American Dreamin'

I am finally back from my freebie hiatus; I know you missed me! Anyway, today we're talking about the elusive American Dream. Most of us have grown up with this idea depicted in sappy human interest stories and plastered on advertisements, but what does the American Dream truly mean? I am going to try to answer that question. Let's go!

The American Dream is rooted in the idea that America is a land in which opportunities are abundant. The American Dream is what causes immigrants to come to our country for a better life. Though it is just an idea, it is a motivator for many people to keep fighting because that dream of financial is possible in America. I think an aspect of it is also the belief that social mobility is easier in America. Whether or not that is statistically true in America, it is an idea spread all over. In The Great Gatsby, this idea of the American Dream was especially prevalent. Even the servants and those living in poverty were striving toward the material wealth that dream was associated with. Gatsby himself tried his whole life to get his American dream. When the party ended, however, Daisy was nowhere to be found. 

My definition of wealth is purely material. Money. When it comes down to it the American dream is based in the desire for more money. Maybe that could be just enough money for you to live comfortably and safely. In the world of Gatsby and the 1920s, this meant extravagant wealth beyond belief. This need for extravagance is, in my opinion, totally unnecessary and an empty goal. We can see this is Gatsby because when he dies all he had with him was all of his material things. His big empty house and no word from Daisy.

Americans' attitudes toward wealth and poverty are very distorted. Most wealthy people don't think about people dealing with poverty. The majority of the people in the middle class don't think about the issue of poverty either. This idea of suppressing poor people is well represented in the novel because we rarely see a poor person recognized. Fitzgerald did this on purpose in order to illustrate the inequity at the time. In my opinion, poor people continue to be silenced in this manner.

My attitude toward wealth and poverty is complicated. I feel like people are way too focused on wealth and material things. Like we observe in Gatsby, this focus may make you successful but it will not necessarily make you happy. On the other hand, poverty is often a taboo subject that should get more attention. As for me, I am not too fixated on money and I hope I never will be. I never want to be ruled by an obsession with money.