Americans have so far put up with inequality because they felt they could change their status. They didn’t mind others being rich, as long as they had a path to move up as well. The American Dream is all about social mobility in a sense – the idea that anyone can make it. ” (Feared Karri) By looking at the meaning of the phrase “American dream,” writers help define the promises the united States makes to Its citizens.
Writers In the new century find themselves In the difficult position of putting Emily, history, faith, work, and politics together, into a new understanding of what; exactly the American dream is today. There are two ways to look at the American dream, a positive way and a negative way. There are many ways to understand both perspectives, but it all lies in your own opinion. To express these perspectives, author Scott Fitzgerald and Walt Whitman both have deferent views on the American dream. Fitzgerald (Author of The Great Gatsby) Is more negative, as Whitman (Author of I Hear America Singing) Is positive.
In “The Great Gatsby” Fitzgerald expresses the struggles that Nick Caraway experiences, as Jay Gatsby has the sweet life. Nick is a Yale graduate and moves into a tiny cottage in New York, because he was offered a bond salesman occupation. “New York was the pleasure capital – and thus, to the active American conscience, unreal, and a mirage, surely treacherous. ” (peg. 409 “Contemporaries”) He moves next to a huge mansion, next to Jay Gatsby, who has these extravagant parties each week, hundreds of people who Idealize him, and has servants walling on his hand and foot.
But with every good, there has to be a little bad. Jay fell in love with a woman named Daisy. Jay went off to war and Daisy had gotten married. When Jay came back, he started seeing Daisy, but he never had the chance to marry her. Before he could be with Daisy, Jay was shot and killed. All he wanted was Daisy.. “The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly. ” (F. Scott Fitzgerald, the Great Gatsby. Even with the miraculous parties, thousands of people, Jay always felt alone.
He didn’t have a wife, or kids, or a white picket fence, all he had was a huge mansion, luxurious vehicles, and loneliness. He wanted to live the American dream, but due to unfortunate events, that dream was cut short. One of the most common American dreams was to be wealthy. In ‘The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby is one of the wealthiest bachelors around. He had everything he wanted in the world; cars, mansion, fancy clothing, and all the fame he had ever wanted In life. Yet, all he had ever wanted was Daisy. Daisy lived In a town across a lake from Jay, an even wealthier town.
Bigger mansion, more cars, yet she didn’t earn everything she has, she married a very wealthy man whose father was a millionaire. She wanted to be with Jay, but didn’t want to leave her riches. “She vanished into her rich house, into her rich full life, leaving Gatsby – nothing. He felt married to her that was though he has all of his riches, the one thing he cared for the most, was her. Another common American dream was to find love, and be in love. In ‘The Great Gatsby, Jay is completely and utterly in love with Daisy. He would do anything for her; even try to fight her current husband for her. She never loved you, do you hear? ” he cried “she only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting for me. It was a terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone except me! ” (page 130 The Great Gatsby)
Jay tried to fight for her, but he never won. In other cases, some don’t need a significant other, they believe in the love of God. In the poem, “Song of Myself” Walt Whitman talks about how God loves everyone, and everyone should love him. Prodigal, you have given me love- therefore I to you give love, o’ unspeakable passionate love! (Stanza 21, Song of Myself. ) Sometimes, you don’t need a person to be physically be there with you, when you know that there will always be someone watching over you, giving you unconditional love. Ones American dream can be taken away at any moment, bankruptcy, death, or injury. In the Great Gatsby, Jay was shot and killed, before he could go after Daisy. After Gatsby had died, she never went back to East egg, which was the town Gatsby had lived in.
“After Gatsby death, he East was haunted for me like that, distorted beyond my eyes power of correction. (Page 176 the Great Gatsby) To not think about something all the time, the best thing to do is to distance yourself from that situation to prevent yourself from getting upset. But sometimes, you have to visit that place, for memory’s sake. “In 1862, hearing that Whitman’ brother George was wounded, Whitman went down to Virginia and saw the amputated legs and hands and arms on the tables. He saw soldiers staggering back into Washington after battle to collapse in the streets. ” (Page 9, Contemporaries”) Walking into a situation where there are dead soldiers laying, and their amputated parts around, it’s sickening and unforgettable.
In the poem, Song of Myself by Walt Whitman, he explains the images he had seen after a suicide. “The suicide sprawls on the bloody floor of the bedroom. I witness the corpse with its dabbled hair; I note where the pistol has fallen. ” (Stanza 8, Song) The American dream has always been a theme in literature throughout the nation’s history, so it’s not a surprise that writers at the beginning of the twenty-first century are exploring issues and questions common with our most easy principles as a country.
By looking at the meaning of the phrase “American dream,” writers help define the promises the United States makes to its citizens.
