The Illusion of the American Dream

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at the illusion and possible failure of the so called American Dream as portrayed in 'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald, 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur Miller and 'Wall Street ' by Oliver Stone. These literary works bring the fallacy of this American Dream to the attention of it's audience.

From the Paper:

"The American Dream forms a basic part of our cultural mythos in the United States and is evident in a large number of literary works and artistic productions. Sometimes the authors in question unintentionally imbue their writing with overtones of the American Dream. Other times, a piece of literature actively calls attention to the precepts of the American Dream, either holding it up as an ideal or deconstructing the contradictions inherent in that particular ideology. In examining three literary productions (even though one is a film), we see that the American Dream is often interpreted as a fallacy. In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, and Oliver Stone's Wall Street this theme is brought to the forefront of the discussion of American ideological construction."

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