The Great Gatsby- The American Dream is a Flawed Ideal
The American Dream encompasses the idea that all people have the equal opportunity to achieve prosperity, liberty and happiness through hard work and determination. However, in reality this idea is flawed and unachievable due to lack of equal opportunity and excessive materialism. This is emphasised in both F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby and in Langston Hughes’s poem, ‘Let America be America Again’, which is about the social inequality and injustices that occur in America today.
In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is flawed through excessive materialism and consumerism. Originally, the American Dream included a desire for both spiritual and material improvement, but this dream became corrupted. Fitzgerald shows this through Gatsby, the protagonist of the novel. Gatsby expresses his wealth through all the luxurious and exorbitant material possessions and extravagant parties. Gatsby’s material wealth and lavish parties serve the purpose of temporarily filling the empty void inside Gatsby’s soul. From this we can conclude that the overemphasis on the material aspect of the dream wiped out the original spiritual ideals of dream. This is evident by the metaphor in “I became aware of the old island here that had once flowered for Dutch sailors’ eyes… Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house” which portrays that traditional values have been metaphorically cut down and replaced with excessive materialism.
Correspondingly, in Hughes’ poem, ‘Let America be America Again’. The American Dream is also corrupted through man’s desire to gain material possessions. Hughes’ poem explores the great desire of The American Dream and the lengths that young men would go through to achieve it. The metaphor in “tangled in that ancient, endless chain of profit, power, and gain” depicts the greedy nature of men, who have tangled both their minds and bodies in the pursuit of wealth. As a result, they, like Gatsby have also ignored the
In The Great Gatsby, the American Dream is flawed through excessive materialism and consumerism. Originally, the American Dream included a desire for both spiritual and material improvement, but this dream became corrupted. Fitzgerald shows this through Gatsby, the protagonist of the novel. Gatsby expresses his wealth through all the luxurious and exorbitant material possessions and extravagant parties. Gatsby’s material wealth and lavish parties serve the purpose of temporarily filling the empty void inside Gatsby’s soul. From this we can conclude that the overemphasis on the material aspect of the dream wiped out the original spiritual ideals of dream. This is evident by the metaphor in “I became aware of the old island here that had once flowered for Dutch sailors’ eyes… Its vanished trees, the trees that had made way for Gatsby’s house” which portrays that traditional values have been metaphorically cut down and replaced with excessive materialism.
Correspondingly, in Hughes’ poem, ‘Let America be America Again’. The American Dream is also corrupted through man’s desire to gain material possessions. Hughes’ poem explores the great desire of The American Dream and the lengths that young men would go through to achieve it. The metaphor in “tangled in that ancient, endless chain of profit, power, and gain” depicts the greedy nature of men, who have tangled both their minds and bodies in the pursuit of wealth. As a result, they, like Gatsby have also ignored the