The American Dream in Literature - Essay Example

o great modern works of the American literature, The Great Gatsby novel and Death of Salesman gives an account of how the personal interpretation and pursuit of the “American Dream” can result into a big failure. This paper will compare and contrast the treatment of the American dream in “The Great Gatsby” and “Death of a Salesman.” The two modern American literatures take different angles in the way they look at the American dream. In this regard, the American dream according to “The Great Gatsby” by Fitzgerald is built upon the belief that becoming wealthy can win an individual acceptance by becoming a powerful America (Fitzgerald 2).

Therefore, in order to attain the stature he is yarning for, he makes every attempt of acquiring wealth using every means. The origin of the American dream can be traced back to early days of the American settlement, in which poor immigrants used to search for opportunities in America. The dream became a reality during the Declaration of Independence where everyone was perceived to be equal and have rights which must be respected (Fitzgerald 12). The rights included the right to life, pursuit of happiness and the right to liberty.

The Great Gatsby gives a clear account of what took place during the 1920s, in which he shows that the values which used to be pursued at this time have changed overtime in which instead of pursuing equality and rights, everyone appears to struggle to amass wealth as much as they can. According to The Great Gatsby the American Dream is a failure since equality has not yet been realized in the world despite being the dream that the forefathers fought for. In addition, Fitzgerald also shows that social discrimination is still rife in the American society.

Fitzgerald demonstrates social discrimination using the two characters, Tom and Wilson during their conversation in Chapter II of the text. From the conversation taking place between Tom and Wilson, one can clearly see that Tom considers