As an individual you can feel that you deserve success in life as much as you want, but if you are not willing to work for it, you will never achieve it. There are many different opinions on how success in life are viewed. Some are judging success by the number of there bank-account and others think that a person can be poor on money but rich on love. However different statics indicates that a persons economy has a lot to do with “happiness”. For example in the movie, when Chris Gardner faces economical problems and have a hard time earning money.
Our generation is under heavy pressure than our parents or our grand-parents to achieve more in live. Unfortunately, to accomplish and such achievement, we sometime resort to being dishonest. We respect people in society that have done well, and conquered fame. So much pressure, it is not a surprise that people of all ages are dishonest. In our economy, only thing that matter is the result, it is not how we achieve the result but did we make the result at all cost.
The American Dream was a idea give to believe that a human being should pursue being happy, wealthy, and loved which has cause any human being to go in search for this idea. All that is end up being found is the fact of having the illusion of having more material is to be happy than being happy by valuing what you already have. Gatsby would be a great example of not valuing his materials. He had everything he
Izzo 1 Caitlyn Izzo Professor Stevens English 102 4 March 2012 Views of the “American Dream” The “American Dream” is something all of us as Americans aim or hope to achieve everyday of our lives. We all create this ideal life for ourselves in our heads, and while some of us are not willing to work for it, many of us are and hope our hard work and determination pays off in the future. The “American Dream” is a major theme in the famous novel by Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman. Throughout the course of the story, we realize that the main character, Willy Loman has blind faith in what he perceives to be the “American Dream.” To Willy Loman, the “American Dream” is being a well-liked, personally attractive business man whose hard work and success has earned him the material comforts, or the “finer things” in life. Unfortunately, his preoccupation with the superficial qualities of attractiveness and popularity is at odds with a more realistic and rewarding perception of the “American Dream,” and this identifies that hard work without complaints is the key to success.
The American Dream: Fact or Fiction? In 1931, historian James T. Adams wrote a book called The Epic of America, which is also referred to as “The American Dream.” Adams describes how America is a land of dreams in which everyone has an opportunity to achieve what he or she desires according to ability and determination. The question is whether today’s meaning of “The American Dream” truly does give one the life of prosperity that immigrants travel here for, and that citizens expect. Today’s interpretation of “living the dream” is that hardworking citizens are able to take care of and improve their lives. This interpretation of “living the dream,” has begun to fade away, making “The American Dream” unattainable for many.
Sociologists do strive to achieve “comparable results”. However, this is an unfair statement. People often believe that we are in the land of opportunity [which is true], but that is only for some, making situations uncomparale. When “white households will accumulate wealth faster” (Shapiro, 179) the American Dream is not real. Everyone can’t achieve their dreams on hope and effort.
The novel The Great Gatsby demonstrates the wrong idea people in the 1920s had on the American Dream. The original idea of the American Dream is that each individual can get success and happiness through hard work and determination. However, after WW1 this perception has changed and people started viewing the American Dream only as something materialistic, they only striven for financial success and high social status. Fitzgerald portrays this vision of America through the characters in his novel. Firstly, he shows it through Nick.
I think materialism in America plays a huge part in why more people are becoming poor and why some are staying poor. Honestly, if you were to ask people what makes them happy, a lot of their answers would include, "having nice things" Why? Because people judge on what others have and re-evaluate their own lives. In some cases people constantly feel like they don't have enough. Our society no longer cares about what people need, it’s all about WANT, WANT, WANT!
Gatsby is closely related to the American Dream, which is the belief that anyone, regardless of race, class, gender, or nationality, can be successful in America if they just work hard enough. Gatsby comes from a poor background and due to social inequality, he was unable to marry the love of his life, Daisy. This drives Gatsby do anything to move up the social ladder and partake in illegal activities to do so. Although in the end, “The Great Gatsby’s meditation on The American Dream is the idea that people are always reaching towards something greater than themselves that is just out of reach”, regarding Gatsby’s introduction, with him reaching out towards the green light. – (Wulick, 2016)3 In the book, Jay Gatsby, the character, is so unfathomable, so much a conjecture of the novel's narrator, and yet Leonardo DiCaprio makes him understandable and genuine.
My grand pop wanted to be more than a poor, landless tenant farmer, no better off than his ancestors. Americans look to more than the next meal; they look to the future, the long term, a better tomorrow (Hudgins)." Being an American I think this quote accurately describes the majority of American society. Americans are never satisfied with what they have and are always looking for more. However, depending on the context, this issue is similar to a double-edged sword.