few social barriers. The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, illustrates the unreachable American Dream that so many have stopped fighting for. While the American dream may theoretically promise equality for all, social status will either hinder or improve an individual 's chances of success. Through rhetorical strategies such as imagery, symbolism, and diction, Fitzgerald’s interpretation of the American Dream is developed.
Through the use of symbolism and critique, F. Scott Fitzgerald is able to elucidate the lifestyles and dreams of variously natured people of the 1920s in his novel, The Great Gatsby. He uses specific characters to signify diverse groups of people, each with their own version of the “American Dream.” Mostly all of the poor dream of transforming from “rags to riches”, while some members of the upper class use other people as their motivators. In any case, no matter how obsessed someone may be about their “American Dream”, Fitzgerald reasons that they are all implausible to attain.
During the summers, Dexter works hard at being the best caddie at the Sherry Island Country Club. This is foretelling of the hard work he will do to change his socioeconomic status. We are shown how dedicated Dexter is by the tears in Mr. Jones' eyes on the day he decides to quit (Fitzgerald, 120). After meeting Judy Jones, Dexter developed a stronger sense of urgency to change his status. Dexter is so determined to fulfill his dream that he opts to go to a "more famous university in the East" rather than the state university that was more affordable (Fitzgerald, 122). This is an example of his determination to lift his status in the eyes of others. While speaking with Judy, he uses his prestigious university as the starting point of his life. Unfortunately for Dexter, he cannot conquer Judy Jones as he has every
Scott Fitzgerald wrote the story Winter Dreams and in it he showed that Dexter had the American Dream when started from the bottom and made his way to the top and had a very successful career. The story started out with Dexter working as a caddy at this fancy golf course. One day he all of a sudden decides that he doesn’t want to be a caddy his whole life. He wants more out of life even if he was the best caddy that this golf course has ever had. He wanted to be a successful career where he could make a lot of money. So he went to business school where he learned to be a great business man. It makes people see that even though...
A dream is a deep ambition and desire for something; everybody tries to reach their dreams no matter how far away they may seem. The characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s stories strive for nothing less than “The Great American Dream”. This is the need to be the best of the best, top of the social ladder, and to be happier and more successful than anyone has been before. Fitzgerald writes about this American Dream that every character has but can never achieve; the dream is kept unattainable due to obstacles, the disadvantages of being low on the social ladder, and also the restrictions of having a high social status.
He worked as a caddy and dreamed of one day golfing with these rich men. He first saw Judy Jones as a young boy. Like a fairytale, there’s “love at first sight”. Any fairytale would have ended this story with Dexter and Judy falling in love and spending the rest of their lives together. The “Winter Dreams” is unlike any other fairy tale.
The end result of both these novels shows the tragedy that can occur to everyday people, even if they didn’t do anything wrong. The American Dream made the fantasies of the men of the novels strive to attain it, but in the end the dreams of both the men ultimately destroyed them. Both Fitzgerald and Hansberry wrote these books not only for the intention to merely entertain people, but also to entice the reader into a thought, and question how things happen in the world. Both Realist authors embarked a rapid departure from the Romantic Movement, writing a novel that conveys to the reader what truly happens to people, and try to show the true pragmatism of the real world. Both authors write in tangent about the American dream, and both put forth the question of if it actually exists, and concluding from their very cynical novels, it truly does not.
The concept of the American dream has been related to everything from religious freedom to a nice home in the suburbs. It has inspired both deep satisfaction and disillusioned fury. The phrase elicits for most Americans a country where good things can happen. However, for many Americans, the dream is simply unattainable. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams,” Dexter Green, a hardworking young man born into the middle class, becomes wrapped up in his pursuit to obtain wealth and status in his life. These thoughts and ideas represent Dexter’s fixation on his “winter dreams,” or, the idea of what the American Dream means to him: gaining enough wealth to eventually move up in social class and become somebody, someday. As Dexter attempts to work himself up the social ladder, he falls in love with Judy Jones, a shallow and selfish, rich woman. But to Dexter, Judy represents the very idea of the American Dream-- obtaining wealth and status. Dexter’s pursuit of Judy and essentially the American Dream becomes an obsession. In the end, Dexter is forced to accept the realization that his “winter dreams” are actually just empty wishes. By characterizing Judy as a superficial, materialistic woman, Fitzgerald criticizes the destructive nature of the American Dream.
The American Dream is a concept that has been wielded in American Literature since its beginnings. The ‘American Dream’ ideal follows the life of an ordinary man wanting to achieve life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The original goal of the American dream was to pursue freedom and a greater good, but throughout time the goals have shifted to accumulating wealth, high social status, etc. As such, deplorable moral and social values have evolved from a materialistic pursuit of happiness. In “Advertising the American Dream: Making Way for Modernity”, Roland Marchand describes a man that he believed to be the prime example of a 1920’s man. Marchand writes, “Not only did he flourish in the fast-paced, modern urban milieu of skyscrapers, taxicabs, and pleasure- seeking crowds, but he proclaimed himself an expert on the latest crazes in fashion, contemporary lingo, and popular pastimes.” (Marchand) This description shows material success as the model for the American Dream. In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald reveals the characterization of his characters through the use of symbols and motifs to emphasize the corruption of the American Dream.
In F.Scott Fitzgerald's short story, “Winter Dreams”, he suggests that the American Dream is a desire for glittery objects. In the short story on page 735 it says “Dexter borrowed a thousand dollars on his college degree and his confident mouth, and bought partnership in a laundry.” I believe this quote just proves that he did whatever so he could have the glittering objects himself. He made something small into something enormous and ended up becoming very successful at a young age.