A. Robinson's Richard Cory, Roman Fever, And Zora Neal Thurston

An excellent example of the American dream and its rags-to-riches concept is that of Jay Gatsby. Jay Gatsby, legally known as James Gatz, grew up on a farm in North Dakota, rather than into wealth in San Francisco, as he claims in the novel. Gatsby’s dream of being wealthy flourishes when he meets Dan Cody, a wealthy copper mongul. Gatsby starts out as a poor farm boy and transforms into a wealthy sophisticated man. Gatsby’s rags-to-riches success story makes him the embodiment of the American dream (Murphy 1). He has risen from being a poor farm boy and having nothing to having a huge luxurious house, servants, and a large social circle and he achieves this goal in a matter of a few short years, having returned from the war penniless (1). Gatsby works very hard

Richard Cory poems are a traditional type of poetry found all throughout different time periods. The poems range from the original to song variations, all contributing their own perspectives on what Richard Cory symbolized, and each takes their own distinct form. Richard Cory poetry usual contains the distinct ending of Richard Cory taking his own life, but each poem adds its own variations to this repetitive theme. Throughout the poems, there are also many similar themes, which portray a consistent theme of the American Dream and how it transforms. Many symbolic issues that deal with this dream are related to wealth, which is the most prominent reoccurring theme in the two poems. Whereas Robinson's "Richard Cory" focuses on symbolic

Blinded by the self-destructive American dream of “Marie-Antoinette music-rooms and Restoration salons” and “toilet sets of pure dull gold” most murder their morals and harm others in the process (Fitzgerald 5.91). Whether rich or poor two things can be assured: the poor want to be rich and the rich do not want

The American Dream has long been thought the pinnacle idea of American society. The idea that anyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, or financial status, could rise from the depths and become anything they wanted to be with no more than hard work and determination has attracted people from all around the world. Two writers from America’s past, however, have a different opinion on the once-great American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck have given the public their beliefs on the modern Dream through the novels they have written, The Great Gatsby, and Of Mice and Men, respectively. One novel placed during the Great Depression and the other during the Roaring Twenties both illustrate how their author feels about the Dream

This literary study will define the failure of the ”American Dream” in the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Arthur Miller, Zora Neale Hurston, and August Wilson. Fitzgerald’s account of the Jay Gatsby 's rise to fame in the 1920s defines the failure of financial success as part of the American Dream. Gatsby will eventually die due to his excessive greed, which is not unlike the emotional death of Willy Loman as he fails to become a successful salesman in Author Miller’s Death of a Salesman. More so, Hurston’s depiction of Nanny’s own failures in life by using her granddaughter, Janie, as vehicle for her own financial success. Nanny fails by forcing Janie into marriages with abusive men, which is very similar to the failure of the American

People from all around the world have dreamed of coming to America and building a successful life for themselves. The "American Dream" is the idea that, through hard work and perseverance, the sky is the limit in terms of financial success and a reliable future. While everyone has a different interpretation of the "American Dream," some people use it as an excuse to justify their own greed and selfish desires. Two respected works of modern American literature, The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman, give us insight into how the individual interpretation and pursuit of the "American Dream" can produce tragic

The American Dream, the idea that anybody can be successful through hard work and dedication, has been a driving force in the American history. However, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun express the notion that the Dream itself is defined differently to different people. The American Dream is not the same for everybody, it is instead an idealistic achievement that changes based on who is driving themselves towards the Dream. Success through the Dream, therefore, is defined by the Dreamers themselves. In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby achieves materialistic wealth, but that wealth is not enough to fulfill his definition of the Dream. Gatsby’s idea of success is to gain respect from others and to receive love back from the women he loves - Daisy. A Raisin in the Sun’s Walter Younger, on the other hand, desires wealth, and struggles utilizing the Dream’s ideals to attain said wealth. His definition of success revolves around a stable income that would allow him and his family a comfortable lifestyle where money is not as big an issue. Both Gatsby and Walter’s experiences and the polar differences in their Dream’s definitions reveals that the success of one’s Dream is based heavily on the person themselves and not measurable by tangible aspects such as wealth or respect.

By 1925, America had become the wealthiest country in the world. This newfound wealth created a culture of excess: lavish cars, expensive clothes, and fine dining every night—but only among the upper class. In fact, this new wealth directly benefited the rich through making them even richer, while the poor remained in the lowest social division—struggling to survive, let alone thrive. This ever-growing wealth gap was the basis for which the American Dream was created. The American Dream idealized the notions of potential and possibility, thusly giving the lower class hope of social mobility and economic success. Two tales written during this era epitomize the American Dream through lower class protagonists who find financial fortune. The first is The Great Gatsby, written by Scott F. Fitzgerald in the midst of this extreme social hierarchy he witnessed in 1920’s New York. Secondly, Stella Dallas: originally a novel by Olive Higgins Prouty which was adapted into the 1937 film of the same name; directed by King Vidor. However, both these stories are cautionary tales. Although the protagonists find economic success, their knowledge of the upper class is solely limited to a wishful idealization of their lifestyles. Because the protagonist’s understandings of the upper class are not equivalent to reality, through trying to fulfill the standards their glamorized perceptions of an affluent life have set for them, they are never fully accepted into the highest social class.

For centuries in this country people have believed that through hard work, talent and ambition anyone can acquire great wealth and success regardless of their social class and background, a concept later named “The American Dream” in 1931. However, people have been questioning whether this idea of rags to riches really is attainable to all who work for it, or if it is merely a fantasy and a myth. In his novel The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald uses symbolism to illustrate the death of the American Dream.

In most cultures around the world there are the distinct designations of the rich, the poor, and the in-between. These fundamental boundaries between one economic class and another cause many to lose faith in the ideal in which they so firmly wish to believe. In 1920’s America, the polarization of the West and East created a situation where many began to see materialism as the marker that illustrated the achievement of the American dream. However, where people people are in a state of power and luxury, they will do anything to maintain that status.

Clare Boothe Luce once said, “Money can’t buy happiness, but it can make you awfully comfortable when you’re miserable.” Wealth is the American dream, a goal many strive for, but what are they willing to do for it and at what costs? In the novel, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the film Chicago directed by Rob Marshall, their yearning for wealth leads many to make demoralizing decisions in order to succeed. Jay Gatsby, one of the main characters in the novel, is a wealthy man who lives in a mansion on the rich side of the city. Gatsby was in love with a woman named Daisy who ,while he was at war, left him for a wealthy man. Hence the reason why Daisy became Gatsby’s American dream and so he worked his way up the social classes to win her back. In the film Chicago, Roxie, a married woman, had an affair with a man who had “connections” with those in the dancing/singing industry. He lied and, consequently, she ended up shooting him. In prison, Roxie’s case became the story of the century and aided her ‘fame’. Although these works demonstrate that the American dream is achievable, based on the character's success, after closer analysis it is clear that the American dream is only achievable through corruption.

Living the American Dream is what many people in this world desire, to have the power to live in a house that you only see in magazines, travel places you only dreamed of going, and wearing diamonds around your neck that shines brighter than the sun. Gatsby had all the above but, yet the woman that he worships more than anything didn’t want to hold his hand for eternity, so he stands at the dock reaching for the green light that is so close but still so far away. How far will one go to achieve the “American Dream?” Money does equal power, but too much of this one thing can suppress all things good. The Great Gatsby is a classic novel in which money is the center of many characters’ lives; however, that money could not buy happiness.

Everyone has dreams of being successful in life. When the word American comes to mind one often thinks of the land of opportunity. This dream was apparent with the first settlers, and it is apparent in today’s society. In F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby (1925), he illustrates the challenges and tragedies associated with the American dream. By examining Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson through the narrator Nick Carraway, I understand the complex nature of the American dream. Jay Gatsby represents the cost complex of them all.

Published in 1949, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is a tragic commentary on the hollowness and futility of the American Dream. This paper will explore Willy’s obsession with achieving material wealth and prosperity and how his yearning for the American Dream ultimately caused him to deny reality and lead the breakup of his family. Ultimately, Miller’s message is not that the American Dream is by necessity a harmful social construct, but simply that it has been misinterpreted and perverted to rob individuals of their autonomy and create inevitable dissatisfaction.

The concept of the American dream has been related to everything from religious freedom to a nice home in the suburbs. It has inspired both deep satisfaction and disillusioned fury. The phrase elicits for most Americans a country where good things can happen. However, for many Americans, the dream is simply unattainable. In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams,” Dexter Green, a hardworking young man born into the middle class, becomes wrapped up in his pursuit to obtain wealth and status in his life. These thoughts and ideas represent Dexter’s fixation on his “winter dreams,” or, the idea of what the American Dream means to him: gaining enough wealth to eventually move up in social class and become somebody, someday. As Dexter attempts