Similarities Between A Raisin In The Sun And The Great Gatsby

American Dream Lost
The American Dream is the idea that life should be better, with opportunity for everyone; regardless of age, class, or race, to live a fuller and richer life. In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald there are two very different characters, Walter Younger Junior and James Gatsby, but they are both aiming to reach their American Dream. Walter is aiming for a new life while trying to break the color barrier, and Gatsby is trying to reconnect with his young love. They may seem like two different dreams, but for many reasons they both fail for the same exact reasons. Walter and Gatsby are living lives of pure delusion, and not being able to see the harsh realities of their American Dreams will result in their failure.
James Gatsby on the outside seems to have it all a huge estate, endless wealth, and a mysteriously charismatic charm, but that only cracks the surface of Mr. Gatsby. Gatsby may seem to live a life that anyone would kill for,

They aren't considering their limitations. Both Walter and Gatsby blame their dreams’ failure on another. Walter claims it is the white man, and Gatsby's obstacle is Tom. When really it's their ignorance that hurts them, Gatsby thinks Daisy will come back, and Walter gives a shady friend his money. Ultimately that's their fault. Unlike, Walter though Gatsby made it out of his lower class life, giving him a leg up, but another advantage is his race. Gatsby's biggest problem is living in the past, "He talked a lot about the past, and I gathered that he wanted to recover something, some idea of himself perhaps, that had gone into loving Daisy" (Fitzgerald 110), trying to recover a feeling that was lost. Whereas Walter's biggest problem is living in the future and envisioning his wealth. Both men are completely blind to what is happening right in front of