The American Dream in A Raisin in the Sun and the
Great Gatsby differ; these stories are set in different time periods, which
sway the ideas of the American Dream, and both also contain different
characters with different personalities and struggles. The Great Gatsby takes
place in the 1920s, known as the Jazz Age; the main issue during this time was
prohibition; A Raisin in the Sun’s time period is the 1950s, which has major
racial discrimination problems throughout the country as more African Americans
migrate north. The characters in the Great Gatsby may not have the same
American Dream, they aren’t even in the same social class, as Nick isn’t rich
like Tom and Daisy but isn’t as poor as the Wilsons’. Even though Nick isn’t
rich, he can afford to live next door to Gatsby’s mansion in West Egg. One
character with a prominent “American dream” in the Great Gatsby was Jay Gatsby;
I believe his dream was always to live lavish with wealth. His reasons could
have spanned from him coming from a poor family in North Dakota, or his idea
that money could win back the heart of his first love, Daisy Buchanan.
In
A Raisin in the Sun, the Youngers are a poor African American family that lives
on Chicago’s Southside. The family struggles to make it in their conditions while
trying to send one family member to college. Insurance money from the death of
Mr. Younger has left his children, wife and grandson with opportunity, and also
a dilemma. The son, Walter, has the dream of opening a liquor store as means of
stable income for the family; the rest of the family wants to move into a house
in a better community to provide a better environment for everyone. The wife,
Lena decides to help everyone with their dreams and wishes; she buys a house
for the family, and gives the rest of the money to her son, some for her
daughter’s schooling funds and the rest for his investment in his business.
Both
ideas of the American dream presented in these stories revolve around money, for
future happiness. The methods to reach this happiness
differ, I think because these people come from different backgrounds, are of
different races, and have different financial situations. They are reaching for
the same goal, but the obstacles thrown at them influence the choices they make
and the route taken to accomplish this dream. Gatsby uses his connections to
help him become wealthy, like Mr. Cody; even though he doesn’t inherit Cody’s insurance
money, he knew that he could never go back to living in poverty. The Younger
family benefits from a tragedy, the death of Mr. Younger; was it not for his insurance
money, his family wouldn’t have had any chance to better themselves, because
they were barely making it. Opportunity and influence was the stem of the
flower of the American Dream in both of these books; the differences don’t matter
because these two elements helped the characters achieve what they thought
wouldn’t be obtainable.
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