The Great Gatsby Social Commentary Analysis

The literary function of Social Commentary
Current Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris, says that “The American Dream belongs to all of us.” How ironic is that because a big portion of “all of us” are not able to achieve that American Dream. The definition of the American Dream is this, “the ideal that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative.” Every United States citizen did not have an equal opportunity to achieve their own version of success no matter how hard they tried. One person’s dream may be someone else’s life and that person’s dream may be even more than what they already have. Nothing is enough for a lot of Americans or just people

The Great Gatsby takes place during the roaring twenties and The Grapes of Wrath takes place during the Great Depression in the thirties, but they both are chasing what they want. Being in different time periods does not change the American Dream, but situations do. Gatsby is a rich man and the Joads are a poor family, but they both still have a dream. Gatsby’s dream is chasing the love of his life who he does not know she does not love him back anymore. The Joad’s are chasing after a life to have money, be successful and to be able to support their family. Gatsby is not happy with his life unless he has Daisy. He can have all the riches he wants. He can throw all the parties he wants, but he will not be happy until he has Daisy. Both Gatsby and the Joads chase after their dreams with obstacles to overcome. Gatsby’s big obstacle is to actually have Daisy over because his parties were not working. He was able to do that after asking Nick to invite her over for tea. But after that more obstacles came of course. She was still married to Tom, but even she did not know he was having an affair with Myrtle. The Joads first biggest obstacle was the Dust Bowl, and getting to west to California. There were so many hardships they faced to get there. Grandma and grandpa died and Rose of Sharon is pregnant so they have to be careful. They go through more than what Gatsby has to go through to achieve the dream. He

The Great Gatsby shows how chasing after a woman, or a dream, through whatever means can just fall apart. It does not always go the way you want. Sometimes you have to accept the fact you cannot have everything and Gatsby had to learn that the hard way. He was selfish and he wanted everything. The Joads were selfless and helped anyone that needed it. Issues like poverty and the horrid camps they visited showed what many families had to go through during the Great Depression. There were so many problems they had to face, but a lot of them stuck through it all no matter what. Chasing these dreams, the American Dream, and going through what society has planned for the people is not an easy game to play. Society has these people set up to fail. Gatsby failed to get Daisy, the Joads failed to become successful. These two stories about chasing the American Dream shows how chasing it in this society is hard work. There is no more they can do than what they have already. They