Similarities Between Forrest Gump And Jay Gatsby

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When it's come to Forrest Gump and Jay Gatsby they both have different interpretations of the American Dream. Their identities and results of their success embody this. We can see how their character evolves and how their new persona could be what altered their vision and opinion on the American dream. While Forrest Gump’s American dream was more centered around personal values, being happy, and simplicity. Jay Gatsby’s American dream was more centered around social status and wealth. We can see how these both compare and differ from the true American Dream of the concept that everyone has the opportunity to be successful and prosper in a social network and community through perseverance, determination and hard work. While pursuing your own …show more content…

Because of his immense speed he ended up becoming a football star. After this performance when he graduated college he went into the Army where he met his best friend bubba. Bubba always spoke of owning a shrimping company after the war but died in Vietnam. The same day Bubba died, Forrest saved numerous soldiers and was awarded the medal of honor. However Forrest was shot during this incident and had to return to the medical facilities where he started to play ping pong and ended up going to the World Ping Pong championship in China. However after some time he was formally discharged. This is when he honored his promise to Bubba and started a shrimping company which was a success and made him a millionaire. This made him financially taken care of for the rest of his life. However he looks at success as his impact on people, not the amount of money he …show more content…

He compares to Lawrence R. Samuel’s idea of the American Dream when Lawrence states, “The usual answers-financial stability or, more specifically, making enough money to be able to retire(still often one million dollars, despite inflation), the ‘good life’ (usually a nice house in the suburbs with all the consumer trappings), to work for oneself, to have (at least) fifteen minutes of fame, the ‘pursuit of happiness.” Gatsby's identity goes through extreme change while he transforms through the story trying to fit into the wealthy upper class. He initially found success in his pursuit of wealth, however this wealth didn’t always come from the most legal means. He became popular socially with his exclusive parties that drew a crowd from all over the world. But his main goal was to get Daisy Buchanan back who he loved. He thought that the wealthy and luxurious lifestyle was the only thing that would make good enough to accept her love. But his dream is eventually shattered. This corrupt and sick nature led to his downfall. He ended up paying the price for this awful behavior of becoming drunk in his own wealth. He found his success in his wealth but not in love which is what he was pursuing throughout most of the