How Is Whippman Dream Relevant In The Great Gatsby

Braden Pelletier

Ms. Cooney

Junior English F Block

May 1, 2023

Dear School Committee,

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby should not be eliminated from the curriculum because the novel is not dated, and the themes are still relevant today. The overlapping themes are used to guide readers and inform them of the wretchedness of the real world. One article used to back up this relevance in current-day life is Ruth Whippman’s “Why the American Dream Is Making You Unhappy.” Fitzgerald’s novel, as well as Whippman’s article, both show off the corruption of the American Dream. They also tackle the idea that not everything is exactly how it seems, and both writings also highlight the differences between social classes. The final similarity they

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, Jay Gatsby chases the American Dream and materialistic things, but it is not because he wants them. He wants to gain wealth to attempt to win over his old lover. From the outside looking in, people would think that Gatsby has an amazing life, yet he is putting on a show of money to get Daisy to “love” (The Great Gatsby, 90) him and his visible wealth. On the surface, it seems apparent that he pursues money just for himself when in reality his intentions are different than expected. Another way the article shows the difference between the American Dream and reality is instead of showing true meanings and intentions behind actions, the article shows what the byproduct of the American Dream is, not the expectation at face value. The Dream is considered to be a guiding light that will motivate people to be their best selves, but it ends up “internalizing [ing]” the thought that people are “exactly where [they] deserve to be” (article) because they fail to achieve their goal. Even though the American Dream is supposed to be a motivator and leading idea, it ends up destroying one’s life or changing their ideology. The Great Gatsby should not be banned because it shows themes of the truth behind the American Dream and how it is not how it seems. With this new sense of knowledge, students will apply this

The article focuses on the real-world and current-day problems that people from social classes face. This sad but true recognition of social class hierarchies is shown throughout Ruth Whippman’s writing. Research and data collection shows that a “child born poor” in the United States has a higher chance of “remain[ing] poor” (article), more than in any other similar country. The data shows just how trapping the societal advances of social classes are. The disheartening facts found after performing these studies can have similarities drawn to Mr. Fitzgerald’s world-renowned novel. Though The Great Gatsby does not deal with impoverished children staying poor, it does show the probability of having social classes in a society. In the novel, the social classes act as barriers that prevent the departure from one class to another. A perfect example of this attempt to break free from a social class is Myrtle Wilson. She is a poor woman who lives in the Valley of Ashes, a downtrodden area between New York City and the richer areas of Long Island. She attempts to leave her poor life by getting involved in an affair with Tom Buchannon, an affluent man who takes her to the city. When she is in New York City she acts as if his money is hers, and she takes on a new persona. When Myrtle reminisces about when she married her husband,