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American Dream In The Great Gatsby And The Epic Journey

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The view of the American Dream is different for everyone. The Epic Journey, by James Truslow Adams, views the American Dream as a dream of attaining one’s fullest stature regardless of one’s social status. Similarly, in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book, The Great Gatsby, Gatsby’s American Dream relates to Adam’s dream but limited to materialistic wealth- a dream that seeks for motor cars, higher wages, and to impress the people of high status. Both Adams and Gatsby believe that everyone has an equal chance of achieving their dream. Adams says “The dream is that dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement”. It means no matter what drawbacks one may have in the beginning one can work hard and reach to their fullest potential. In Gatsby situation, he starts out as a young boy helping his father as a farmer. He sees his opportunity to earn money when Dan Cody offers him a job. …show more content…

Daisy never has to sacrifice anything or work hard for her own money because she inherited all her money from her parents. As Adam’s says “It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrust of it.” She does not understand what the American Dream is and how it affects Gatsby. Nick comments, “It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy---they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or in their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they made…”(187). Daisy is an ignorant woman, she destroys Gatsby’s dream and felt no guilt in leaving him. She feels safe as long as she had her money. She uses her money to cover up her wrong doings. Her ignorance and carelessness cause her to not understand the hard work behind the American

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