Natalie Kay

American Studies
Period 1-2
Brown/Knowles
10/29/16
Peoples Experiences Shape The Way The See The American Dream and Many See It As
Unachievable because of this.
In the words of James Truslow, The American Dream is that dream of a land in which
life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to
ability or achievement. Some see it as what all Americans will end up achieving. Others see it
as an unreachable goal. It all depends on the experiences of that certain individual. F. Scott
Fitzgerald wrote the novel, T he Great Gatsby, as a modernistic way to show his opinion of the
American Dream.

The Great Gatsby starts out with the narrator and main character, Nick Carraway,

leaving the West and coming to New York. It is understood he is a very rich man coming from a
very rich family. He visits his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, her husband, Tom Buchanan, and their
friend, Jordan Baker, one night. Tom then insists that Nick come with him to see his Mistress,
Myrtle Wilson, the next day. George Wilson, Myrtle's husband, is a sad, poor man who owns a
decrepit car garage. Tom, Myrtle, and Nick go off to Myrtles other appartment for an evening
party. By the end of the evening everyone is very drunk and Tom breaks Myrtles nose. In the
next few days, Nick receives an invitation to one of his neighbors wild weekend party. His
neighbor is Jay Gatsby. Nick goes and sees Jordan again. Strangely, Nick meets Gatsby at the
party. It is strange because Gatsby never really interacts with his guests. Gatsby and Nick then
become friends. It is learned that Gatsby is in love with Daisy. They met five years ago, but back

then, Gatsby was a poor man. Through Jordan, Gatsby asks if Nick will invite Daisy over for tea
where Gatsby will just so happen to show up. Nick does, but the first hour or so is incredibly
awkward. Nick leaves and when he comes back, however, the two seem to be back where they
left off. Gatsby takes Daisy over to his mansion and after a tour, he invites her to one of his
parties. It is then discovered that Gatsby was originally James Gatz, the son of two poor farmers.
He was poor until he couldnt be with Daisy and met Dan Cody, who taught him how to be rich.
Daisy and Tom go to one of Gatsbys parties. A little while later, Daisy invites Nick, Jordan, and
Gatsby for dinner once again. They all end up going to the city in two cars. Tom, Nick, and
Jordan need to stop for gas where they talk to a distraught George. He has found out Myrtle is
cheating on him and locked her in her room. He does not know with whom she is cheating. The
five get downtown and decide get a hotel room. Gatsby and Tom start to fight over Daisy. Tom
claims that Gatsby made his money bootlegging and that he is unfit to take his wife. Gatsby says
that Daisy never loved Tom, she always loved him. This continues until a frazzled Daisy along
with Gatsby leave the room and drive back. Myrtle has escaped her room and runs into the
middle of the road. Gatsby and Daisy are driving Toms car. The two cant avoid her and end up
running over and killing her. The remaining three come down the road a few minutes later where
Toms sees Myrtle dead. Back at Daisy and Toms place, it is learned from Gatsby that Daisy was
driving when they hit Myrtle. There is high tension for the remainder of the night, as no one else
knew who it was that hit Myrtle. It is suspected that Tom had talked to George, telling him that
Gatsby killed Myrtle. George then goes to Gatsbys mansion where he shoots Gatsby and,
presumably, himself. Nick tries to arrange the funeral, but no one will come. No one knew

Gatsby except Nick. Only Gatsbys father and Nick attend. Nick later leaves New York and goes
back West as he tries to forget what has happened.
F. Scott Fitzgerald seems to have a rather pessimistic view of the American Dream. This
can be seen through two of his characters, Myrtle Wilson and Jay Gatsby. Myrtle married
George Wilson, who she thought was a rich man at the time. She discovered he wasnt so rich
after all when He borrowed somebodys best suit to get married in and never told me about it
[...], (Fitzgerald 39). Her American Dream was to marry a rich man. She wanted to be well
taken care of and spoiled. Tom gave her exactly that. He spoiled her and was very rich from a
very rich family. In a way, Tom was a representation of her dream. It is thought that she may get
to live her dream until she is killed accidentally by Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby, on the other hand,
had the American dream of becoming very rich and getting Daisy back. Gatsby, ever since he
lost Daisy, started to have the motivation to become the man her parents thought he wasnt, rich
and high-class. He collects this fortune through a number of business deals, presumably
bootlegging. Jordan tells Nick that Gatsby bought the house so that Daisy would be right
across the bay (80). He gets so close to his dream, as he became very rich and got to be with
Daisy again. It is almost certain he will be able to take her away and live his dream, until he and
Daisy hit Myrtle and kill her. He is framed as the person who Myrtle cheated with, and is shot by
George Wilson. Gatsby and Myrtle had similar American Dreams. They both wanted to become
rich and either get taken care of, or be able to take care of someone. They both werent happy
with their love lives. Myrtle wanted to get out of her marriage, and Gatsby wants to get into a
marriage with Daisy. Fitzgerald seems to have a pessimistic view of the American Dream, as
both Gatsby and Myrtle are killed right before they accomplish their dreams.

Peoples experiences are a big factor in how they see the American Dream. Isabel
Belarsky came to America in 1930 with her mother and father. They were coming from Russia,
or then, the Soviet Union. Stalin was just coming into power and was beginning to persecute the
Jewish population. They had heard the stories of an American paradise and the streets that were
paved with gold. Everybody spoke of the golden land, Belarksy said, (Ariosto). When she
came to America though, she learned that those statements werent entirely true. The immigrants
had to live in tenement houses, poor slums with unsanitary conditions. The [i]mmigrants also
commonly faced unsanitary and unsafe work conditions on docks and in factories as America's
need for industrial labor grew. (Ariosto). Belarsky had the American Dream of coming to a
better place in America, but it was not everything she had hoped for. Because of her experiences,
her interpretation of the American Dream revolved more around surviving day by day, rather
than the rich prosperity it promised.
The Narrators experiences from the modernist piece of writing, The Yellow Wallpaper,
shaped her view of the American Dream as well. She was constantly dismissed by her doctor
husband who insisted her depression and mental disorders were nothing and she was just needed
isolated rest. [...] he [did] not believe [she] was sick! (Gilman 1). Her husband moved the
both of them out to an isolated house in the countryside for the summer. She is kept in an
upstairs room with yellow wallpaper. She hates the wallpaper and it starts to drive her insane.
Her disorders get worse and worse until [she] got out at last,[...]in spite of you and Jane
(Gilman 9). The narrator, on her last day, tears down the wallpaper and frees herself and
woman who was behind the wallpaper. Her life was not rich nor full. It was riddled with fear

and anxiety. The Narrators perspective of the American Dream is that it is not something that is
achievable for everyone, only for the healthy, already rich, men.
Mrs. Mallard is the main character from the short story, The Story of an Hour. She is
supposedly happily married to her husband. She had been having heart troubles, and when her
husband had allegedly died in a railroad accident, no one wanted to tell her. She was initially
shocked and upset about the news of her husband's demise, but soon became happy with the
thought. She thinks [w]hat could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession
of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! (Chopin
2). She realizes she is now free, until her husband walks through the door, still alive. She dies of
a heart attack seeing him again. Mrs. Mallards experiences would make her think that the
American Dream is not very truthful at all. Not everyone had the opportunity to be free and make
their own decisions. She certainly didnt. Mrs. Mallard did indeed love her husband, she had
never experienced real freedom. Before she had the chance to though, she died.
All of the stories and experiences discussed gave the impression that the American
Dream is not very achievable. Isabel Belarsky still struggled to survive as an American
immigrant, though she had been promised streets paved with gold and unlimited achievement.
The Narrator was deemed hysterical and isolated from everything, and Mrs. Mallard never
experienced the real freedom of being her own woman. Jay Gatsby and Myrtle Wilson both died
before accomplishing their American Dream as well in F. Scott Fitzgeralds, The Great Gatsby.
All of these examples show low rate at which the American is achieved for the average or below
average American.

The values shown in The Great Gatsby and in the early-mid 1900s are still valued today.
One prominent value wanting to protect the country. All of the young men were eager to go to
war and serve their country. Everyone thought it would be a short war and no one knew how
horrific it would be. Although, even after people knew how terrible it was, they still went to fight
for their country (Shell Shock 1914-1919). Equality was also valued in the 1900s. The womens
suffrage movement is a good example of this. The movement was created to finally let women
have an equal place in government and in society. Women won the right to vote and began to be
treated more as equals. (Iron Jawed Angels). Freedom was highly valued in the 1900s as well.
When America got into World War 1, it was partly to protect our investments in our European
allies, but it was also because, as Woodrow Wilson stated, right is more precious than peace.
The womens rights movement also promoted freedom for everyone in America (World War 1
notes).
The values that were important in the 1900s are still valued today. People still have the
desire to protect their country. The military is still going strong and there are many people who
enlist. Women are still fighting for equal pay and equal rights. All ethnic groups are also still
fighting to be treated equally, and equality still has a high value in our society today. Freedom is
also still valued quite highly, as people have the right to chose if they want an abortion, who they
marry, and who will become the next president. In an article published by the Denver Post in
2016, it talks about how women got the chance to serve in combat roles in the military. The
article states that Equality is coming to the armed forces - finally, (Denver Post). This is
evidence that the desire to protect our country, equality, and freedom to have equal opportunities

are all still valued even today. Although, it has taken until now to really have more equal rights
and freedom for women and some other minority groups.
There were many events in the 1900s that helped to shape the American Dream. The
Progressive movement, for one example, embodied the American Dream. The movement was
dedicated to making life better for all American Citizens. It drew attention to the living
conditions of the poor and how awful the slums were. It brought about the public sanitation
committee, and it even made it easier to catch criminals by creating the first mugshot gallery.
Unfortunately, there were still people living in the slums, still a lot crime, and still many diseases
running rampant (Progressive Powerpoint). Womens Suffrage also tried to make it easier for
Americans to accomplish the American Dream. It let women take part in the government they
abided under and it gave them the chance be seen as equals to men. It made life better for women
and created more opportunities for them. The right to vote was a crucial part in them being
treated equally (Womens Suffrage Notes). Sadly, women still were not seen as equals to men
and still are not given totally equal opportunities.
World War 1 is an event that lessened the the ability for Americans to accomplish their
American Dream. It started the draft, a mandatory sign-up for men over 18 to join the war. The
Espionage and Sedition acts stated that any statements during a time of war that are willfully
disloyal, criticizing, profane, or abusive towards the U.S. government, Military, Flag, or Military
uniforms, will be punishable by law including a fine up to 10,000 dollars, up to 20 years in
prison, or both. This restricts some of the freedoms put in place by the first amendment. World
War 1 made it harder to accomplish the American dream, by putting in place restriction at home,
and sending men off to war to die (World War 1 notes). Prohibition is also another event that

effect the ability for the American Dream to be accomplished. It was put in place to keep
drunkards for beating up their wives and children. The idea was to make life better for everyone,
but it didnt work out that way. Instead, it promoted increased crime and a decrease in the
economy from the lack of taxes from the alcohol industry. People illegally sold alcohol,
bootlegging, and this created more gangs and gang wars than ever (Prohibition Notes). It turned
out that Prohibition actually decreased most Americans ability to accomplish the American
Dream.
The American Dream has certainly changed over time and it will continue to change in
the future. The dream was once the coveted thing and was truly what many Americans and
American immigrants worked for. Now it seems to be seen as something of the past. Not many
people who are currently living in America really get up in the morning and think about
achieving the American Dream. The American Dream, it seems, will continue to become this
far-fetched idea that once gave people a fake view of America. There are, certainly, more
opportunities here than those in other countries, but that doesnt mean the American Dream is a
reachable goal. In the early to mid 1900s it was only really achievable by the rich, high class
society. Even then, it was not something that had a high success rate, as seen in The Great
Gatsby. Immigrants and those who really believed in the American Dream did not often
accomplish it. Today, the American Dream has faded from normal society some, and is still not
something that everyone will be able to achieve. The rich and famous live these wonderful lives,
but the average American often doesnt simply work towards something and get it. There more
than likely has to be some monetary incentive behind it. Looking into the future, it seems that the
American Dream will fade even more from average society. It will be seen as a dream set long

ago and not a realistic or accomplishable thing. The American Dream is a nice thing to think
about, everyone getting fair and equal opportunities for happiness and wealth, but realistically, it
wont happen.

Works Cited
Ariosto, David. "As Lady Liberty Turns 125, Immigrant Recalls Passage." CNN. Cable News
Network, 28 Oct. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2016.
Fitzgerald, F. Scott. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1925. Print.
Iron Jawed Angels. Dir. Katja Von Garnier. Perf. Hilary Swank and Frances O'Connor. HBO,
2004. DVD.
Newsroom@denverpost.com, By The Denver Post |. "Equal Rights in Military, Finally." The
Denver Post. N.p., 30 Apr. 2016. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.