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Jonathan Quinn

Mrs. Cook

English 11 CP

17 June 2014

Misinterpretations of an Old Practice; the American Dream Essay

America has been known to champion the phrase: The American Dream. The misconception of

this phrase is that ones materials, within a capitalistic society measures ones happiness. Jay Gatsby,

the main character in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, has everything a person can

ever need: money, cars, a mansion, very famous friends and a respectable wardrobe; yet he is very

unhappy and unfulfilled despite these materialistic things and riches. Also in the poem of Richard

Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson, Richard Cory is a prince among his people who is well-liked,

famous, authentically rich, and undoubtedly handsome; however one day he surprisingly takes his own

life without even so much as a subtle hint of his depression. Despite all his riches he is very unhappy

with his life to the point he is willing to take his own life. Willy Loman, in the play Death of a

Salesman by Arthur Miller, believes that money is what provides one with happiness rather than ones

success. Willy has a loving family who are very supportive, have a sufficient amount of money, and

two loving boys; this does not prove to be enough for Willy as he wants more money and materials to

give him the satisfication of completing the American Dream. The original definition of the American

Dream is to have one be fulfilled and happy with ones accomplishments through ones family, job,

and success. This definition has become distorted to now give the illusion that money, not ones

success is the product of the American Dream.

An example of money not permitting happiness is the story of Jay Gatsby in, The Great

Gatsby; he lives an extravagant lifestyle yet is depressed about his life despite the materials. Gatsby
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has everything he could possibly need he has servants, a nice garden, very meaningful friends, and a

huge pantry of food:

At least once a fortnight a corps of caterers [come] down with several

hundred trees of Gatsbys enormous garden. On buffet tables, garnish

with glistening hors doeuvre, spice baked hams crowd against salads

of harlequin designs and pastry, pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold.

In the main hall a bar with a real brass rail [is] so long forgotten that most

of [Gatsbys] female guests [are] too young to know one from another

(Fitzgerald 44).

Evidence from this quote proves that Gatsby does indeed have everything a man can want: he has a

copious amount of trees in the premises of his house, a cabinet with a myriad of food, and wide range

friends. Although Gatsby has all this he is not satisfied with his life, he feels incomplete and rather

depressed with his life; to the surrounding world, Gatsby seems as though he has reached the ultimate

goal of the American Dream. Gatsby has all the necessary requirements fulfilling the modernized

distorted definition: money, cars, wardrobe, a big house, and is a popular person among the hoi polloi

and even the top 1% of the populations rich; yet even though Gatsby has these requirements to fulfill

this definition he still feels unhappy proving that money does not necessarily buy out ones happiness.

In fact Gatsby would rather return to the past where he lacked the riches he currently posses.

Gatsby proves to be unhappy with his life and wishes that he could live in the past. Gatsby

believes things need to be like the past. He believes things had been better in the past, [Gatsby]

[talks] a lot about the past and [Nick] [gathers] that [Gatsby] [wants] to recover something, some idea

of (Gatsby) himself perhaps, that [is] [put] into loving Daisy. [Gatsbys] life [is] [confusing] and
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[disorderly], but if [Gatsby] could once return to a certain starting point and go over it all slowly,

[Gatsby] could find out what that thing [is] (Fitzgerald 117). Gatsby would rather return to the

past where he lacked the riches he currently has today. Gatsby does not feel happy even though he has

money now; he only wants to have the heart of Daisy, the love of his life, to be happy. He personally

has no need for the money. If Gatsby actually does believe in the modern distorted version of the

American Dream than the tables would be turned and he could care less rather he has Daisy or not. If

this were the case and Gatsby indeed does not care about Daisy than he would allow the amount of

money in his possession to allow him to be satisified with his lifes accomplishments, rather than his

actual intentions of being with the love of his life, Daisy. Gatsbys story is similar to that of another

affluent man in Richard Cory a prince-like person.

Richard Cory, in the poem Richard Cory, seems to the rest of the hoi polloi of his town to be

an affluent and charming man in terms of the concrete details of his life, but what they do not see is

partly due to his reticent personality; Richard Cory is a celebrity in his hometown and appears to be

happy and very complete, with the epitome of a lifestyle he has money, charming looks and

personality, is a celebrity, and has a huge mansion. Richard Cory is so envied by his people that they

want to become Richard Cory because of all the extravagant things him posses: And [Richard Cory]

[is] rich-yes, richer than a king- And admirably [learns]every grace. In fine [the people] [think] that

[the people] [are] in [Richard Corys] place, (Robinson 9-12). Richard Cory has all these materialistic

things and the citizens of his city admire him for all that he is. They believe he is the ideal person.

Richard Cory has all that one may ever need: good looks, money, huge house, and popularity and

charm among everyone. Although the common people believe this, Richard Cory is depressed with his

life despite all that he has; which based upon the modern distorted definition of the American Dream,

ideally Richard Cory should fulfill all these necessary requirements and be happy with his life yet this
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is not the case. This shows that money and materialistic things do not measure the happiness of one.

Richard Cory progressively feels worse and worse about his life as time goes on and one day:

Richard Cory, one calm summer night, - [Richard Cory] [goes] home and put[s] a bullet through

his head, (Robinson 15-16). Although to the common people, Richard Cory seems happy, he is

realistically depressed, enough to take his own life. It does not matter to Richard Cory that he has all

these materialistic things and is considered a God among the common people. This proves that even

though Richard Cory fulfills the modern distorted definition, it does not mean that he is happy with his

life; despite all the things Richard Cory has, happiness is not one of them. In the last body paragraph

one will see the way money can cause one to lose track of the American Dream and in turn destroy

ones happiness.

The last example of money corrupting ones pursuit of the American Dream comes from the

story of Willy Loman, in the Death of a Salesman. Originally Willy had succeeded in the American

Dream; yet the idea of money leads to the destruction of this accomplishment and the end of the

Loman familys perfect lifestyle. The more Willy peruses money the more unfullfilled the Loman

family becomes. Willy has a good lifestyle yet he consistently believes he needs more: [Do not] say

those things to [Willy]. Enough to be happy right here right now. Why must everybody conquer the

world? [Willy] [is] like, and [Happy and Biff] love you, and someday- (to Ben :) Why, old man

Wagner [said to] [Willy] the other day that if he keeps it up [he will] be a member of the firm, [right],

Willy? (Miller 65). Linda, Willys wife says it herself that the Loman family has everything they

need to be happy right in front of them. The Loman family has a sufficient amount of money, two

adults with sustainable jobs, two loving children in Happy and Biff, and the promise of a successful

future. The Loman family has all this, but Willy (the man of the house) believes that they need more

alluding to money. Willy periodically flashes back to the past and talks to his brother Ben about what
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Willy needs to do to become even more successful and rich. This shows that money has corrupted the

views of Willy and now he solely believes in money proving a mans success, happiness, and

fulfillment. Willy even goes as far to say that Biff, Willys oldest son would be better off with more

money: that boy-that boy is going to be magnificent! [Ben appears in the light just outside the

kitchen]. (Ben :) Yes, outstanding with [$20,000] behind him, (Miller 106). Ben is a figment of

Willys imagination so given this Ben never actually says this, Willy only believes Biff does because

of how successful Ben is. Willy believes that one is measured by the amount of money in ones wallet

rather than ones happiness. That is why Willy believes that Biff needs the money to be happy even

though in all reality Biff would be just as happy, living happily with his family. This distorted modern

definition has destroyed the lifestyle of Willy and dictated all of his actions so that he only does what

is best to get all the money he needs rather than his actual emotional state and the wellness of the

Loman family. This, similarly like the previous two examples, has shown that even though money is

sufficient it will ruin a person and does not measure ones happiness or emotional state.

The American Dream has become so destructed and distorted by the misconception and

misinterpretation of the general American public. The misinterpretation is that, happiness and success

determines ones happiness rather than ones emotional state and accomplishments. Through the cases

of Jay Gatsby and Richard Cory, each character has proven that money is not happiness and can

corrupt the views and life pursuits of one. These have shown that even though these two human

beings, Gatsby and Richard Cory, have everything that the common people believe to be successful

they are not happy. In the case of Willy Loman he accomplished the dream yet this distorted definition

made him believe he needs more money in order to be happy and fulfilled. Why must money

determines ones success and happiness? It should never because only could one determine whether
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they are happy, no materialistic thing can ever and will never be able to determine this no matter the

amount of money it is worth or the price tag it withholds.

Works Cited

Fitzgerald, F. Scott, and Matthew J. Bruccoli. The Great Gatsby. New York, NY: Scribner,

1996. Print.

Robinson, Edwin A. "Richard Cory." 100 Essential American Poems. By Leslie Pockell.

New York: Thomas Dunne, 2009. N. pag. Print.

Miller, Arthur, and Gerald Clifford Weales. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin,

1996. Print.