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The American Dream in The Lost Beautifulness and The Gilded Six-Bits

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The American Dream in The Lost Beautifulness and The Gilded Six-Bits The America Dream is defined in general as a dream of a land that is better richer for everyone based on accomplishment and opportunity. This dream is usually sought after by people who have been deprived of their social and human values. People who have not been able to achieve this dream based on restrictions of their situations that plague their lives. These situations can be different for everyone, race, sex, handicap, etc. My question is this goal obtainable? To me there is one thing that powers this dream a desire to be of higher class, socially and financially. The one thing that drives this monster concept of the American dream has always been around since the …show more content…

This drive for her to feel like an American was drove from money. This ultimately put her on the street after her landlord saw the good work that she did. Money the landlord knew he could charge extra because the apartment was now in much better shape. In “The Gilded Six-Bits” Joe, sees himself in a similar situation which involved money. Joe had met a man by the name of Otis D. Slemmons who had opened up an ice cream parlor down the street. Joe was quite impressed of the heavy set man with hit gold teeth. Joe was talking about the man’s big gut in quote: “All rich mens is got some belly on ‘em.” (Hurston 1521). Joe wanted the dream so bad that he even wanted a gut because all rich men had them. This shows how money influences people to do whatever they can to make themselves higher in society. The American dream is all about money, money is opportunity and money is accomplishment. Joe was also later devastated by this monster of a dream, when he caught Otis in bed with his wife. Is this what the dream is about tearing down everything you worked hard for all your life? Did Hanneh really dream of being thrown into the street? Did Joe really dream of a big fat rich man sleeping with his wife? In the end the power that both drove these people to realize what the American dream is was money. They both wanted money and they both dreamed of money, and in the end it got the best of Hanneh and

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