Compare and Contrast: the American Dream

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The American Dream Everyone has an idealized version of life that they believe to be true. The common thought is that in order to live a worthwhile life everyone should have wealth, love and true happiness. This however is not what actually happens. These are fairy tale thoughts and everyone knows that fairy tales are not true. The American Dream can be achieved in different aspects by different people. Wealth is one ideal that everyone wishes they had and are constantly trying to achieve. Ideally people believe that if they get a job then the wealth will just fall into their lap. This is an unrealistic idea and Gatsby learned that the hard way. Gatsby worked extremely hard to gain his wealth and it all payed off in the end. The idea of finding love is something that everyone looks forward to and tries to accomplish. Starting at a very young age people become attracted to others and it carries on through life. The ideal of love is finding a soul mate and staying with that person for the rest of your life with a loyal and caring marriage. But, as Gatsby found out, love is like being on a battlefield and you have to fight for the person you love. Gatsby was madly in love with Daisy but when he went off to war she moved on. He didn’t necessarily get her back, but she did have an affair with him which lead him to believe he was getting his true love back. True happiness is one idea that can only be defined by each individual. Nobody really knows what true happiness is, but as long as each person is happy with themselves and their situation then they may have true happiness. The ideal form of true happiness is creating a life for the future and reaching set goals. This could be simple things such as getting a job, getting married, buying a home and having a family. Gatsby was unable to gain what he would consider true happiness, because he was not able to get

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