Willy Loman, Jay Gatsby, and the Pursuit of the American...

Willy Loman, Jay Gatsby, and the Pursuit of the American Dream Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Miller, author of Death of a Salesman, both tell the stories of men in the costly pursuit of the American dream. As a result of several conflicts, both external and internal, both characters experience an extinction of the one thing that they have set their sights on.... The American Dream. Jay Gatsby, a mysterious, young and very wealthy man, fatally chases an impossible dream. Gatsby attempts to rekindle an old relationship and has confidence in repeating the past. Gatsby claims that he is going to â€Å"fix everything just the way it was before† (Fitzgerald 117). In a a†¦show more content†¦Willy foolishly pursues the wrong dream and constantly lives in an unreal world blinded from reality. Despite his dream Willy constantly attempts to live in an artificial world and claims â€Å"If old Wagner was alive I’d be in charge of New York by now† (Miller 14). As a result, Willy often ignores his troubles and denies any financial trouble when he says â€Å"business is bad, it’s murderous. But not for me of course† (Miller 51). Another false segment of Willy’s dream includes the success of his two sons Happy and Biff. Biff was a high school football star who never cared about academics and now that he needs a job says †Å"screw the business world† (Miller 61). Ironically, Willy suggests that Biff go west an â€Å"be a carpenter, or a cowboy, enjoy yourself!†, an idea that perhaps Willy should have pursued. Constantly advising his boys of the importance of being well liked, Willy fails to stress academics as an important part of life (Miller 40). Furthermore, Willy dies an unexpected death that reveals important causes of the failure to achieve the American dream. At the funeral Linda cries â€Å"I made the last payment on the house today... and there’ll be nobody home† to say that she misses Willy but in essence his death freed the Lomans from debt and the hopes and expectations Willy placed on his family (Miller 139). Very few people attendShow MoreRelatedThe Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1497 Words   |  6 Pages It illustrates how the protagonist Willy stops at nothing to achieve what he believes is the American dream in spite of encountering many costs. Willy is, however, not able to achieve his American dream, because he is very stubborn. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by F. S. Fitzgerald and is also about the pursuit of the American dream. The two novels detail the downfall of their respective protagonists in their quest to achieve the elusive American dream. However, the two novels are also differentRead More Pursuit of the American Dream in Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman1323 Words   |  6 PagesComparing the Pursuit of the American Dream by Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman (Essay outline also included in the word count.) People from all around the world have dreamed of coming to America and building a successful life for themselves. The American Dream is the idea that, through hard work and perseverance, the sky is the limit in terms of financial success and a reliable future. While everyone has a different interpretation of the American Dream, some people use it as an excuse to justifyRead MoreGatsby And Death Of A Salesman Analysis1003 Words   |  5 PagesJay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman are both American men in pursuit of the American Dream which is, to acquire wealth, success, and prestige. 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Scott Fitzgerald And Death Of A Salesman Essay1391 Words   |  6 PagesProminent American writer and historian James Truslow Adams once wrote, â€Å"The American Dream is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. In both The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the main characters search for the achievement of t he American dream in themselves and the world around them. While the American dream is defined differently for theRead MoreDeath of a Salesman Compared to the Great Gatsby Essay613 Words   |  3 PagesThe Great Gatsby In the search for the American dream many things can be lost, this is reflected in the novel The Great Gatsby and the movie Death of a Salesman. Both of these works demonstrate the lengths that some people will go to in order to achieve the stereotypical life of a rich, successful and powerful American, which is often referred to as the American dream. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller illustrates how the character Willy will stop at nothing to achieve the American dream, despiteRead MoreThe Great Gatsby And The Death Of A Salesman1427 Words   |  6 Pages In both The Great Gatsby and The Death of a Salesman, the pursuit of the American Dream is a destructive force that is evident throughout the texts because neither Gatsby nor Willy understand their own limitations. Willy Loman and Gatsby are characters fascinated and easily dominated by the American dream that destroys them. Their dreams come from an illusionary past and that are both based outside of their own selves. Gatsby wanted to rewind to his past, while Willy attempted to create a descentRead MoreFailure Of The American Dream In The Writings Of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston, And August Wilson1418 Words   |  6 PagesThis literary study will define the failure of the †American Dream† in the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Arthur Miller, Zora Neale Hurston, and August Wilson. Fitzgerald’s account of the Jay Gatsby s rise to fame in the 1920s defines the failure of financial success as part of the American Dream. Gatsby will eventually die due t o his excessive greed, which is not unlike the emotional death of Willy Loman as he fails to become a successful salesman in Author Miller’s Death of a Salesman. MoreRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1346 Words   |  6 Pagesinvented standard that we have all come to know as ‘The American Dream’. The pursuit of this ever so highly held ideal not only drives many a character forward, but in some cases over the edge of sanity or even to their untimely deaths. This in a way makes ‘The Dream’ some sort of green eyed monster lurking in the darkest of corners found in the human mind. Making the pursuit of dreams almost as dangerous as say a high speed police pursuit on a crowded highway, the wrong side of a crowded even. ForRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1684 Words   |  7 Pagescharacters of The Great Gatsby, a timeless classic written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, set in a hedonistic summer of 1922 America, and Death of a Sal esman, written by American playwright Arthur Miller set in 1949 America. The characterisation of both Willy and Gatsby illustrate that they have similarities, in a way that are considered destitute, with imperfect ethical conduct. To a certain extent both protagonists have the right intentions; Gatsby wants to grasp at his quest for love, and Willy is fixated on the