An American Tragedy and the Futility of the American Dream

As the phenomenal politician Bernie Sanders once said, “For many, the American dream has become a nightmare.” In the novel The Great Gatsby, written by Scott Fitzgerald, the “American Dream” plays a crucial role in the plot. Gatsby devotes his life to accomplish his American Dream which consists of wealth and Daisy’s love. But is the American Dream actually what it seems to be? Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald utilizes the symbolic value of the Valley of Ashes, East Egg, and the significance of the color yellow to constantly establish that opulence and the American Dream is deceiving as it leads to moral and societal corruption.

American History, it has done so much in time that has affected how we live life today and how we interpret things. American Literature reflects that and all it has left us with. Throughout the stories and passages we’ve read this course all of them have left a impact on how and why the writers wrote about what they did. It was all because of American History which later went on and fathered American Literature. American Literature has made society how it is today and painted a vivid picture of how American’s and people live and many of these writers had that in mind when they took these notes.

David Kamp's 2009 Vanity Fair article "Rethinking the American Dream" focuses on the general perception of the ‘American Dream’ and how it has evolved throughout our nation’s history. It clearly states that as the average American household's lifestyle has become more and more consumer-oriented, the original spirit that invigorated and united its people from the age of western expansion to the Great Depression has begun to fade. The dream has been dampened as the vision of "success" has become more focused on gaining material/getting rich quick, rather than working hard all throughout one’s life to attain what they want and desire.

Park Avenue, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in all of New York City, home to the ultra rich, the top tier of the American upper class, the 1% (Park Avenue). Those who reside in Park Avenue not only have vast amounts of wealth, but an immense amount of influence that has turned the tables in their favor. But, if you go a couple of miles North of Park Avenue and cross the Harlem river, you arrive at the other side of Park Avenue or otherwise known as the Bronx, one of the poorest districts in all of New York (Park Avenue). Here you see the real hardships average Americans must voyage through in order to put food on the table and provide shelter for their families. 40% of the 700,000 residents who

What is American Dream? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? Although we all have the same ideology of what the definition of what the American Dream is, we can all come up with a different meaning, each one more personal to ourselves than to others. As we will see with the help of three different authors, regardless of age, race, sexuality, religion, or social status, we could possibly agree on the idea of the American Dream falling short and being a false sense of reality for many Americans to this day.

However the American Dream is perceived there is no question that the dream is on the verge of becoming extinct. Bob Herbert addresses this in his article "Hiding from Reality". He argues that the American Dream is dead. Similarly, Cal Thomas also argues that the American Dream is dead in his article "Is the American Dream Over?.” Although both authors agree that the American Dream is extinct, they have differing opinions as to why. While they both believe that the government plays a large part in the death of the American Dream, Herbert believes the government is not doing enough and Thomas argues the government is out of control. Herbert and Thomas both agree that America has become a hapless society that relies on others to make decisions, making personal responsibility elusive. Both men believe that until America recognizes the problem, finding a solution will be nearly impossible.

In the essays “The American Dream: Dead, Alive, or on Hold?” by Brandon King and “Confronting Inequality” by Paul Krugman, the authors discuss a wide variety of ideas that affect or maintain the idea of income inequality in America today. In the essay by Brandon King, he clearly states that the values of the American Dream are still alive today, but are getting harder and harder to achieve for the average person. King argues that the American Dream of today has drastically changed from what it used to be, and that the thought of being successful only lays within having a steady life with little to no struggle. However, in “Confronting Inequality”, Krugman has a different approach on the topic, arguing that the American Dream is no longer alive. Krugman states that the rise of income inequality will also lead heavily to social inequality, and that the rise of income inequality is a huge cause of social inequality as well. The two authors use a majority of viewpoints and methods to explore the same topic of inequality. However, there are also many ways in which both authors offer different sides of the argument and how it should be handled.

Research conducted by Sandra L. Hanson and John Zogby concerning shifting attitudes toward the American Dream states, “lack of thrift, effort, ability, motivation, and self-control are the most popular explanations for poverty among Americans” (Hanson 571). Such explanations demonstrate the growing issues that help to create the darkness of the American Dream. In placing such an emphasis on achieving success, the American Dream belittles those unable to achieve it and allows no room for failure. Though some individuals may work hard their entire lives, they may never find the material success that others such as Ben or Charley do. Even in the case of characters who have worked their entire life, such as Willy, the lack of tangible, material success creates a false idea that they did not do enough or did not work hard enough. Concerning Willy’s career and life, Ben states, “What are you building? Lay your hand on it. Where is it?” (Miller 1271). This statement pushes the misconstrued idea that whatever success one has achieved needs to be tangible and seen, which is not always the case. It can be argued that by the end of his life, Willy had found success. Linda’s proclamation that they were “free and clear” after having finally paid off the mortgage furthers this argument (Miller 1298). Out of debt, and with the comfort of a devoted wife and loving sons, Willy had achieved a life that many can only dream. However, because he and others do not recognize love and happiness as

America historically owns the reputation of being the land of opportunity, and for generations immigrants have fled to the United States to experience the freedom and equality our government lays claim to. At the root of this reputation is the American Dream, the belief that with hard work anyone can succeed based solely on his or her merits. While definitions of success vary, the American Dream defines it as the ability to become a "self-made man," thereby rising to a more-than-comfortable state of living. The American Dream is believed to be blind to race, sex, or socio-economic status and at a first glance, seems to be almost Utopian. Conversely, repeated examples and statistics of the lower-classes, those continually facing the harsh

There is a twenty-five percent unemployment rate. People are desperate for lodging and food. Families are stretching every penny to support themselves. Government is trying to solve these problems through reforms and programs. This is what the world in the 1930s was like for Lennie and George, two migrant workers traveling across California, earnestly trying to achieve the American Dream. Even though these dreams seem impossible to accomplish, during the Great Depression a dream was a reason to get out of bed.

In an average day, an American is exposed to over 3000 advertisements, (Kilbourne). Whether they want to admit it or not, they are drawn toward them. A common scheme of the advertisers is to allow the consumer to “picture the new them.” Whether this be a wealthier them, a skinner them, or a prettier them, they gear there product towards every person and want everyone be able to connect with the advertisement and picture the “new them.” American Idol, Nutrisystem, and The Biggest Loser, the lottery, and many other “products” promote that anyone has the chance to be famous, fit, or fortunate. The successes from these “products” present themselves as they were before, with the sob story that hopefully touches a nerve with

The Roaring Twenties is when the Americans, especially wealthy people, are being so wasteful on spending money and are addicted to alcohol and drugs. During that time, many people have hopes for the American Dream. The American Dream is a belief that a better life could be achieved through hard work. Different people have different understandings of American Dream and different ways to pursue their dream. Some key ideas of the American Dream are equality, rights, opportunities and the pursuit of happiness. In the book The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald reveals the American Dream is an unattainable illusion and the materialism led to the corruption of the American Dream in the Roaring Twenties. Gatsby, Daisy and Myrtle all have been fail to achieve their dreams in the book and destroy by the American Dream.

The American Dream; a reality chased by Americans for centuries, based on the ideas of liberty, happiness and equal right to success for all. But, for F. Scott Fitzgerald the American Dream was a materialistic world of permanent riches and fortune. This distorted perception of the American Dream, shared by many others, resulted in the failure of the real American Dream, a reality where one can live comfortably and safely. Instead, the American Dream became this unattainable goal that can never result in satisfaction, as humans will always have that desire for more. F. Scott Fitzgerald clearly represents the failed American Dream, as he proved throughout his life of short periods of glamor which concluded

How would you feel if your perception of the american dream did live up to its own standards? In Barbara Ehrenreich’s book The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream, she argues that white collar workers are limited to their capability by the harsh reality. People assume being part of the middle class in america will be the answer to a better lifestyle but it just hasn’t been case over the past decades. Teachers tell their students the key to success is thru higher education and parents portray college as a door to more opportunities and benefits. People say the reasons behind someone else’s economic woes and life hardships are determined thru the decisions they made throughout life. Dropping out of high School, not going to college, working dead end jobs on wages. Who would be to blame for the situations they end up in? safe to say they can blame themselves. A better question is who do you blame for the ones that do go to college, receive degrees, and have credentials to end up in situations just like the ones that didn’t go to college. Society should also be to blame since economic downturns do not just affect people individually but as a nation. America has an image of the college student as being a bright person going in the right right direction that will bring nothing but promises and assurance of a better future. The reality is that everyone has their own definition of the american dream, but the success is not just

On a brisk September day in 2011, in the commercial district of Manhattan Island, a minute protest in Liberty Square commenced against the fiscal atrocities committed by economic establishments leading to the financial crisis and subsequent economic recession in 2007 and 2008. Over the course of the month, the movement protesting the miscarriage of justice and democracy following the economic catastrophe and the overall inequitable and unfair wealth distribution diffused to over 100 American cities as well as 1,500 cities worldwide. The revolutionary movement was named Occupy Wall Street and through occupying and protesting the symbolic location of the financial elite, Wall Street, the crusade aimed to “[revolt] against the corrosive power