The boy ran, he ran from the impending stares that burned more holes in his torn coat, his dirt-smudged face, and his working-class family. Almost a century later, another boy ran from bullet shells, the deafening screams of the other kids, and the young men firing the guns. The first boy, Jay Gatsby, would become the notorious entrepreneur in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby. Jay Z, the second boy, is now an acclaimed vocal performer and businessman, who illustrated his journey to success in the documentary, Jay Z: The Rise to Success produced by VYBO. The desire for fame and fortune drove both Jay Z and Gatsby to overcome the economic classes they were born into, yet Gatsby could not forgive his childhood influences, therefore, never being able to progress his aspirations for incredible fame. Through parental guidance, Gatsby and Jay Z formed personal morals, and expectations, that developed each boy to man. Gatsby was pushed by his father to reach “The American Dream”, through rigorous efforts in order to attain some materials that were worth living for. These efforts morphed into a battle between Gatsby and himself, which steadily grew into resentment; “--his imagination never had really accepted them as his parents at all…” (Fitzgerald 98). The denial Gatsby placed on …show more content…
The rigourous mentality for an ideal life left Gatsby with the solitude of competition against his peers, but also the emptiness from a goal that gave no personal worth. The achievements Jay Z reached, contrarily, were then given back to provide hope and trust through his adaptation of success. Through both lives, “The American Dream” can be seen as success, but to truly succeed, one must have the ability to customize the reasons for wanting fame, and that intention will eventually come to be gratitude and progression of the