American Dream In The Great Gatsby And Their Eyes Were Watching God

The majority of the American dream has undergone unquestionably many changes, and the American dream’s fundamental meaning has also altered, which is sort of noteworthy, or so they thought. The belief that everyone should, in principle, have an absolutely equal opportunity to attain success and fortune via fairly arduous effort, resolve, and initiative actually is the essence of the American dream, which for the most part is quite significant. This concept may explicitly for the most part be understood in a wide variety of ways, and we can clearly kind of see this in how various characters perceive the American dream. Such as Lyons, Jay Gatsby, Jody Starks, and John Proctor. All of these characters essentially had an American dream, and through

We see this because in “Their Eyes Were Watching God '' it states “he heard all about ‘em makin’ a town all outa colored folks, he knows dats was de place he wanted to be” (Hurston, 80). This really showcases that he wants to be in control and he even ends up being mayor of this town which really shows his hunger for power. Another way that Jody Starks exemplifies his own American dream is his poor treatment of his wife because he wants to be in complete control at all times. We see this when the text states “But Jody was set on it. Her was NOT going to show in the store… She was there in the store for him to look at, not those others” (Hurston, 91). This quote shows that Jody needed to have control over Janie to make himself feel that he has complete control over everything. In the end, Jody Starks was able to achieve parts of his American dream even though it was a terrible dream to have that put him as better than everyone else. Jody Starks however had many problems that he had to face personally and socially like how everyone had a fear of him because of the way he showcased himself as a person along with how his wife resents him for the way he treats her. In the text we see this as it states “There was something about Joe Starks that cowed the town” (Hurston, 82). This shows that socially he was feared.

When he was a young Gatz, he helped Dan Cody, who put his wealth on full display with a big yacht that Gatz admired. To Gatsby, Dan Cody’s possessions “represented all the beauty and glamour in the world” (77). As a result, he had a dream of becoming as wealthy as possible. He changed his name to Jay Gatsby, to distance himself from his past, and began to bootleg alcohol, something that was illegal during the time of Prohibition in the 1920s. This was one of the societal obstacles that he needed to overcome in order to make the money he desired. The money he garnered allowed him to buy a mansion in West Egg, a growing rich area in New York. In addition to money, love also captivated Gatsby, who loved Daisy Buchanan, Nick’s cousin, very much. In fact, the house he bought in West Egg was in a location that allowed him to see Daisy’s house in East Egg across the bay. One day, he asks Nick to bring Daisy to his house so that he could meet her. The date goes well, and Daisy begins to regain her love for Gatsby, but Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s husband, gets in the way and becomes a personal obstacle for Gatsby. One time, while Tom and Gatsby are in the Plaza Hotel, they quarrel over Daisy in which Tom conveys his knowledge of Gatsby by telling Gatsby that he “picked him for a bootlegger” (103) the first time he saw him and was