The American Dream Analysis

The “American Dream” can be best described as happiness and living in the lap of luxury, but the “American Dream” is fictitious. Winter Dreams and The Swimmer both have characters, who try to achieve their own perception of the American Dream, but in the end, fail. The “American Dream” comes with a great cost. F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts that in his short story Winter Dreams. The Swimmer by John Cheever depicts the “American Dream” as something already achieve but then, it is lost. The “American Dream” is not just one exact goal for everyone. It is the way a person perceives it and makes the “American Dream” their own dream, but the “American Dream” is not always what it turns out to be. Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald follows a man named
Dexter Green. In the beginning of the story, Dexter is young fourteen year old boy living a middle class life working as a caddy at a golf club. Fitzgerald describes that the caddies were “poor as sin” (965). This tells the reader that Dexter is appalled at the idea of being poor; he wants to change that. He wants to become rich and have a high status in life or as Fitzgerald put it, Dexter wants the “glittering things” (967). That is his “American Dream”. Working his way up the social class, he falls in love with a rich, shallow woman named Judy Jones. Although Judy is described as shallow and even selfish, in Dexter’s mind she represents the epitome of his idea of being wealthy and having a rich status; “She was arrestingly beautiful” as Dexter described her (Fitzgerald, 968). It was love at first sight, at least only Dexter that is. As some years past by when Dexter is older, he meets Judy again. He still loves her but Judy does not want Dexter the way he wants her. Dexter realizes that. She is still his winter dream or his “American Dream”.
Later on in the story Dexter is finally where he wants to be, living the luxury life.
He meets Irene Scheerer and they get engaged. But at the same time Dexter is still in love with Judy Jones and when Judy finds out that Dexter is rich, she wants him (gold digger much?). Even though he is engaged, Dexter goes back to his old ways and returns to Judy. One writer wrote, “This shows his incredible weakness to his Winter Dreams, which blind him to Judy's inability to commit and the inevitability of Judy running away from him again.” (Baremore, "An Analysis of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s: Winter Dreams.") Dexter’s ambition for Judy ultimately gets in the way of his happiness. He is so blinded by the “glittering things”, including Judy, that he cannot realize that his happiness is slowing fading. To get away from both relationships and to avoid an emotional downfall, Dexter joins the Army to fight in World War 1. After returning from the war, Dexter hears about how Judy has been. Judy is in a horrible marriage and this greatly upsets Dexter because when he sees how bad she looks and how bad of a life she is living, he’s dream is ultimately shattered. Dexter’s finaly words
are
“Long ago, there was something in me, but now, that thing is gone. Now that thing is gone. I cannot cry. I cannot care. That thing will come back no more.” (Fitzgerald, 980)
Fitzgerald clearly shows readers his disillusionment idea of the “American Dream”. It is something that is unachievable; it is an idea that can never be balanced with happiness. Dexter is a prime example if this. Neddy Merrill in The Swimmer by John Cheever mirrors the ignorant personality people can hold. Why? At the beginning of this short story, Neddy is merely having fun, drinking and so on; enjoying the youthful side of him he always admired. Then he has the idea of taking the journey home by swimming in every pool in his neighborhood. Cheever describes Neddy as “a pilgrim, an explorer, a man with a destiny” (1180). That is his “American Dream”, to be an explorer with a destiny to accomplish anything. But throughout the story Neddy races the inevitability of time. At first, while Neddy crosses the first couple of pools, he is warmly greeted by his longtime friends. They drink and have fun, then on to the next pool and drink more and on to the next. Every time Neddy could, he would drink. It is not until Neddy passes through the Hammer’s pool when Ms. Hammer wasn’t sure who Neddy was. This could symbolize Neddy’s social status in his neighborhood depleting. After this, Neddy’s journey becomes more perilous when a storm hits and hinders his journey for a while. Although to Neddy it might seem a couple hours has passed, but to the reader, the weather change could mean weeks have gone by. It is evident that Neddy’s drinking can alter his thinking of how much time has passed. For example, when Neddy comes across the Lindley’s house, he wasn’t sure if they sold their horses or just went away for the summer. “He seemed to remember something about the Lindleys and their horses but the memory was unclear” (Cheever 1182). The fact that Neddy cannot remember something about his friends could only mean that so much time has gone by to the point where his memory draws a blank, but he keeps on pressing forward doubting himself that anything is wrong with him
As Neddy reaches Route 424, he even ponder over why he began this journey. He questions “At what point had this prank, this joke, this piece of horseplay become this serious?” (Cheever 1182). Route 424 is the symbolic bridge that he crosses and can never go back. Towards the end of Neddy’s journey even his mistress wanted nothing to do with him. He cannot remember that last time he saw her. Maybe months has passed by. At the Gilmartin’s and Clydes’ pool Neddy was at his worst. Cheever quoted,
“For the first time in his life, he did not dive but went down the steps into the icy water and swam hobbled side stroke that he might learned as a youth. He staggered with fatigue on his way to the Clydes’ and paddled the length of their pool, stopping again and again with his hand on the curb to rest. He climbed up the ladder and wondered if he had the strength to get home” (1186). At this point Neddy is tired and ready to give up. Once he finally ends his journey and reaches home, he is confused as to why the house is dark. He keeps questioning why nobody was home. Neddy notices that the garage doors were rusted shut and locked with no cars inside. The front door was locked so he tried pounding it down but failed. As Neddy looks through the windows the house was completely empty and abandoned. Ultimately, so much time has passed that Neddy’s life as he knows it is gone. His social status hit rock bottom. His “American Dream” has faded into nothing. Throughout this story, Neddy’s selfish determination of being an explorer and alcohol tendencies cost him his family and friends, and what he thought was his “American Dream” was just his own selfish desires. John Cheever’s The Swimmer is a great story of a man’s journey racing the inevitability of time. One critic has said “Cheever represents this story as a man’s conquest to become a failure after his problems have overpowered him” (Joseph, The Swimmer).
Although the American Dream is described as the luxury life or being rich and happy.
True happiness could only be achieved with a balanced point of view of the world, friends and family, and of oneself. Winter Dreams and The Swimmer both critique the American Dream by pin pointing their characters’ weaknesses. Fitzgerald and Cheever have also, in some way, incorporated their own life into these two short stories. Fitzgerald was a middle-class man and after some hard work he became famous just like his character Dexter Green in Winter Dreams. Cheever faced dealing with the battle of alcoholism very much like his character Neddy Merrill in The Swimmer.
Both Winter Dreams and The Swimmer depict the “American Dream” as something, at first desirable, but if a person is consumed by it, it can take toll on their life. What could be seemed as the perfect life is truly detrimental to a person’s well-being and their
happiness.