In both The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman the central characters Gatsby and Willy Loman respectively chose to walk a path of wealth and popularity at the same time searching for the one something that made them happy in the past. In Gatsby’s case it was Daisy for Willy’s it was the success he used to have as a salesman, a clear definition of the Distorted American Dream. Both characters were caught up in the illusion of the American dream, fervently believing that they could and should achieve there version of the American dream. Nevertheless after a lifetime of having relied on personality to get by, the men found themselves terribly alone, even in death. In the end realizing their greatest flaw was seeking refuge in the American dream which was the cause of their downfall.
Achieving it is impossible, but without it, life will lose its purpose. The birth of the American Dream in a person’s mind leads to the rising importance of material wealth in his or her mind. According to author Laura Vanderkam, “If money can’t buy happiness, perhaps we aren’t spending it right”(Vanderkam 1). Rather than money being “evil or soulless” or a point of comparison, she suggests we see it as a tool for bringing people joy. The emergence of the desire for the happiness and love of the Gatsby’s American Dream occurs when he meets Dan Cody, an enormously wealthy old man.
Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby had a dream of his own, one that was the perfect example of the American Dream. The idea in this novel was that anyone could attain a higher class in society if they work hard and put in the effort. Gatsby managed to go from rags to riches, rising from the poor boy with nothing to the class of the rich and famous. He went from having very little to owning one of the largest houses and throwing huge parties and befriending some of the most famous people around.
He tries to win over Daisy’s heart by repeating what they did in the past because he thought that’s when everything was perfect. Gatsby is too hard headed to realize that Daisy is a different person now and the circumstances are completely different. What Gatsby didn’t realize was that it was never destined for him to win over Daisy because then the pain and misery he suffered from losing her before would last much longer this time around. Jay Gatsby fails at achieving the American Dream because his mind set of trying to achieve love by repeating past actions is the reason he doesn’t win over Daisy. Gatsby’s dream is to be with Daisy, he uses his wealth, the wealth that he never has when he first met Daisy.
They consider her a burden, but have found a use for her, marry her off to the Mr Hathaway so they could keep him as a business partner. Alice Kingsleigh, on the other hand comes from a wealthy family. She is nineteen years old and the expectation of the society in which she lives expects her to get married, an unwanted marriage. Emily Grierson is the final heroine. She is much like Alice in the sense that she comes from a wealthy family, but there is one key difference from the other two heroines, her father does not want her to get married.
No one understands these odd actions, but what he really is doing is checking if Daisy happens to be there, because she is all he cares about. It is obvious that Daisy motivates Gatsby’s actions when Jordan explains “Gatsby bought that house so Daisy would be just across the bay” (Fitzgerald 78). Gatsby’s intensions of buying his mansion were, again, in order to impress Daisy. Gatsby’s desire for wealth includes having Daisy, which is why he does all of these actions to impress her and to gain her back, because once he has Daisy he will be happy. Gatsby is under the impression that if he and Daisy are reunited, that she will automatically fall in love with him and everything will be how he wanted it.
Linda Loman Perhaps it isn’t the blustery, senile salesman Willy Loman who experiences tragedy. Instead, maybe the real tragedy befalls his wife, Linda Loman. Linda Loman’s life, is dreary because she always hopes that things will work out for the better – yet those hopes never blossom. They always wither. Her one major decision takes place before the action of the play.
Then there is Myrtle who also comes from the low-middle class but her desperation to be rich is so big, she ends up having an affair with Tom. Myrtle seems to distance herself from her morals and values and cheats on her husband for her to be able to have the lifestyle that she wants, if only for a little while. But what she doesn’t realize is that she will never be accepted into the circle of people with money. Tom is only using her to feel powerful and admired by a woman, who is desperate to have him and what he has, which makes him feel better about himself, but that’s something she will never notice, but instead she tries to act
He worked with them in order to reunite with Daisy, and up until that point his plan was flawless. Since Gatsby was new money he needed to plan out what he would do after his first reunion with Daisy, but this is where he faults. Gatsby assumed that they would fall madly in love with again and never have another moment apart. The fact that Daisy had another life with Tom upset Gatsby to a great extent.
Man’s one desire is to be the best that he can religiously, and in order to do that, to achieve this American Dream, man had to leave England for America. As America was more accepting of the new religious freedom everyone desired. In the 1920s Fitzgerald shows that the American Dream has different meanings to different characters in The Great Gatsby. In the novel, Daisy Buchanan believes that material success is the key to the American dream. In order to be successful in life, and to be achieve overall happiness, then one must have a grand house, fancy clothes, and other such material goods.