American Dream Meaning

During the 1920’s America was going through a phase where everything seemed glamorous. This phase was often referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring 20’s, similar to the Gilded Age during the 1800’s. It was a time of innovation and money. Everyone had his or her heart set on getting money, buying fancy clothes, and achieving what was known as the American dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby demonstrates the American dream and the idea of self-improvement. In order to understand this concept, one should understand the meaning of the American dream, the types of dreams that have been developed, and how Jay Gatsby can stand as the symbol for the American dream alone. According to some, the American dream is the idea that anyone can

Benjamin Franklin and Ralph Waldo Emerson represented two different types of dreams: the Franklinian dream and the Emersonian dream. Comparing the concept of the two dreams can show how the inner meanings of them are different. The foremost Franklinian virtue is self-reliance, a reliance on one’s self as an accumulator of wealth (Barbour 68-69). It is all about the materialistic items. It is a dream that is ignorant to the real meaning of success and is blind to any morals or values. To a person with this particular dream, the most important thing is the money he earns from working. If not by working, then he will achieve wealth by any means necessary, whether that means dealing drugs or inheriting it from family like Gatsby. The Emersonian dream is the complete opposite. It is basically an idealistic dream and its most important virtue is also self-reliance. A person with this type of dream is thought of as more appreciative and does not take things for granted. This person like to share his wealth and not keep it all for himself. He does not want anyone to go without. But the difference between the self-reliance here and in the Franklinian dream is this self-reliance is built on trust and the relationship one has with God (Barbour 69). But just because it is built on trust, it does not mean that money is not a big part of it. This dream also has the tendency to rely on wealth but not in the same way that the Franklinian dream. Instead, the wealth gained here brings happiness because one knows that it was possible through hard work. The Franklinian and Emersonian dreams are very different, but they come together to form the novel’s most important character: Jay Gatsby. When Gatsby’s father shows Nick a copy of the book Hopalong Cassidy, he sees that Gatsby has written his schedule on the back of the cover. According to Barbour, this schedule associates his youthful dreams to the Franklinian dream. Gatsby soon begins to