Gatsby And Death Of A Salesman Analysis - 1003 Words

Jay 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. This quest for money drives modern-day America, but behind our perpetual urge to consume and possess lays a grim motive. It is human awareness of mortality and the subsequent desire to prove we are special and somehow resistant to death that fuels the longing for wealth and possessions. The belief in money and materialism have come to be the primary goal for individuals during this time. Even though we know everyone will eventually die, we strive to attain enough money and objects so that we might be the exception, or at least,†¦show more content†¦Jay Gatsby moves from being the son of shiftless and unsuccessful farm people (Fitzgerald 105) to becoming the owner of a huge West Egg mansion with a marble swimming pool and over forty acres of lawn and garden (Fitzgerald 11), this exemplifies the possibilities offered by the American dream. Gatsby earns his money through illegal means, which places him in the new money category, and as a result he flaunts by throwing extravagant parties and purchasing expensive cars. The main reason Gatsby does these things is to get the attention and win the affection of Daisy, which is the major component of his dream. Old money, on the other hand, has had money for generations, so they do not flaunt their wealth. Old money, people like Tom and Daisy, look down on the newly rich, because they got rich quick, illegally and, because they are threatening the status quo. Death of a Salesman also reflects the dominant ideology, however, in this case the play is written from the point of view of the working class. It is evident that the dominant class influences the main characters in the text, but they are largely ignored in the play. Willy Loman, the protagonist in the play, is a worn out travelling salesman on the point of a breakdown. Willy Loman’s dreams consist and have always consisted entirely of being â€Å"well liked†. Being a salesman is Willy’s idea of the easiest way to becoming well-liked and remembered throughout the entire country. However, when heShow MoreRelatedAmerican Dream Derailed in The Great Gatsby and Death of a Salesman1486 Words   |  6 PagesFitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Miller’s drama, Death of a Salesman, both protagonists, Jay Gatsby and Willy Loman, are convinced that the way to achieve a better life is by living the â€Å"American dream†. However, the dream does not end up successfully for these two characters. In fact, their ideals and hopes of rising to success cause their American dream to take a turn into a nightmare. Although it may seem as if F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is portraying a romantic relationshipRead MoreDeath Of Salesman By F. Scott Fitzgerald1515 Words   |  7 Pagesmiss the future.† In the play Death of Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman is depicted as a man who has failed in life; he spent most of his life reminiscing the past. This affected his life greatly, especially his relationship with his son, Biff Loman. Nevertheless, in the novel, The Great Gatsby by Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the protagonist, Jay Gatsby undergoes a major change in life; he goes from being a poor man to West Egg’s richest man. Gatsby believes that his wealth wouldRead MoreEssay about Great Gatsby862 Words   |  4 PagesFitzgeralds The Great Gatsby / Gatsbys Desire for Daisy exploring why Gatsby had such an obsessive desire for Daisy. The writer purports that Gatsby began by pursuing an ideal, not the real woman. In fact, he could not recognize the type of person she had become since they last saw each other. Gatsby lives in a dream world and Daisy is part of that dream. As the novel progresses, however, Gatsbys feelings change. Bibliography lists Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby : The Role of Nick CarrawayRead MoreFailure Of The American Dream In The Writings Of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston, And August Wilson1418 Words   |  6 PagesScott 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 to 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. More so, Hurston’s depiction of Nanny’s own failures in life by using her granddaughter, Janie, asRead MoreDeath of a Salesman Analysis Essay2107 Words   |  9 Pagesis Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman which describes the tragedy of the average person in America. A number of other writers also draw the inability to capture the American Dream. John Stei nbeck demonstrates in his highly acclaimed novel The Grapes of Wrath how hard economic times can devastate the typical American family and their struggle for the American Dream. Similarly, Scott Fitzgerald exhibits Jay Gatsby’s vain venture to realize the American Dream in The Great Gatsby. All of the authorsRead MoreThe American Nightmare2241 Words   |  9 Pagesfind again† (Fitzgerald 6). In The Great Gatsby, the narrator, Nick Carraway, was describing his neighbor’s goal of marrying a woman named Daisy. Gatsby, however, did not realize the futility of his dream which ended up costing him his life. The Great Gatsby was written by Fitzgerald in 1925 and takes place in the summer of 1922. The belief that anyone could get rich through hard work was still alive at the time and is evident in the novel as both Gatsby and Carraway are â€Å"newly rich† characters.Read MoreCharacters Of Different Literatures All Share The Same Ideal2090 Words   |  9 Pagesd ifferent literatures all share the same ideal. Jay Gatsby, Willy Loman and Holden Caulfield animate in the past and share the different ideas of society. Although Gatsby and Loman fail to achieve the self-realization and ideals of the real world, Caulfield wants to protect children and keep them from seeing the ugliness of the world. The Great Gatsby is told by Nick Carraway, who narrates what he sees when he moves by his cousin Daisy and Gatsby. Gatsby attempts an unachievable goal which is winningRead MoreDeath of a Salesman (Analysis and Personal Reaction)2850 Words   |  12 PagesDeath of Salesman is a a very deep play written by Arthur Miller about a salesman struggling to keep his grip on reality and his family. This play is a memory play, switching from present to past and vice versa whenever Willy, the salesman and father of the family, has a moment of insanity and returns to times gone by. Being memory, it allows for music to announce emotions and characters, and well as exaggerations and/or omissions. As Tom says in Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie: Being aRead MoreF. Scott Fitzgerald s The Great Gatsby2385 Words   |  10 Pagesleading author in America s Jazz age- the twenties. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was born on September 24, 1896 in St. Paul, Minnesota. His father, Edward, was an unsuccessful manufacturer of wicker furniture in St. Paul, and later he became a salesman for Procter Gamble in upstate New York. Meanwhile his mother, Mary, was the daughter of a successful Irish immigrant who was a wholesale grocer (F Scott Fitzgerald Centenary). Fitzgerald had a sister named Annabel who was born in 1901. As a childRead MoreStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 Pagesexaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others. 22. causal analysis writing- seeks to identify and understand the reasons why things are as they are and hence enabling focus of change activity. causal analysis links actions or events along a time line, but it differs from process analysis in that it tells us why something happens, is happening, or will probably happen. Therefore, a causal analysis can serve one or more of four main purposes: to entertain, to inform, to speculate