|
|
Post by owenleber on Feb 8, 2016 6:40:14 GMT
Fitzgerald's idea of the American dream in The Great Gatsby is very different from the "ideal" American dream. In The Great Gatsby there are two ways two achieve one American dream, and those are to get extremely rich through lineage/family or through illegal activities. The American dream that Fitzgerald displays is one of an extremely rich and lavish life, while I see today's American dream as a different way of living. Today's American dream, to me, consists more of personal goals than one nationwide goal that everybody can relate to. In the popular J Cole song "A Tale of 2 Citiez", Cole describes his American dream in the lines " Since a young' always dreamed of gettin' rich...Fantasize about a white picket fence.". Cole growing up was not in a very well off family, which shows that for many people in modern America their American dream and the ideal one for them is to have nice home, and a nice family in the middle class part of society. This version of the American dream, wanting a nice home, car, and family suits many people who come from a lower class in society. However, in my opinion, people born into higher class families often have bigger dreams and higher expectations for their future selves. This shift from Fitzgerald's view on the American dream from being one of an extremely lavish lifestyle to one that suits the needs and wants of each individual person shows how Fitzgerald's view on the American dreamed has evolved from the 1920's till now.
|
|
bta
New Member
Posts: 11 
|
Post by bta on Feb 8, 2016 11:22:54 GMT
Owen, you bring up some great point on how the American Dream is mostly based off one's perspective. As you mentioned, a person of lower class has a much different vision of wealth and sustainability than that of a higher class. I would say that the class structure in today's society is more skewed towards the upper class since they have to wealth and resources to set them up for success. This may be one of the reasons why the lower class doesn't always have the same vision of the middle or upper class.
|
|
pavansuresh
New Member
I am Pavan the Skeptical Elf.
Posts: 26
|
Post by pavansuresh on Feb 8, 2016 22:18:48 GMT
While it is true that the American Dream is mainly based off of perspective, one must take into account that many people all started out the same way: immigrants from another country, searching for a new life in the United States. If they all started with a common background, surely there must have been some similarity in their purpose, and there likely was. Many immigrant families all came with the intention to work and get up the social ladder (the American Dream back decades ago) and still do. Even though they are from similar backgrounds, their dreams were still slightly different though: a Syrian refugee family might be fleeing war, while an Indian immigrant family might just be fed up with the whole country (and its smell). Perspective does play a role, but background probably plays an even bigger one.
|
|
berniesanderscansuckmyfatcock
Guest
|
Post by berniesanderscansuckmyfatcock on Feb 9, 2016 2:04:22 GMT
@allyouretardswhosupportsocialism, Socialism encourages people to be more lazy. It makes being poor more appealing so people will have less drive and less ambition to succeed. People know the government will catch them when they fall, so they don't bother trying. You can see in nearly if not all of the socialist countries in Europe, the unemployment rate is much higher. Capitalism and social darwinism is a must for all modern economies and people to succeed. It is not meant for everyone to be rich or everyone to succeed. This is impossible. You just have to do what YOU can to make sure YOU succeed.
|
|
