The American Dream In The 1920's
The American Dream
The American Dream has been a concept of American life since the pilgrims came to this country on the Mayflower in 1620. Every one of them hoped to live a grand life, full of wealth and success. Most of the pilgrims did not succeed, and some succumbed to sickness and disease. America was founded on the beliefs that all men are created equal, everyone is entitled to life, liberty, and property, and the due process of law. In 1849, hundreds of thousands of men came to California looking to strike it rich in the gold rush. Most people found nothing, and only a few found a significant amount of money. Thus was born the California Dream of instant success. Historian H.W. Brands noted that in the years after the gold rush, …show more content…
It was important to have a glamorous lifestyle and show it in your daily life. The 1920’s were a time of glamor and carelessness for Americans. Nick Carraway explains what he really thinks of Tom and Daisy Buchanan: “I couldn't forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made […]” (Fitzgerald 136) Everyone dreamed of grand parties and a luxurious lifestyle. Nick Carraway describes one of Gatsby’s parties: “There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor-boats slid the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam” (Fitzgerald 39). In the 1930’s Americans were struggling through the Great Depression and the only dream was to make it through the depression and put food on the table for their families. The 1950’s was when Americans dreamt of all races being equal and to stop violence against the African
The American Dream has been a concept of American life since the pilgrims came to this country on the Mayflower in 1620. Every one of them hoped to live a grand life, full of wealth and success. Most of the pilgrims did not succeed, and some succumbed to sickness and disease. America was founded on the beliefs that all men are created equal, everyone is entitled to life, liberty, and property, and the due process of law. In 1849, hundreds of thousands of men came to California looking to strike it rich in the gold rush. Most people found nothing, and only a few found a significant amount of money. Thus was born the California Dream of instant success. Historian H.W. Brands noted that in the years after the gold rush, …show more content…
It was important to have a glamorous lifestyle and show it in your daily life. The 1920’s were a time of glamor and carelessness for Americans. Nick Carraway explains what he really thinks of Tom and Daisy Buchanan: “I couldn't forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy – they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together and let other people clean up the mess they had made […]” (Fitzgerald 136) Everyone dreamed of grand parties and a luxurious lifestyle. Nick Carraway describes one of Gatsby’s parties: “There was music from my neighbor's house through the summer nights. In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. At high tide in the afternoon I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft, or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his motor-boats slid the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam” (Fitzgerald 39). In the 1930’s Americans were struggling through the Great Depression and the only dream was to make it through the depression and put food on the table for their families. The 1950’s was when Americans dreamt of all races being equal and to stop violence against the African