The Truth of The American Dream: Deception A cliche every individual has been told is to never make assumptions about other people. This is especially true when it comes to Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman, but not in the way you would think. Gatsby has been a symbol of the American Dream in the eyes of many, but people only perceive what they are shown. The reality is that bootlegging sourced his wealth. For Gatsby, the American Dream was never that of hard work, but instead an opportunity for illegal activity. To the average American, he was a role model, an emblem of hard work, but Gatsby deceived those who looked up to him. Contrarily, Willy Loman was never one of high social status. Willy’s distorted view of the American Dream served as his token of success. To those on the outside, Willy Loman was a hard-working individual seeking only to provide the best for his family, but truly he was a depressed old man fighting for the unachievable, hoping it would solve his problems. The stock he held in the American Dream were signs of hope that his relationships, financial struggles, and depression would be …show more content…
For many Americans, it consisted of materialism and individualism. Materialism resulted in temporary happiness but ultimately created displeasure in the long run; money could not replace what was devoid of love and kindness. Similar to the way Gatsby’s wealth left him unhappy for years until he received affection from Daisy. The American Dream has evolved over the last 100 years. Nowadays, the focus presents itself on objects rather than individualism. Americans who try to achieve the American Dream have lost sight of what it truly stands for. They are told to work towards it since childhood by parents and grandparents who sought after it yet never succeeded. They never thought to formulate a definition of their own. Does having a certain amount of money truly define the American Dream? In today’s world,