Writing and Comprehensive Editing of Academic Paper

The notion of the ‘American Dream’ is a central myth in American narratives. It is the belief that anyone, regardless of class or social status, can achieve success due to the possibility of social mobility which is central to American politics. This can be achieved through hard work and self-sacrifice. The phrase was coined by James Truslow Adams in his 1931 novel Epic of America; where he described America as a dreamland in which there are equal opportunities for everyone. Unfortunately, the reality of this dream has fallen short for as long as the idea has existed. A land which has been founded on the subjugation of Native Americans, was built on slavery, and originally reserved the right to vote for white male landowners in itself undermines the very foundation of this dream. Two novels which tackle the growing disillusionment and self-destruction that this ideology fosters are The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.

While it is not commonly acknowledged as a narrative about the American Dream, The Bell Jar’s main character, Esther Greenwood, faces an identity crisis due to the contradictory messages she receives from the media, as well as the cultural realities she must face. Esther’s mental problems emerge when she realises that there is no room for her to flourish and develop as a writer, as a result of the female’s role in the myth of the American dream. Although the book was not published until 1963, it is semi-autobiographical and likely parallels Plath’s own breakdown and subsequent hospitalisation in 1953. Although women had been in the workforce for a significant amount of time at this point, following the Great Depression and World War II, however, the role of the women was still centralised around her ability to bear children and maintain the household. In the American Dream, the woman’s role was to go to university for a few years, perhaps work for a few years, before settling down with a husband and devoting her life to having children and supporting her husband by keeping the house in shape. By 1960, sixty percent of female college students dropped out before finishing their degree, women would devote their lives to marriage and motherhood and leave the top jobs for men. A woman with a career was considered to be a threat to the established social order.

In The Bell Jar, Esther’s aspiration is to be a writer, however she is burdened by a constant sense of inadequacy; she feels that she will never be allowed to reach her full potential. Betty Friedan describes this as ‘the problem that has no name’ in her book The Feminine Mystique. Friedan is famous for being one of the instigators for the second wave of feminism. In her novel, she argues that many women feel a sense of dissatisfaction and frustration, and yet they cannot name the reason why. Part of the reason for this is that women marry too young, before reaching their full potential, according to Friedan. They trade in their degrees for an education in how to help their husbands succeed. Esther constantly flirts with the idea of living the conventional life of an American woman and settling down with someone like Buddy Willard, but then claims not to want marriage or children. A part of her problem is that the two paths she sees before her are incapable of merging. She could either settle down and have children, or defy all social norms and shun marriage entirely; she sees no middle ground because there is not one available to her. According to Friedan, this issue arises when women do not have role models that they can look to for guidance. All the information they take in, from media, educational systems, and even their own mothers, are telling them that they need to build a family in order to be happy. Advertising campaigns where perhaps the biggest contributor to this. Everywhere a woman looked she would be bombarded by ads telling her that if she bought something like ‘ovaltine’ she would be happy because her family would be happy. The idea of being able to purchase happiness is a large part of the consumerist mindset which leads to a sense of emptiness and depression when the next big purchase does not lead to one’s happiness.

The inconsistencies in the dogma of the American Dream truly come to light when it is made evident that in order for some to achieve success, others must give up their dreams. A woman is expected to give up her dreams in order to support those of her husband. This is highlighted when Buddy Willard tells Esther that once she has children she will not feel any desire to write anymore because her life’s purpose will be fulfilled. This leads Esther to believe that having children would be ‘like being brainwashed, and afterward you went about numb as a slave in some private, totalitarian state’. In this society it is evident that childbearing has become a tool for female oppression, a way to trap the woman into her role as mother. Through childbirth, a woman’s equal status to a man is ignored and her inferiority is emphasized. In the 1950s it was believed that a woman is reborn through childbirth, and so any woman who does not want children is mentally deranged. When Esther witnesses a childbirth with Buddy, she realises the ugliness and pain of the process, and Will remarks that women should not be allowed to view it or else they would never want children. The idea of a woman not wanting children is thus made to seem like an abhorrent outcome. It is also noted that the woman would not remember the process of childbirth due to the painkillers she was given, which leads Esther to believe that this was a male conspiracy to make the woman jump straight back into another pregnancy because she does not remember how bad the birthing was. It is worth nothing that when Esther is hospitalised, her roommate bears the same name as the woman she witnessed giving birth. This shows that Esther believes childbirth will lead to a mental breakdown, not because of the pain but because of the loss of identity a woman experiences when she is no longer her own person, but confined to her role as mother. Esther’s options are laid out in the metaphor of the fig tree, where every fig is ripe with the possibilities of Esther’s future. She could choose adventure, an editorial career, or many other possibilities; however everything around her is telling her that if she does not choose the one fig that leads to motherhood she will not be happy.

Whereas Sylvia Plath’s character suffers as a result of the structures put into place by the American Dream, F. Scott Fitzgerald openly criticizes it. In The Great Gatsby the cultural pursuit of material wealth is openly ridiculed. Jay Gatsby’s death serves as a metaphoric death of the American Dream; showing the disillusionment and pessimism that a large number of Americans where feeling at the time. Although the phrase ‘American Dream’ had not yet been coined at the time of The Great Gatsby’s publication in 1925, many Americans had started to realise that marketing and consumerism where teaching them what to want. The American Dream of universal education was leading to an undesirable outcome; many people where emerging from universities with degrees only to find that there weren’t enough white-collar jobs to go around. Americans were being promised good jobs and salaries in return for working hard during university, and they were finding that this was not the reality of the situation. The Great Gatsby is based on the premise of social mobility; a tale of going from rags to riches, becoming wealthy with a large house filled with luxurious items, instant wish fulfilment because of vast wealth and a life of endless pleasure. This dream is a naïve assumption that material wealth is synonymous with happiness and self-satisfaction. Jay Gatsby embodies the American Dream; he is a man who started with nothing and achieved great wealth and status for the noble purpose of acquiring true love.

Despite his wealth, Jay Gatsby is not truly happy, something which the reader blames on the fact that he hasn’t won Daisy’s hand. He hosts large parties for hundreds of guests, yet it is apparent that these guests are using him to enjoy the extravagance of his wealth. It becomes abundantly clear that none of the guests have any personal connection to Gatsby when they speculate about how he earned his money, relaying various rumours to Nick. Gatsby becomes happier when meeting Nick not because he is closer to winning Daisy, but rather because he has made a genuine connection with another person. In his obsession with achieving his dream Gatsby neglects aspects of his social and personal life that are necessary for true happiness. Fitzgerald here is pointing out that the goal of working hard to enjoy life later on means that one is not enjoying life in the moment, and by the time one gains wealth, if ever, it will probably be at an age where that person is too old to enjoy it and he will realise that he has wasted his life in pursuit of a materialistic ideal. The tragic proportions of the failure of the American Dream are felt when none of the guests that had attended his parties every week show up for Gatsby’s funeral, with the exception of Owl Eyes. Gatsby’s generosity was entirely forgotten, showing the fickleness of the social connections which such a materialistic culture fosters.

Jay Gatsby attempts to impress Daisy Buchanan with his vast wealth in order to win her back. Winning Daisy’s affection is central to Gatsby’s dream. His attempt to rise in status and wealth was based on his desire to reclaim his lost love, however this is not purely for the sake of love; to Gatsby Daisy is the ultimate status symbol, only when he wins her back can he have his full version of the American Dream. Daisy is eventually won over by Gatsby’s displays of material wealth, they act as a symbol of masculine power which draws her in. Through his displays Gatsby is showing her the lifestyle he can afford to give her if she chose him. During a car ride to New York with Nick, Gatsby lies about his past and says he was the son of a wealthy family in the Midwest. Nick questions this but he comes to the conclusion that anything can happen as a result of the American dream, even a Gatsby. The issue with the American Dream is that it creates a constant dissatisfaction with ones life; the idea of constantly having to strive for more and never being happy with what you have is how the dream is fostered and kept alive and how a consumerist culture is maintained. Even when Gatsby has Daisy’s love, it is not enough for him, he wants her to renounce any love she ever felt for her husband, in order for her to belong entirely to him. He idealises Daisy to such unattainable heights that she will never reach, and eventually his illusion of her shatters along with his dreams. Gatsby will never be happy with what he has because his entire success was built upon the premise that he must achieve more. This is another danger of the American dream, the dissatisfaction that comes once you have achieved your dream and there is nothing left to strive for. Eventually, it is revealed that Gatsby made his money through illegal means, completely undermining the hope that pursuit of the American Dream can lead to a rise from rags to riches. At the end of the novel Gatsby is killed because of his pursuit of wealth, and it marks the collapse of his dream life. By the end of the novel Gatsby, George Wilson and Myrtle are dead, while Tom, Daisy and Jordan continue leading their lives as before. This is a harsh indictment of the American Dream; the ones who strive for success die while the people who come from old money survive.

The American Dream is still alive to this day, and it is a large part of American culture. While the concepts of social mobility and hard work leading to success are not inherently bad, they are used to promote the agendas of consumerist enterprises and political structures. Sylvia Plath’s novel depicts the plight of a woman who cannot find her place in the social structures formed by the American Dream, and who struggles immensely because of it. F. Scott Fitzgerald warns Americans to be wary of the materialistic culture they are thought to want, only a few years before the crash of the stock market and the Great Depression.