The Role Of Materialism In The Great Gatsby

The historical American Dream “believes in the goodness of nature and man” (The True Heir of the AD pg 97). As time has progressed, the American Dream has evolved into the image of “business success” (Willy Loman and the American Dream pg 133). The American Dream attributes materialism to one’s worth and success, but in reality the American Dream is only a clouded illusion which can drive one into despair and eventually death. Jay Gatsby, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, along with Willy Loman, in Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, strive to attain the unrealistic fantasies of materialistic wealth and success, in order to feel a sense of self-actualization. Because these men have created such high expectations for what

The underlying cause of Willy’s conflict goes back to the “passion for success” and “the [desire] to be loved and understood” (An Introduction to Death of A Salesman pg 97). Willy relies on his older brother Ben to be a role model in place of the lack of instruction from his estranged father. Ben represents material success which Willy is envious of. Willy has frequent flashbacks of his brother Ben, who is now deceased, which are a constant reminder that Willy is not as financially accomplished as Ben. Willy encourages his sons to listen to their uncle in one of his flashbacks when Ben explains how he “walked into the jungle at seventeen” and then “walked out at twenty-one” and “by God [he] was rich” (DOS Act 1). Willy believes that Ben’s success gives a good name to his family’s value. It also shows how Willy is envious of Ben’s success and wants nothing more than to obtain the same worth. Ben’s success is proof of Willy’s desire to become just as prosperous as his brother, which is not likely with the resources he has, making him unlikely to obtain what he envisions as the American Dream. Linda, Willy’s wife, represents the unconditional love that Willy never receives as a child. The sense of caudaling protects Willy from learning the reality of the American Dream, only causing him to further invest in his already delusional vision of

Willy is “dominated by success” which as expected is “instilled [into] his [own] sons” (An Intro to Death of a Salesman pg 99). Willy’s sons, Happy Loman, who works as an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store, and Biff Loman, who works as rancher out West, are let downs in Willy’s eyes due to his own definition of success. Willy harps on his boys about being financially stable because he believes it will lead to a happy life as it did for his role model brother, Ben. Willy’s sons’ low levels of success are proof that they are raised from a bad foundation, most likely due to the non existent father figure in Willy’s life. Although Willy expects the most out of his sons, he struggles to uphold his own