Great Gatsby And Death Of A Salesm Literary Analysis

The pursuit of the American Dream is a theme that transcends a variety of literary genres. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are two examples of how this theme can be featured in two very different ways. An analyzation and comparison of the two literary works will highlight the settings, key character traits, different viewpoints regarding the works, and how each author chose to depict the American Dream.
The meaning of the American Dream has evolved over the years. The original meaning was rooted in the Declaration of Independence which was written in 1776. Thomas Jefferson’s words "all men are created equal" were in reference to seeking freedom from Great Britain [ (Barbara A. Bardes, 2009) ]. During the time period when The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman were written, the America was viewed as a land of freedom with opportunity and equality for all. This way of thinking led to an influx of immigrants pouring into the U.S. Since 1900, the American Dream has come to mean a dream of financial success, with the assumption that material wealth, popularity, and happiness will naturally come to follow.
The Great Gatsby is a fictional novel. The storyline took place in 1922 in New York, specifically in areas called the West Egg and East Egg districts of Long Island, Valley of the Ashes and New
According to both Miller and Fitzgerald the spiritual dream has decayed. Miller presents a deluded and confused dream through the character of Willy. Fitzgerald sees the Dream as fictional. Gatsby is presented as a fictional character- this is not even his real name, he has fabricated his own identity. The Lomans and Gatsby are examples of the disappointment of life if you continually live in a dream world. The Dream comes to define the person, rather than the person defining their