Shaping the American Dream

Shaping the American Dream The American Dream is a national symbol of the United States; a set of ideals in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, and progress achieved through hard work. Throughout the texts, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men and A Raisin in the Sun, various characters chase the elusive American Dream. In, The Great Gatsby, Jay Gatsby pursues his dream girl Daisy Buchanan even though his dream of whisking her away is intangible. In the text, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie dream of acquiring a farm where they can remain blissfully undisturbed. In the play, A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Younger dreams of owning a liquor store and supplying his family with an abundance of opportunities. In all three stories, the American Dream shapes the beliefs and values of society by prompting people to strive for their ideal goals even though they remain frustratingly intangible.
In the story, The Great Gatsby, the American Dream had driven Jay Gatsby to prosper, yet still be just out of reach of his final goal. Gatsby’s infatuation with Daisy Buchanan had pushed him into becoming successful since he wanted to impress her with his money. Although Gatsby was rich materialistically, he lacked companionship. Gatsby believed in the ” green light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us” or in other words, the American Dream (180). Jay Gatsby could not escape his past and his harbored dream of recreating his love affair of 1917 with Daisy. He believed he could win Daisy over and struggled ceaselessly for Daisy’s affection. Although Jay Gatsby truly believed he and Daisy would end up
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In the novella, Of Mice and Men, George and Lennie shared a dream of purchasing a plot of land where they could live together in peace. Their American Dream spurs them to work hard on ranches and stick together so one day they could pool their money and buy a farm. Lennie loved to hear George talk about the farm because it gave him something to dream about and keep his spirits up. The farm was Lennie and George’s shared slice of desire, in which they thought about when times were hard. In addition to George and Lennie, almost all the other characters possess some dream besides remaining on the ranch the rest of their lives. Curley’s wife admitted to wanting to be a Hollywood star; Crooks fantasized about hoeing a patch of garden on George and Lennie’s farm; Candy wanted to belong somewhere and feel useful and needed. All of these dreams shared a common theme, the pursuit of happiness. Just as the other chracters yearn for more then the monotonous life on the ranch, George and Lennie consistently talked of a life where they could ‘live off the fatta of the ‘lan” and harvest crops which only belonged to them (55). Lennie and Geroge’s American dream leads them to perservere despite Lennie’s disability and keeps them close since one day they believed they would be able to live in harmony on their own ranch.
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In the text, A Raisin in the Sun, Walter Younger became greatly influenced by his American Dream because his desire to be successful was so strong. Walter dreamed of opening a liquor store and providing his family with a better life. Walter’s burning desire for a chance to succeed began to take a toll on Walter and Ruth’s marriage. Ruth realized this and stated, “Mama, something is happening between Walter and me. I don’t know what it is – but he needs something – something I can’t give him anymore. He needs this chance, Lena. (1.1.187) Walter was incredibly dissatisfied with his life, and took it out on his family. Ruth was burdened with the brunt of her husband’s discontent. She found herself worrying over what would happen between them if Walter did not get the chance to attain his dream. Walter’s mental anguish causes Mama to trust her son with a large sum of the insurance money from her deceased husband. In that moment, Walter was the closest he had ever been to actually achieving his dream, and his mentality changes drastically. When the money is lost, Walter sinks to a new low but gains morale when he stands up to Mr. Lindner and refuses to take the bribe. Although Walter seems alienated from the white middle-class culture, he harbored the same materialistic dream as the rest of American society to own a nice house, and a prosperous business.
Throughout the stories, The Great Gatsby, Of Mice and Men and A Raisin in the Sun, the American dream remains just out of reach for various characters. Specifically, Jay Gatsby, Lennie, George, and Walter Younger strive to achieve goals that seem realistic enough but somehow are unattainable. In all three texts, the
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American Dream shapes the beliefs and values of society by spurring individuals to pursue their goals even though they always remained frustratingly out of reach.