American Dream Is Only A Dream
In society it is considered that if a person works hard then that person will attain success. In the play, "The Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, and the novel, The Great Gatsby , by F. Scott Fitzgerald, one can see that the objective of the main characters is to attain the American dream. Traditionally the American dream meant opportunity and freedom for all but that is not the case in these two classic works. At one time America was considered a place that if you work hard you will become successful. Both these authors are arguing the fact that the dream has become corrupted by greed and by materialism. The death of a salesman and the great Gatsby are strong commentaries which criticize and condemn a social system controlled by wealth, one living life to attain money and being indifferent towards other human beings. The Great Gatsby and "The Death of a salesman" denounce the notion that their characters lifestyle is controlled by wealth. One can see this by the unbridgeable gap between Tom Buchanan and Mr. Wilson in the Great Gatsby. Tom Buchanan is a arrogant and a egoistic man who inherited an enormous amount of wealth from his family. Where as Mr. Wilson is a honest hard working man, who is living his life to make his
Throughout these books , both Fitzgerald and Arthur Miller shows the collapse of dreams, whether they are dreams of money, status, or simply of happiness. The biggest collapse, however, is of the American Dream. The failure of the American Dream is unavoidable, not only because the reality of life cannot compare to idealistic dreams, but also because the ideals are usually far too perfect to be paralleled in reality. Dreams give purpose to life, something to work toward, an end to the road. Without dreams one's life has no meaning, as shown in the fates of the characters in The Great Gatsby and "The Death of a Salesman" .The American Dream is something all people work toward to some extent, yet it is doomed to failure as its ideals conflict with the reality of life. Although it is an admirable goal, it is an unobtainable one. The American Dream is just that - a dream. In both The Great Gatsby and "The Death of a Salesman", the aim of the characters is to acquire material wealth. From James Gatsby was a young boy he was ambitious about becoming rich. "He knew he had a big future ahead of him" (Fitzgerald, 164). Clearly from Gatsby's fathers statement, Gatsby had big plans of becoming wealthy. Further on in the conversation Mr. Gatz shows Nick Carraway a schedule that Gatsby had made up when he was a young boy. It consisted of sayings "No wasting time" and "Saved $3.50 a week". Gatsby, from an early age realized that time and money are two of the most valuable keys of becoming wealthy. Secondly Gatsby was so determined to become wealthy he did not care what actions he had to take, he did not care if they were legal or not. "He bought up a lot of side-street stores and sold grain alcohol over the counter." (Fitzgerald, 27). It is clear from Tom's words that Mr. Gatsby earned his money knowing that, at that time selling alcohol was illegal. This quote shows Gatsby's determination to fulfill his dreams. Moreover Gatsby had another reason to become rich, to win back the love of his life Daisy. "my house looks well, doesn't it?" He demanded. "See how the whole front of it catches the light?" (Fitzgerald, 87). Knowing that Daisy is attracted to material weal
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Approximate Word count = 1462
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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