The American Dream in Great Gatsby Essay Example 2

The American dream is more than just a dream and it’s very attainable. The American dream means long hours and endless days of you aiming towards the desired objective. Most dreams people are born with Gatsby in the story The Great Gatsby. While other dreams are born through pain , suffering and dark times ; for example the black community, like Joe in Their eyes, were watching God. The process may be hard and long , you may even have doubt or may even be driven mad , but the main key is to keep focus on the dream until it turns itself into reality.

That’s easy to say but hard to do, yet when you face so much pain in life like the immigrants who cross the boarder from a nightmare what else is there to chase but a dream? Many successful people speak about their hardships and hard times , and how the pain they felt from that trauma drove them to success. Like Gatsby other than being born with the idea of being an aristocrat the pain he felt from Daisy drove him mad to where he had no choice but to make his dream of reaching the top for their love sake.

Another example is Joe in Their eyes watching God. Joe was laughed at when he told the town his ambitions, joe was struggling living in an low income environment in other words the “ghetto” , yet he still only kept eyes on his dreams as he walked through a nightmare, and eventually it turned into reality with him opening businesses within the town , and giving the people of the town opportunity’s they’ve only dreamed of. Not only that he became the mayor of the town. Once was laughed at then later their jaws dropped , and all he did was keep focus on the dream knowing it’ll turn into a reality. This happens occasionally in America, people becoming rich or famous after being laughed at and humiliated when they told someone their ambitions . The key to achieving the American dream is to believe in your dream day in and day out no matter what. As shown in the stories , let your pain fuel enough to have an endless gas tank to make your dream and reality.

Not saying that pain is a must to achieve your dreams, yet for those who are strong minded towards their goals it’s a perk. Gatsby didn’t set out his rise towards the top until the heartache he felt from Daisy. Daisy gave birth from a family of aristocrats who’re very wealthy , while Gatsby came from a family of farmers who were very unstable financially, and for that Daisy parents disapproved of them two having a relationship, for he didn’t meet the requirements. Driven mad by love and his desire to reach the top and gain an aristocratic level Gatsby did what he had to do which was bootlegging. Just to turn his dream into a reality. The American dream is very attainable , even though it may not be easy to attain due to the way the economy is structured, yet it’s possible to turn your American dream into a reality as shown in both stories and daily throughout life.

In Their Eyes Were Watching God Hurston quotes “Ships at a distance have every man’s wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on the horizon, never out of sight, never landing until the Watcher turns his eyes away in resignation, his dreams mocked to death by Time. That is the life of men.” Meaning that men's dreams are just that “a dream”, and they keep reaching and aiming for it , yet in reality they’ll never reach it. She highlights how it’s practical for men to dream big and showcase the idea of dreams that are unrealistic. This differed from Gatsby , for Gatsby was a big dreamer and had insurmountable faith. In The Great Gatsby it quotes “

The Carraways are something of a clan, and we have a tradition that we're descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather's brother, who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War, and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on today.” Highlighting how Nick achieved the American Dream through hard work , contrasting to their eyes, were watching God where Hurston talks about how it’s not attainable even though Joe made his dream possible throughout the story. In conclusion the American dream is attainable