The Concept of the American Dream

Running head: INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN DREAM
INTERPRETATION OF AMERICAN DREAM
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Author Note

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The American Dream is one of the most coveted aspirations that are held by the residents
of the country where the reference is towards the national ethos as maintained by the residents of
the United States of America. The concept of the American Dream emphasizes that the residents
of the country make attempts to maintain a proper set of ideals and aspire to attain a proper
freedom of providing the youth of the country with the required amount of success and the
prosperity as well as the improvement of the social status that is gained by the concerned
individual. One of the major national documents that support the American Dream is the
Declaration of Independence belonging to the United States of America. The Declaration of
Independence establishes the fact that all the residents of the country tend to follow the standard
of equality. The following paper attempts a discussion on the representation of the American
Dream as have been presented within the novel The Great Gatsby and the documentary, Park
Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream. The attempt of the discussion would also
include the lens of race and the class in its dealing.
The Great Gatsby is one of the celebrated novels that had been penned down by the
famous American author, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald. The novelist through this novel
emphasizes how the concept of ‘American Dream’ experienced a metaphorical death. The novel
dismantles the overarching view of the American Society where the popular belief that allows
one to overcome their earlier stage of pathos with their hard work. As such, the attributes of the
hard work erase out the factors creating disparity among the individuals. However, the novel
breaks the myth by its dealing of the factors of the discrimination like the ones of cast, class and
economic background. The novel states the fact that the United States of America presents to the
residents the opportunity to have a better position within the society on the basis of the merit that
they demonstrate. Therefore, the novel further emphasizes on the issues that are related to the

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changes in the financial status of the protagonist. This is revealed through “Anything can happen
now that we’ve slid over this bridge,’ I thought; ‘anything at all...’ Even Gatsby could happen,
without any particular wonder.” By the placing the novel in the context of 1920, it was merely
impossible for the novelist to present in front of the reader a positive view regarding the
American Dream, which is otherwise flowery.
The barrier of the cast and class in the course of the novel has been experienced through the
character of Daisy who has been perceived by Gatsby as the personification of the American
Dream. Conditions of economic disparity along with the factors of the wealth and class, which
was rendered in excessive prominence after the first world war has prevented a certain section of
the society from achieving their desired and social and economic class. The dreams of the
characters of the novel shatters under the tragic circumstances that moves on to shatter the
pessimistic view concerned with the American dream in General. The barrier of the class and
societal background can also be understood through the character of Myrtle who was looking
forward to improve their economic condition through her relationship with Tom. Similllary the
cast and the societal based differences that Gatsby nurtured between him and Daisy prevented
him from achieving what he had desired. As such, the novel in its conclusion sheds light on the
death of the American Dream as was maintained by the residents of the country in the early
twentieth century. The metaphorical death can therefore be noted in “We drew in deep
breaths...as we walked back...through the cold vestibules, unutterably aware of our identity with
this country for one strange hour, before we melted indistinguishably into it again”.
On the other hand, the movie, Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream,
sheds further light on the huge gap between the affluent and the non-affluent classes of the
society. The director and filmmaker, Alex Gibney has successfully portrayed the difference that