Abstract：
The thesis compares and contrasts the two Characters of literary pieces--Gatsby, Forrest Gump and their American dreams. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald published in 1925. The book has two settings--Long Island and New York City. Gatsby lived in the roaring 1920s. His whole life was about a girl named Daisy who was the representative of Gatsby’s American dream. Gatsby pursued his dream persistently and devoted everything to it, even his life, but at last, he did not get his girl. Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. Forrest was a boy with an IQ of 75, but he overcame a lot of difficulties with his friends and mother’s help. In the end, he became a millionaire, married his girl and had a lovely son. After a comparison between Gatsby, Forrest Gump and their American dreams, we can find the reason. With the influence of culture background, Gatsby thought only money can realize his dream. He also cheated in this game. On the contrary, Forrest was honest and made his dream come true because of his love for families and friends and his simplicity. In addition, we can learn that whether we can realize our dreams or not does not depend on IQ. Hard-working and persistence are also necessary. But if we do not know how to handle our dreams and losing purity and simplicity, and trying to cheat, ambition can destroy our life.
Keywords：Gatsby; Gump; American dream; Ends; Simplicity
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