The American Dream

***Slight Spoilers if you haven’t finished the book***

I would describe the “American Dream” as a goal people have or new possibilities. The “American Dream”would solidify that someone has reached a sense of achievement. It is something to strive for for both the people living outside of the United States and those living in, ironically enough. It is the aspirations and desires that people wish to accomplish that they couldn’t have if the circumstances were different. For example in the book, Gatsby’s “American Dream” is to have Daisy, solidify their love, and maintain the lavish life that Daisy wants. Gatsby couldn’t have done that years ago, living as James Gatz in rural North Dakota. In order to reach his “American Dream”, he had to change. With the "American Dream" however, people are likely to get greedy. They get a "taste" of what could be and get blind sided by reality-- like Gatsby falling in love with a woman who's married, with her own family, and who has such high standards for her lifestyle, or Nick Carraway falling into a lifestyle that he could never afford because he's excited about the possibilities, and compromising his own character for the sake of that lifestyle. Greed caused by the "American Dream" is a recurring theme in the book and is demonstrated by every character.

Initially, when I hear wealth, I think of it in the monetary sense. However, one can have wealth in a plethora of things--knowledge, life, etc. One can be wealthy in life and be incredibly fortunate, and one can have wealth of knowledge and use that knowledge to do good things. Overall, my definition of wealth is an abundance of something that can have an impact whether positive or negative.  

I think that Americans value wealth as much today, or even more, than when they did in the 1920s. Today’s society is still materialistic and with wealth comes more advancements, more objects for families or individuals, and overall, I think wealth is preferred and what people strive for when they go to college. Today, they go not to get a well rounded- education, but to study a major that will give them a good job and a strong starting salary. I don’t believe that a large amount of American’s actually consider poverty too much. It isn’t something that directly affects them, and so not everyone thinks about it or tries to find ways to decrease poverty rates. When we hear about things that are going around in third world countries, we know that it’s sad and unfortunate, but we don’t do anything to stop it.

Personally, I did consider salary when I decided what my major would be. To be completely honest, I enjoy the more expensive lifestyle and more expensive things. I enjoy shopping, spending money, etc. and I’m very materialistic-- like all of the characters in The Great Gatsby. I have to have to be able to have a good career in order to maintain the lifestyle I wish to have. Therefore, my attitude toward wealth is that it can be good, depending on what you do with it, but too much wealth can be dangerous in the wrong hands. With poverty, I too am like a lot of Americans who understand the severity of poverty but don’t take much action. When I do receive a stable income, I not only want to spend it on the things I like, but to help those who need it more than I do.

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