He works long hours at a job he’s not good at and doesn’t truly enjoy, and he expects this kind of life for his sons. As Biff continues to not live up to his expectations, they clash constantly Biff’s failure to live his father’s dream life causes Willy to express constant disappointment in the man he’s become. Willy raised him to grow up sailing through life, believing that he can get by on being well-liked and admired. When this never culminates in the life Biff wanted, he has no idea of the direction he needs to go in. He can never hold down a job and develops a kleptomania habit.
He does not understand the concept of time and is blinded by his desperation and naivety. To those around him, Jay Gatsby is the epitome of the American dream; he is wealthy, successful, and has a name for himself. Yet no one really knows or tries to understand who he really is. Jay Gatsby is a hopeless but hopeful dreamer, lost in deception and stuck in a fantasy that blinds him from living his life in the present and will eventually even lead to his death. Jay Gatsby not only believes he can relive the past but he also believes he can rewrite it.
He is never satisfied with what he has and once he acquires what he wants he moves onto another dream. Such as after he changes his name and starts a new exciting life he dreams of being rich and powerful, then his dream is to win over a lost love and even after he has won over Daisy he still wants more from her which she is incapable of giving. Through Jay Gatsby’s tragic story, Fitzgerald is suggesting that the American Dream is unattainable if rooted in greed. Hickey suggests that he is also implying a warning to not future generations, “The Great Gatsby might be interpreted as a warning not only to Fitzgerald’s generation but to future generations as well. Beware of pursuing that “orgiastic future” with too much fervor; one might well be destroyed by it, just as Gatsby is.” (Hickey
One way in which Linda holds up and encourages her husband is by telling him that things will work out for the better. This is relevant to the American Dream as her hopes for Willy never blossom, just as the American Dream cannot actually be achieved by everyone as it states. Willy’s beliefs of how you become successful in the Business World are entirely wrong. He has the right mindset for the Green World but does not want to accept this; he has to make his own way in the Business World. He believes that qualities such as popularity and loyalty are essential, however Howard throws all of this out the window in bluntly saying: ‘business is
This reveals the tragic side of the American Dream, where it does not bring anticipation, but affliction. In contrary to this, the play also demonstrates the prosperous version of the American Dream, through Willy’s brother, Ben, whose wealth is an example of tangible success.Ben is not alive and is a figment of Willy’s troubled imagination. He gloats and says, ‘Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God, I was rich!’ The material wealth and pervasiveness of capitalism in American society drives Ben into giving up his intention of looking for his father, and instead, flourishing economically. Willy associates Ben with qualities that he himself severely lacks Realtiyvs Illusion Willy has dreams of material success, notoriety and has a misguided notion of the American Dream.
He is frustrated and mad that he can’t provide her with the best. It is a constant struggle for him as man not to be able to have all the things he wants. His mom knows that what Walter plans on doing to accomplish his goal of providing the best, is not the best choice. “Mama: Baby, how you going feel on the inside? Walter: Fine!...Going to feel fine…a man… Mama: You won’t have nothing left then, Walter Lee” (Act 3, Scene 3 pg 438) .
Tim Winton expresses ideas about relationships in a number of ways within the story of Big World; he uses key ideas within the story such as secrets, loyalty, sacrifice and betrayal. Secrets help characterise the narrator in the story and display that although there are sacrifices in relationships, there can also be selfishness. The narrator has secrets that he has never told, and will never tell Biggie, visions of his future that he hopes will one day come true but Biggie is never in the picture. The narrator believes that it is selfish of him, and feels guilty, that is why he never tells him. However it expresses the narrator’s true desire of one day leaving the small town to go to “the big world beyond.
Up until now I have been deceiving myself. My father talked me up so much that I just believed him. But now I’ve changed. Telling my father would make no difference; he was so stuck in this idea of the American Dream even though he’d failed to achieve it. My father always believed the key to success was to be well liked and have a job, I don’t care for these things
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.
These various experiences force Changez to battle with his identity, his previously solid perception of himself is uplifted when he forcibly tries to live the American dream and is rejected. Throughout all these encounters of rejection and confusion Changez’s reluctance towards being used as an American weapon builds, tipping him over the edge back towards his roots. The ambitious Changez is enamoured by the American dream, his what seems to be ideal job and girl within his grasp he is far from reluctant to neglect his values. His “hunger” for success allows Changez to gain “money and status” in the form of a job at Underwood Samson, his willingness to ignore the poor and give to the greedy are far from his upbringing with a “poor boy’s sense of longing”. Seduced by this he is eager to accept the benefits of his job.