Synthesis Essay: The American Dream

Amy Llamas

Stele

AP English Language & Composition

Due Date

American Dream Synthesis Essay The American Dream is what the majority of American citizens wish to accomplish throughout their lifetime. People imagine that coming to America is a chance for a fresh start and the way to achieve the American Dream is through strenuous work and dedication. The United States is a capitalist country that thrives off of the American Dream since it promotes the rags to riches idea to force people to believe that through endless amounts of work, they can reach to the top. The American people all have different ideals when it comes to the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote The Great Gatsby, used his novel as a way to promote his version of the

According to Source A, Gatsby is in pursuit of the American Dream; however, his dream is the personification of the love of his life, Daisy. This reveals that Gatsby had all the wealth he could ask for and therefore he only dreamed of obtaining the unobtainable. Source A states, “Gatsby fails to win over Daisy, he also fails to achieve his version of the American Dream.” In other words, the portrayal of the American Dream through Jay Gatsby proves that despite putting in all the effort, a vast majority of people do not always achieve their American Dream. Others may claim that Gatsby was the right character to represent the American Dream due to his pessimistic ending and how it represented the life of citizens in America; however, he was a man who committed crimes to obtain his status and only loved the idea of Daisy. Furthermore, The Great Gatsby only showed wealthy, privileged, and white people who were chasing the American

As stated in Source A, Daisy simply has to “maintain her position” of being a housewife instead of fighting for “something better”. Daisy had the opportunity to be with a man who would be faithful to her, but she ultimately instead chose to stay with Tom since she knew that with him, she would not worry about facing any issues. Source A also states that Jordan Baker has a tie connecting to her family's money which also shows her to be a “poor representation of the dream.” This further proves that F. Scott Fitzgerald only portrayed the American Dream through characters who already had it easy and they put in low effort to obtain their status. Others may claim that anyone regardless of status, race or gender can chase the American Dream, and while that is true, people who are white and rich often receive more of an advantage than those who are not which often deems it